Tantalize, by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Tantalize, by Cynthia Leitich Smith.  Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2007.  310 pp. ISBN 9780763627911


READER'S ANNOTATION
One month before the grand re-opening of Quincie's family's restaurant, their beloved chef has been murdered, possibly by a werewolf.  Or is the new vampire theme of the restaurant attracting real bloodsuckers?

GENRE
Horror, Humor

SUMMARY
After her parents' death, first-person narrator Quincie Morris was left in her Uncle Davidson's care.  Now at age 17, she will help her uncle manage the family Italian restaurant, which they've decided will now have a vampire theme.  When their beloved Chef Vaggio is murdered one month before the grand reopening, they are left scrambling to find a replacement, and Quincie to cling to the hope that her half-human/half-werewolf best friend and love interest, Kieren, was not involved in the killing.  A new chef named Henry Johnson is hired, who is quite talented but also a bit off-putting.  Also problematic for Quincie is the fact that the time has come for Kieren to join a wolf pack and leave Austin.  Then murders begin piling up and Uncle Davidson starts acting very strangely...  Smith continues the stories of these characters in two later novels.

EVALUATION
Of all the monster books I've read this semester, Tantalize has probably been the most fun, and I like Quincie's sense of humor and sarcasm. I think the fact that she, as a teen, is helping to run a restaurant should give teens an enjoyable taste of independence.  And at the same time give an idea of the huge sacrifices that one makes in other areas of life, such as friendship and school, when one takes on such a responsibility. In addition, there is relevant social commentary in this novel, one example being the fact that werepeople have fewer rights than humans and suffer discrimination. One of my favorite aspects of Tantalize is that we don't find out until the end whether Kieren truly reciprocates Quincie's romantic feelings.  And I also love the ambiguity of the ending as far as what Quincie's future holds. What some may find controversial is Quincie's drinking, but her drinking is included to illustrate how alcohol impairs one's judgement.

HOW THIS BOOK HELPS
This book could help teens who find themselves with more responsibility than they can handle, or whose parents/guardians are absent.  It could also help teens who feel they may have a drinking problem.

WHY I CHOSE TO READ IT
I liked the idea of vampires, werepeople, and humans together in one city, and the restaurant aspect sounded fun.

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater




Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater. Scholastic: New York, 2009. 392 pp. ISBN 9780545123266


READER'S ANNOTATION
Ever since he saved her life a few years ago, Grace has been drawn to the handsome wolf who watches her from the woods.  If only they could be together somehow... 

GENRE
Fantasy

SUMMARY
When teenage Grace was a child, one of the wolves living in the woods bordering her house rescued her from the rest of his pack.  She found herself mesmerized by his beautiful yellow eyes during this rescue, and has watched him from her house in the years since.  The wolf in turn, has watched Grace.  One day an injured boy, Sam, appears outside Grace's house.  Grace comes to realize that Sam is none other than her wolf in human form, the wolf she has been hoping to get closer to for so long.  Elated to finally be together in the same form, Grace and Sam fall in love.  This is made a bit challenging, however, by having to hide Sam and the fact that he shapeshifts, from Grace's parents.  And the real problem is that Sam only gets to spend a few months each year in his original human form, and each year this amount of time decreases. This could be the last year he changes into human form at all...  This title is the first of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series.

EVALUATION
One of the stand-out aspects of this book is the strength, self-reliance and resourcefulness of the character of Grace.  When the going gets tough, her inspiring "just dive in and and do it" attitude kicks in.  I also like the way in which Stiefvater includes the theme of forgiveness, through Sam's ultimately strong relationship with father-figure Beck despite his Sam's strong dislike of a couple things that Beck has done. I found the plot to be a tad slow-moving at first, but the introduction of the character of Isabel and her initial questioning of Grace really creates a sense of intrigue as we initially don't know what Isabel's true motives are, and also because she and Grace are such seeming opposites.  I usually enjoy audiobooks, but in this case I would recommend sticking with the written text.  Portions of the audio version (Scholastic Audiobooks, 2009) are read slightly overdramatically.  But I do recommend this novel as a good fantasy read with some great suspense.  What some may find controversial is the fact that Grace and Sam have sexual intercourse, although no graphic details are included.

HOW THIS BOOK HELPS
I think this book will help teens whose parents are absent due to late working hours or are simply not at home very much.  Such teens may identify with Grace.  Teens who have survived abuse at the hands of their parents, or whose parents have done ethically questionable things, may identify with Sam. Sam experiences the first at the hands of his birth parents, and then is "adopted" by Beck who has inducted members into the wolf pack in a morally questionable way.

WHY I CHOSE TO READ IT
I always like books with dual narrators, because it allows you to get two often very different perspectives on the same story.