Raven tries to shield her younger brother from the menacing Valentine Maxwell, even as she yearns to attend the prom with her immortal love, Alexander. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Readers don't have to share goth girl Raven's passion for vampire lore to appreciate her misadventures in Dullsville, a town "bigger than a cave, but small enough to feel claustrophobic." Growing up with her brother, Nerd Boy, and ex-hippie parents now bent on climbing the corporate ladder, 16-year-old Raven has always been a misfit. Alternately tormented and chased by popular soccer player Trevor Mitchell, Raven fears she will never meet a true soul mate. Then some ghostly pale Romanians move into a nearby abandoned mansion. While rumors regarding the new family's vampire tendencies fly around town, Raven becomes enamored with the hauntingly handsome son, Alexander Sterling, who rarely ventures from his attic bedroom. Some second-rate sleuthing around the mansion gets Raven in trouble but also wins her a date with the youth she rapturously calls "Gothic Guy, Gothic Mate, Gothic Prince." As in her Teenage Mermaid, Schreiber adds some refreshing twists to genre archetypes and modern-day stereotypes. Raven's ill-fated flirtation will bring more laughs than heartache, and if the ending is a bit rushed, elsewhere the comic timing is dead-on. Ages 12-up. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 7 Up-Raven, 16, doesn't fit in at school or home. This goth-girl is obsessed with vampires and when a new family moves into the old town mansion, she is convinced that the son, Alexander, is a vampire. The story swirls around and through sibling rivalry, peer relationships, friendships, and love. Raven is a feisty protagonist with a quick wit and a real sense of self. She defends herself and her friends, often besting her peers with humor and a quick tongue. As her connection with Alexander deepens, she comes to understand her family better. It is through his shadowy character that readers are kept off balance. Schreiber weaves a tale that is more about acceptance and friendship than about vampire behavior and culture, and sustains a tone that draws readers to the characters rather than to horrific plot developments that would keep them reading. There is far less intensity than in Annette Curtis Klause's Silver Kiss (Laurel-Leaf, 1992) and less moodiness than that found in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's Midnight Predator (2002) and Shattered Mirror (2001, both Delacorte). While the ending isn't tied up in a neat and pretty bow, it fits the style and tone. All in all, a good read for those who want a vampire love story without the gore.-Molly S. Kinney, Peach Public Libraries, Fort Valley, GACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 7-10. Sixteen-year-old Raven is a Goth surrounded by lesser folks: her parents have transformed themselves from hippie to corporate, and her only friend at school is an outsider everyone picks on. In Raven's rich imaginary life, she is bold and special and in love with the idea of meeting a vampire. Schreiber uses a careful balance of humor, irony, pathos, and romance as she develops a plot that introduces the possibility of a real vampire--in the form of an extra-handsome boy, of course-- while exploring how a girl like Raven finds ways to cope with a bully who is both class- and gender-conscious of his supposed superiority. Raven's voice is immediately charming, in spite of her alleged bravado and coldheartedness. Her hometown could be any Small Town, USA, and its possibly haunted mansion just lightens the scene rather than making the story silly. This tale slides down easily and will be welcomed by Goths willing to look on the lighter side of their own culture as well as by readers who have an openminded appreciation for the vagaries of their peers and, perhaps, of themselves. FranciscaGoldsmith. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.