May 1, 2000
Teenage author Atwater-Rhodes returns to the vampires and witches of In the Forests of the Night for this fast-moving sequel. This time, she focuses on Jessica, the high school student who put in a cameo in the previous installment and, under the pen name Ash Night, has since published her first book, a vampire story called Tiger, Tiger. What Jessica doesn't know is that the characters in her book actually exist, and they aren't too happy that she's spilled their secrets and unwittingly alerted vampire-hunting witches to the location of their undead village, New Mayhem. Out for revenge, the vampire Aubrey shows up at Jessica's high school in the guise of a new student. But Jessica's dark aura unexpectedly attracts him. He pursues her, unsure if he wants to kill her, protect her or change her into one of his own kind. Jessica feels equally drawn to him, and drawn to the idea of becoming stronger than human. The writing is often pat ("It had not hurt to die . Why did it hurt so much to live again?"), but the fantastic fights will keep readers turning pages quickly. Atwater-Rhodes exercises impressive control over the complex lineages she has imagined, and she comes up with creative solutions to advance her story. Readers will drain this book in one big gulp. Ages 12-up.
September 24, 2001
Jessica, who put in a cameo appearance for In the Forests of the Night, writes a book about vampires; what she doesn't know is that they actually exist. "Atwater-Rhodes exercises impressive control over the complex lineages she has imagined, and she comes up with creative solutions to advance her story," wrote PW. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)Note:
Additional reviews of children's books can be found in the Children's Holiday round-up (p. 42).