Saturday, September 19, 2009

Review in a Few: The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones

Teen librarian, turned young adult author Patrick Jones returns with a supernatural romance with a twist on vampire lore: The Tear Collector.

For Cass and her family, there's no blood sucking. Instead, they thrive off human tears and emotion. The leader of the school's peer counseling group, varsity swimmer and one of the popular girls, Cass is always there if you need a shoulder to cry on. But no one ever gets too close, and no one really knows who - or what - Cass really is.

As Cass journeys through high school breaking hearts, going as far as a Catholic girl can go (read: this book is NOT for middle school), and planting herself in the middle of any scenario that just might devolve into tears, she maintains an unquestioning loyalty to her family. Then tragedy strikes and a new boy enters the picture. Suddenly, she doubts her family's way of life and starts looking for an escape. At just about the same time, another student begins picking up on clues to Cass' real identity.

An interesting new take on the succubus, which really seems to work. Lots of details remain to be filled in about the family and their way of life. A secondary storyline develops speed throughout the novel and builds to the climax while providing the setup for a sequel. Check it out.

The Tear Collector
by Patrick Jones
Walker Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 1, 2009
Recommended for: High schoolers into supernatural romance
Review copy received from publisher at BEA.

1 comment:

  1. I thought this one looked interesting--I'll put it on my list!

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