Okay, Stephenie Meyer doesn't really own any souls. But she does make a lot of money writing about vampires, werewolves, and annoyingly unconfident teenagers. (Seriously Bella, he's too good for you, we get it!) As a Teen Services Librarian I spend way too much time thinking about her and her books.
No real review of Breaking Dawn except to say; thank goodness so much of it is from Jacob's point of view. Generally though, the premise is wearing thin and the characters weren't all that well formed from the start. But, if your library is like mine, you likely can't keep any of Meyer's books on the shelves. Probably you won't be able to until well after December and the movie. Maybe even longer. So my thought was to have some read-alikes ready and for me the ALA's suggestion of their best paperback "dark books" list didn't quite cut it. These are the ones I've found that have some appeal in common with the Twilight series:
Vampire Fiction
Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia “In the Forests of the Night”
This novel was written when the author was only 13 years old! Like Bella, Rachel was a typical teenage girl, but unlike Bella, she was transformed against her will. Now Risika has been a vampire for 300 years and gotten used to the idea. But lately her past has come back to haunt her.
Kagesaki, Yuna “Chibi Vampire”
Karin is normal except she comes from a family of vampires. Kenta is suspicious of all of Karin’s mysterious nosebleeds. This series is a funnier and lighter take on teenage vampire romance in manga format.
Klause, Annette Curtis “The Silver Kiss”
Before there were Bella and Edward there was the intense vampire-human romance of “The Silver Kiss” Zoë would have been a normal teenager if her life had not been torn apart by her mother’s illness. Simon is a vampire. They are brought together at a critical moment in both their lives.
Velde, Vivian Vande “Companions of the Night”
Kerry was like Bella and most other teenagers, until she meets Ethan, an enigmatic vampire, and must help him in order to help her save her family. She must also battle her own dangerous attraction to Ethan.
Westerfeld, Scott “Peeps”
The vampire’s in this novel are a little different from the norm. Cal looks and acts normal, which means he’s a carrier of the vampiric parasite, but it doesn’t drive him crazy like it does all of his infected girlfriends. Cal must track down his most recent girlfriend in this story about vampirism, parasites, and love stories that end very badly.
Vampire Non-fiction (I'll be honest here folks, this one didn't exactly fly off the display, but I still think it is really cool.)
Bartlett, Wayne and Idriceanu, Flavia “Legends of Blood” The Vampire in History and Myth”
Read about the myths and legends where Stephenie Meyer’s got her inspiration for the Cullen clan.
Werewolf Fiction
Cole, Stephen “Wereling Trilogy: Wounded, Prey, and Resurrection.”
In this twist on the paranormal romance Kate is from a werewolf family and Tom is a normal kid on vacation when he is “rescued” by her family. Thus begins their epic (and maybe even slightly romantic) adventure.
Creedon, Catherine “Blue Wolf” (Again, not a big hit on the display. But I think it sounds totally interesting. Maybe I need to change my blurb.)
Similar to Bella’s experience, Jamie Park’s life changes drastically when he moves to Washington State. Only instead of find another family with a big secrets Jamie starts finding secrets in his own family.
Klause, Annette Curtis “Blood and Chocolate” (Do librarians like this book so much because of Klause's other occupation?)
For older readers there is “Blood and Chocolate.” Vivian, a sixteen year old werewolf, sets her sights on a normal human boy, Aidan, probably because he is as forbidden to her as Bella was supposed to be to Edward. And much like Edward and Bella, there is another werewolf who is intent or winning her.
Overall my display worked out pretty well for the release of Breaking Dawn. I'm thinking about revamping (haha)it and bringing back something similar for the movie in December.
Next review: The Mysterious Benedict Society audiobook: SO MUCH FUN.
