When I went to the ALA this year I made it my goal to try and read two hundred Young Adult novels. {No, I didn’t come close. But I did collect about two hundred advanced reader copies [arcs].}
One of the many books I got was an arc of Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith. I picked the book up off the table, flipped it around and read the first line on the back. “At last, Miranda is the life of the party: all she had to do was die.” Ohhh, well that sounded rad. So, I read on. When I got to the bit where it said our main character, Miranda, has been turned into a vampire…well, let me just say, I was slightly disappointed. I’ve pretty much lost all hope in vampires {and vampire novels}. So I almost didn’t read Eternal. But I’m glad I did.
Cynthia’s novel was one of the first books I read this year, and once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. The book is written from two points of view: Miranda–the soon to be undead teenage girl, and her guardian angel, Zachary. Sometimes what happens with a book from multiple POV’s is that the voices begin to sound the same. Not so in Eternal. Both were strong, distinct voices. Both were enjoyable to read.
The first chapter is Zachary. He’s not only an angel, he’s a SEXY HOT angel. {He outshines all the glittery undead that we read about today.} He’s also not just another sexy character in a vampire story. He actually has a personality. He SOUNDS like a real dude.
When I got to the Miranda chapters, I could picture her perfectly. She sounded like a real teenager. She’s not a lame little love-drunk girl. Miranda is actually FUNNY and a badass too {am I allowed to say “ass” in this blog?} Once she is turned into a vampire, she actually ACTS like one. That’s what I liked best about the book. We had the romance, and we also had the blood.
The writing was strong. Cynthia makes her characters come alive. They felt real to me. I could picture these people. And the whole storyline rocked–it was clever and funny.
I’m glad I read Eternal and can’t wait to read Cynthia’s next book. So if I were to rate this, of course I’d give it Five Gold Stars. If you like vampire stories, then you’ll enjoy this one. {It’s important to note that Cynthia is working on a third book in this series of closely related novels–that can be read together or as stand alones. The first is Tantalize. The third is Blessed due out next year from Candlewick.}
Two other strong vampire novels: Vivian Vende Velde’s Companions of the Night and
M.T. Anderson’s Thirsty.
Throwing Up Words 