The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black Publisher: Little Brown Books (2013)
Audiobook
{12 hours and 5 minutes} (419 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: The Darkest Part of the Forest, The Queen of Nothing
Synopsis
Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
Find the book: Goodreads
My Review
I have never read a vampire book quite like this before. Vampirism is a disease here. It isn’t merely something one becomes but rather the process of going “cold” is the disease of vampirism.
Tana was at a party with her friends. Upon waking in a bathroom she finds all but one of her friends dead. Aiden, her ex-boyfriend, has been bitten and tied to a bed in a room where a vampire sits in chains. Tana makes the impulsive decision to save the vampire, Gavriel, as well as Aiden.
Not knowing where else to go, the three head towards Springfield’s Coldtown. Aiden was already going “cold.” He was craving Tana’s blood. Coldtown was the only place for him to go. Gavriel says something about having friends in Coldtown. Tana is afraid she might be going “cold” from the tooth scrape behind her knee. She can’t go home and so Coldtown is the only choice.
Along the way to Coldtown, Tana and crew meet Midnight and Winter. They are goth twins whose life goal is to become vampires. They even have the pact “no more birthdays.” In exchange for a ride into Coldtown, they promise to help Aiden and Tana find a place to stay. They have “friends” inside that they communicate with via message boards. These two are just a bit creepy.
Aiden accepts that he’s going to become a vampire and tries to convince Tana to join him for a life of eternity. At other times he is just fantasizing about ripping out Tana’s neck. Yeah, not the best friend to hang out with.
Gavriel is an older vampire from before the world was overtaken with Coldtowns. He is a bit wacky. It is mentioned multiple times that he is crazy. And he is. He strangely seems to do what Tana asks him to. That isn’t really typical.
Tana is strong. She is doing her best to keep things together when they are falling apart. At the same time she is trying to convince Aiden that he doesn’t need to become a vampire. Tana doesn’t know if she’s going to go “cold” or not. All she knows is that she doesn’t want to be a vampire.
I liked this a lot because it wasn’t a typical vampire book. The romance that shows up isn’t the insta-love variety. The writing is interesting and the flashbacks are a great way to get backstory without information overload.
Catholic Connections
*Spoiler Alert*
In order to analyze the text and make these connections, there may be some spoilers.
Please do not continue reading unless you have already read the book
or you don’t mind if you read some spoilers.
*Spoiler Alert*
If my mind is not inventing this part (I would look it up but I listened to the audiobook), there was mention of priests going into the Coldtowns as missionaries. That is pretty impressive since there aren’t any real laws in place and people pretty much do whatever they please.
Tana is trying to save everyone. As it is pointed out to her, this isn’t always in her best interest. She isn’t thinking of herself. She is thinking of everyone else, being selfless. Tana is selfless when she decides to rescue a soon-to-be-vampire and a vampire from two other vampires. That is pretty reckless. Tana is also selfless when she thinks of the people caged below Lucien’s home. She organizes a rescue party even when she could have rescued herself. Tana is selfless when she goes back for Gavriel. She willingly returns to a house where she knows she could very well die to save a vampire that really doesn’t need her help at all. So, yeah, Tana is pretty reckless and stupid at times but she is also selfless.
Which Reading Challenges?
- You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
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