February 15, 2006
Christian Young fled his luxurious vampire life to live in self-imposed exile in a West Virginia mobile home park as punishment for the horrors he inflicted on his family. The hardest part is making connections with others when all he wants to do is to withdraw in shame. But old habits die hard, and when he sees his neighbor, Jolee, in trouble, he heads to the rescue. He intends it to be a onetime deal, but the more he learns about her, the more he can't resist, until the tables are turned, and she becomes his salvation. Love pens a quirky tale in which Christian's journey is less about not being a vampire and more about learning to be good to himself and others. Vampire myths play a very small role here. There are no mystical, magical societies, no black, swirling dusters or " Blade"-style fights. It's simply a beautiful story of two scarred people figuring out how to love and heal each other.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)