The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, vampires. While I generally avoid them, once in awhile I give them a chance. In this case, I'm glad I did.

This story follows Tana, who lives in a world populated by vampires who are required to live in "Coldtowns." These are cities which have been designated specifically to house those who are vampires and those who may become vampires. Amid the general population, if a person is bitten they begin to "go cold," the process of them turning into a vampire. This turning is preventable if the infected person does not drink human blood. At the end of roughly a 3-month period, they are cured.

The action starts right off with Tana waking up after a party. She find that her former boyfriend and a vampire are both restrained in another room, while every other partygoer is dead. The vampire Gavriel seems benign (can any vampire be benign?) and the ex-boyfriend Aidan is understandably terrified. This launches us into a plethora of questions about why Tana survived the massacre, who the vampire is, and why Aidan was spared.

Tana is a relatively standard protagonist. She does the best she can under the circumstances. What makes her appealing is her inner conflict; on the one hand she is a thrill-seeker and non-conformist. On the other hand, she is sensible, protective of her family and a loyal ex-girlfriendish friend. Gavriel is a brooding enigma and Aidan is an amoral charmer. This threesome makes for a great ride through the story's twists and turns.

There are some secondary characters who lend interest to the story. Part of the appeal of Coldtowns are the reality shows which are broadcast from them. This makes them appealing to starry-eyed fans. We meet a couple of these fans and are given a glimpse into the celebrity-seeking mentality of our culture. It begs the question of what makes us want to be famous and what we're willing to do to attain it.

This plot is one interesting, convoluted adventure. The sub-plots alone are worth the read. The culmination of events is not a straight line at all; puzzles abound and the real villain is obscured until the very end. This makes the story riveting. It's hard to put this book down.

The ending was wonderful and sweet. It also raised the question as to whether humanity is really worth it. And any book that asks these philsophical questions in such an entertaining way is worthy of the time spent reading it.

This book was narrated on audio by Christine Lakin. She is a voice actor rather than a narrator. The voices she gave to the characters were diverse and the emotion was appropriate to the dialogue. The story was made better for the audio performed.

I had a taste of Holly Black with White Cat, part of her Curseworker Series. I enjoyed this far book far more. Black is unafraid to go to the dark places in her stories without putting us off with abject horror. This is an entertaining twist on the traditional vampire tale, and one I thoroughly enjoyed.



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