Under-rated Authors- Annette Curtis Klause
Hello readers! A few months ago, I started a little series of Under-rated authors, my first feature being about Francesca Lia Block. Today's post is going to be a continuation of the series, with our featured author Annette Curtis Klause.
I've only read two of her published works, which I will go over below, but Annette has been in the YA fiction scene since the early 90's. She's been published in the same books as Holly Black, having written several short stories in bind of novel's with other authors as well.
The first book I read of hers was Blood & Chocolate, which was shortly after reading the first four Harry Potter books. Klause has a very easy writing style to read, but the way she writes is so colorful. Even between the two books below, you can see a change in the style of writing or even the character she is currently in the POV of. I can easily say that Blood & Chocolate is my favorite book of all time because I have no issues picking it up and re-reading it and loving the characters all over again.
The Silver Kiss (Published in 1990)
Our main characters are Zoe & Simon and each chapter rotates between each character. Zoe is a teenage girl who's mom is dying of cancer. Simon is a vampire who has walked this earth for decades.
Simon's older brother, Christopher, was taken by a Vampire at least 300 years ago and turned. Christopher then shows up and murders his mother. Then Christopher comes back into Simon's life to finally turn him into a vampire as well. Simon then spends his immortality trying to seek revenge against his older brother.
Zoe is an only child and as her mother sits in her hospital she feels extremely lost in life. Her father spends all of his time either working or at the hospital where Zoe feels like he's keeping her mother hidden.
The story is a nice pairing of the acceptance of death. Zoe struggles with her best friend and mother passing and how she feels it's not fair. The angst she has for the situation comes as juvenile and often slips into a victim mindset. When I originally read the book, I was around or under Zoe's age so I could relate more to her pain. I could understand the devastation of having someone who has been a routine of my life and so close to me slowly slipping away. Her pain develops into Zoe lashing out to those around her, like resenting her father and distancing herself from her best friend who happens to be moving away.
Simon enters into her life when it's time for Zoe to start realizing that she must accept death and that her resentment may be unfair. The pair balance each other out, Zoe learning to find comfort in death and Simon getting to experience life again in his immortal loneliness. By the end, Simon manages to kill his tormentor and brother and finally free himself from the prison he has self-inflicted. Zoe helps, using this as a stepping stone into finding her bravery against death.
The end of the book is Zoe visiting her mother and finally start talking about life beyond her passing. How Zoe and her father will need each other for support once her mother is no longer in her life and how to move on. When Zoe comes home from her hospital visit with her mother she finds a note to meet Simon in the park. We don't get to see the thought process, however when Zoe finds him at their original meeting spot Simon tells her that he is finally ready to accept death. The pair wait until the sunrise together and Simon evaporates painlessly in the sunlight.
It partially romanticized death, but at the same time it teaches us acceptance. It's natural for us as humans to be afraid of the void after death. Immortality is something millions of people look for. However, Simon teaches us that although immortality may be the answer, it can also be lonely and unfulfilling.
Simon's older brother, Christopher, was taken by a Vampire at least 300 years ago and turned. Christopher then shows up and murders his mother. Then Christopher comes back into Simon's life to finally turn him into a vampire as well. Simon then spends his immortality trying to seek revenge against his older brother.
Zoe is an only child and as her mother sits in her hospital she feels extremely lost in life. Her father spends all of his time either working or at the hospital where Zoe feels like he's keeping her mother hidden.
The story is a nice pairing of the acceptance of death. Zoe struggles with her best friend and mother passing and how she feels it's not fair. The angst she has for the situation comes as juvenile and often slips into a victim mindset. When I originally read the book, I was around or under Zoe's age so I could relate more to her pain. I could understand the devastation of having someone who has been a routine of my life and so close to me slowly slipping away. Her pain develops into Zoe lashing out to those around her, like resenting her father and distancing herself from her best friend who happens to be moving away.
Simon enters into her life when it's time for Zoe to start realizing that she must accept death and that her resentment may be unfair. The pair balance each other out, Zoe learning to find comfort in death and Simon getting to experience life again in his immortal loneliness. By the end, Simon manages to kill his tormentor and brother and finally free himself from the prison he has self-inflicted. Zoe helps, using this as a stepping stone into finding her bravery against death.
The end of the book is Zoe visiting her mother and finally start talking about life beyond her passing. How Zoe and her father will need each other for support once her mother is no longer in her life and how to move on. When Zoe comes home from her hospital visit with her mother she finds a note to meet Simon in the park. We don't get to see the thought process, however when Zoe finds him at their original meeting spot Simon tells her that he is finally ready to accept death. The pair wait until the sunrise together and Simon evaporates painlessly in the sunlight.
It partially romanticized death, but at the same time it teaches us acceptance. It's natural for us as humans to be afraid of the void after death. Immortality is something millions of people look for. However, Simon teaches us that although immortality may be the answer, it can also be lonely and unfulfilling.
Blood & Chocolate (First published in 1997)
I picked this book up back in 8th grade and instantly fell in love. I was totally into mythical creatures and I thought it was super important to either be Team Werewolf or Team Vampire. This was a whole two years prior to the Twilight franchise making this a life or death decision among High School hallways.
Vivianne is a teenage werewolf and unlike in Silver Kiss, the book is much more detailed in setting. We know its the 90's based on the music mentioned and that the pack lives in suburbs of Maryland.
She lives with her mom and uncle in a house he's had for years. Her family, extending to all of her pack members, recently suffered a tradgedy and is in the middle of shift. Vivianne's father was the previous pack leader and a fire in their home in the woods took his life. The entire pack fled to Maryland as a temporary settlement until they could find a new pack leader and a place to live.
Among a large group of werewolves, there is obviously going to be some dominance tension between the males and even some females. This leads us to the Five, which is you guessed it... five adolescent werewolf males that love to think they're all that. The 'leader', Rafe has his eye on Vivianne and even thinks he could be the next pack leader.
Vivianne disregards his advances and for the most part is pretty reserved. She's internally struggling with losing her father, the actions of her mother's own grieving process, and trying to make it through high school as the outcast. She meets a boy named Aiden after he enters a piece of poetry into the school paper that hits the nail on the head for Vivianne's feelings on her transformation.
Of course the obviously beautiful girl hanging out with the dorky nerd kid leads into a teenage romance. There are some stereotypes around Aiden, his parents don't approve of his curiosity for the fantasy, there is a girl on the sidelines who has been pining over Aiden for years, and of course for a teenage boy he thinks his life is tough.
Though I don't care for Aiden, Vivianne feels like she can love him and fit into his life as a normal human despite being a werewolf. This all goes super terribly when she decides to show Aiden what she is on a full moon when Aiden thinks he's finally going to get a piece.
The entire group has this edge to them, which I really like. They hang out at biker bars because it's easier to describe their scars and rough exterior. However when they are in a pack in the wilderness, the group of werewolves changes to have a sense of loyalty to each other as an actual pack of wolves would.
Vivianne's softness is what really appeals to me in her character. She sees the beauty in something others find as harsh and abrasive. To her, being a werewolf is a gift and the transformation is a beautiful process. Klause created a very nice, clean story arc in this book that allowed you to relate and grow fond of these characters. When I first read this on repeat like ten years ago I would always end up crying at the end because the acceptance that Vivianne has needed felt so very raw.
I am going to warn you now, and I have mentioned this before, but there is a movie adaptation of this book. Please do not watch it. If you are super curious, at least read the book first. It is hands down the worst book to movie adaptation I have ever seen. The only similarities to the book are most of the names and the fact that they are werewolves. All of the charm and details that make this book so enjoyable are completely omitted.
I picked this book up back in 8th grade and instantly fell in love. I was totally into mythical creatures and I thought it was super important to either be Team Werewolf or Team Vampire. This was a whole two years prior to the Twilight franchise making this a life or death decision among High School hallways.
Vivianne is a teenage werewolf and unlike in Silver Kiss, the book is much more detailed in setting. We know its the 90's based on the music mentioned and that the pack lives in suburbs of Maryland.
She lives with her mom and uncle in a house he's had for years. Her family, extending to all of her pack members, recently suffered a tradgedy and is in the middle of shift. Vivianne's father was the previous pack leader and a fire in their home in the woods took his life. The entire pack fled to Maryland as a temporary settlement until they could find a new pack leader and a place to live.
Among a large group of werewolves, there is obviously going to be some dominance tension between the males and even some females. This leads us to the Five, which is you guessed it... five adolescent werewolf males that love to think they're all that. The 'leader', Rafe has his eye on Vivianne and even thinks he could be the next pack leader.
Vivianne disregards his advances and for the most part is pretty reserved. She's internally struggling with losing her father, the actions of her mother's own grieving process, and trying to make it through high school as the outcast. She meets a boy named Aiden after he enters a piece of poetry into the school paper that hits the nail on the head for Vivianne's feelings on her transformation.
Of course the obviously beautiful girl hanging out with the dorky nerd kid leads into a teenage romance. There are some stereotypes around Aiden, his parents don't approve of his curiosity for the fantasy, there is a girl on the sidelines who has been pining over Aiden for years, and of course for a teenage boy he thinks his life is tough.
Though I don't care for Aiden, Vivianne feels like she can love him and fit into his life as a normal human despite being a werewolf. This all goes super terribly when she decides to show Aiden what she is on a full moon when Aiden thinks he's finally going to get a piece.
The entire group has this edge to them, which I really like. They hang out at biker bars because it's easier to describe their scars and rough exterior. However when they are in a pack in the wilderness, the group of werewolves changes to have a sense of loyalty to each other as an actual pack of wolves would.
Vivianne's softness is what really appeals to me in her character. She sees the beauty in something others find as harsh and abrasive. To her, being a werewolf is a gift and the transformation is a beautiful process. Klause created a very nice, clean story arc in this book that allowed you to relate and grow fond of these characters. When I first read this on repeat like ten years ago I would always end up crying at the end because the acceptance that Vivianne has needed felt so very raw.
I am going to warn you now, and I have mentioned this before, but there is a movie adaptation of this book. Please do not watch it. If you are super curious, at least read the book first. It is hands down the worst book to movie adaptation I have ever seen. The only similarities to the book are most of the names and the fact that they are werewolves. All of the charm and details that make this book so enjoyable are completely omitted.
Thanks for reading this guys! If you've read either of these let me know what you think in the comments below. I love meeting a fellow book-lover who has read Klause's work.
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