While on my trip to Chicago during fall break, I stumbled upon a book called “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” by Holly Black. The cover looked interesting and it was only about $4, I bought it. As it turns out, this book is a very interesting book.

Tana is a 17-year-old girl living in a world where vampirism is considered a disease; a disease that is hard to control. Thanks to a young vampire, many of the world’s main cities have been closed off from the rest of the population. You see, the young vampire didn’t know what he was, and he didn’t want to kill people. So he bit, drank a little, and continued on is way. Which left a lot of newly “Cold” people.

“Cold” is described as the state of being that a human enters right after being bitten by a vampire. They begin to grow cold, and they thirst for human blood. If they get a taste, they die. Then they come back as an extremely hungry vampire. All hope is not lost when you are bitten, since you can get over the “Cold.” With just a couple dozen weeks of isolation from the outside world and you’re good as new. Well, as good as one is after being stuck in a room for about 88 days. A perfect way to spend your time.

Tana’s mother was turned Cold when Tana was young and she attacked her when she let her out of her isolation. She now bares a long scar on her left arm from where her mother latched onto her; along with the memory of her father chopping her mother’s head off with a shovel in order to save her.

The book starts out with Tana waking up in a bathtub after a long night of partying. The whole house is silent and she starts to think that maybe she just got up before everyone. That’s definitely not the case. She walks out into the living room only to be greeted by a room filled with corpses. Her friends lie dead in piles, many with their eyes still open. She begins to panic after she realizes that what killed them may still be there. She makes a daring escape and in the process manages to save her newly-turned-Cold ex-boyfriend and a crazed vampire.

After saving them, Aidan (ex-boyfriend,) the vampire whose name is Gavriel, and Tana, embark on a journey to get to the nearest “Coldtown.” When they finally get there after many mishaps and near-death situations, Tana and her “friends” find out that the Coldtown isn’t anything like the live feeds make it out to be. The feeds that are broadcasted all over the world that show elegance and regal vampires feeding off of humans without killing them. Certain parts of Coldtown may hold that elegance, but the feeds don’t show all of the truth.

Soon after reaching their destination, Gavriel runs off to seek revenge, Aidan dies, and Tana is left to fend for herself in a world where a few very powerful vampires have taken interest in her.

Overall, “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” is an original take on modern day vampirism. I greatly enjoyed Black’s depiction of a world that has grown to deal with the aspect of a vampire. Although the plot was interesting, it could have been executed a little bit better. I like what the author was trying to say, she just didn’t do a great job with description and explanation. I do recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a new take on vampires, or someone looking for a strong female as the main character.