Author: Annette Curtis Klause
ISBN: 978-0385734219
Publisher: Ember
Copyright: 1997
Genre: Fantasy-Horror
Age
Range: 13-18
Reader’s Annotation: When a sixteen-year-old werewolf,
Vivian Gandillon, falls in love with a regular boy, she begins to live the
uncomfortably separation between her two worlds.
Plot Summary: Vivian Gandillon is a sixteen-year-old
loup-garoux. She is a werewolf like her father, the old leader of the pack, and
mother. She has a group of werewolf friends called the Five: Rafe, Finn,
Willem, Ulf, and Gregory. In their old location, the Five started to scare
humans with their wolfish half-form. One former member of the Five, Axel, had
accidental killed a girl and been seen after changing back into a human.
Arrested and imprisoned, the Five kill another human to make it appear as a
serial killer was on the loose freeing Axel. Because Axel endangered the pack,
Vivian’s father killed Axel. Soon after, a group of neighbors set the pack’s
house on fire. Vivian’s father and a few others were killed during the fire.
The pack was forced to move on leaderless.
In the new
town, Vivian starts high school. All of the girls are intimidated and jealous
of her good looks. Wanting to be accepted by human society, Vivian peruses a
“meat-boy” named Aiden. She starts dating him against her mother’s wishes. Meanwhile,
the pack is restless without a leader. Esmé, Vivan’s mother, and Astrid, Ulf’s
mother, fight over a young man named Gabriel who is more interested in Vivian
regardless of her rejections. The pack decides to elect a leader in the Old way
by the Ordeal and the Bitch’s Dance. Each is a one-against-all fight that
determines who the alpha male or female is. Gabriel wins the Ordeal. Astrid
attacks Esmé with killer intentions during the Bitch’s Dance. Vivian jumps in
to save her mother’s life thereby becoming the alpha female and Gabriel’s mate.
She runs away with this realization, and Gabriel makes it clear to her that he
will wait as long as she needs.
Vivian’s relationship
heats up with Aiden, and she wants to show him her true forms before they are
intimate. He crouches afraid in a corner throwing things at her. She jumps out
of the window so that she doesn’t do anything harmful to him. The next day, she
wakes up with human blood on her nails and no memory of the rest of the night.
The news says a man was killed by a wild animal. It happens again, including a
human hand she finds on the floor. Convinced she is the murderer, she douses
herself in kerosene, but before she can light the match she is stopped. Ulf
tells Vivian that Rafe and Astrid were setting her up for the murders as
revenge for the Bitch’s Dance.
The second
victim was carrying a note for Vivian from Aiden. He wanted to meet her for old
times sake, but it is a trap. Aiden pulls a gun on Vivian with silver bullets.
Before they can settle their dispute, Astrid and Rafe show up with the intent
to kill Aiden and frame Vivian. But, Gabriel is gathering the pack to pass
Judgment on Astrid and Rafe. Will Aiden shoot Vivian? Will Astrid and Rafe kill
them both and frame Vivian? Will Gabriel and the pack show up in time?
Critical Evaluation: In 1998, Blood and Chocolate won a YALSA
Award for Best Books for Young Adults. This story is a good example of what
expectations are heaped on teens. Vivian is expected to live and love the
loup-garoux life while living in the human world. After the Bitch’s Dance
fight, she is expected to become the Queen Bitch and be Gabriel’s mate. Teens
want to be able to rule their own lives and make their own decisions.
Author Information: Annette Curtis Klause (born June 20,
1953) is an American writer and librarian, specializing in young adult fiction.
She is currently a children's materials selector for Montgomery County Public
Libraries in Montgomery County,
Maryland. Born in Bristol, England,
she now lives in Hyattsville,
Maryland with her husband Mark
and their cats. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a
Master of Library Science degree from the University
of Maryland, College Park. Source -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annette_Curtis_Klause
Curriculum Ties: English, Folklore
Challenge Issues: Violence; Sexuality; Language
Booktalk Ideas: Folklore – One could start talking about the
folklore of werewolves and weave the storyline of Vivian right into the speech.
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