Customer Reviews
Meh. 
2008-05-17
First, I just have to say... waaaay too many exclamation marks in this book--at least one (usually more) on nearly every page. For example, from page 40 (hardcover edition): "Blood! Thick puddles in the grass! But there was no body!" Exclamation marks do not equal excitement! Or tension! Or drama! Good, tight writing, on the other hand, does. Not that this book was bad, but it did, unfortunately, tend to be a little superficial and "cutesy". To put it another way, these characters behave and speak like grown-ups think sixteen year olds behave and speak.
loved it! 
2008-04-24
Great love story. With a big hang at the end, can't wait to read the next one. Raven was a great loving character and i hope her dream comes true.
Shallow and poorly developed 2008-03-17
I have an idea that Schreiber was trying to accomplish something witty, maybe even ironic, by telling a first-person narrative from the perspective of a self-proclaimed Goth girl in a white bread small town. I don't think the attempt was successful, however.
As a heroine, narrator, and our eyes to the world, Raven leaves much to be desired. If you have any experience with fanfiction, you will recognize her as a particular brand of Mary Sue - calling herself Goth with a kind of self-righteous arrogance, giving us detailed descriptions of her totally non-conventional appearance, always getting in the winning stroke (verbally or violently) against blond and boring snobs in ways that are often not as funny as they are presented as being. She falls all over herself for Alexander mainly because she thinks he's a vampire and apparently has been wishing and wishing to be one herself since she was five. She screeches and storms and whines and obsesses her way through page after page, and I was left with the distinct impression that I was supposed to be finding her brave and sassy. I'm afraid I wasn't.
The "romance" is tepid, mainly because Alexander - her "Gothic Mate" (not kidding) - is bland. We are given loads of descriptive terms about him ("dark, deep, lovely, calming, lonely, adoring, intelligent, dreamy, soulful...") but very little evidence to support them save for cliches. He wears black! He stares out the window! He paints! OMG! His "love" for Raven seems entirely based on the fact that she dresses up as a tennis player for Halloween and must therefore be "different." She wears black, like him. She hates the town, like him. But that's as far as it goes. There's no time for more depth than that.
And part of the reason for that is because you spend a great deal of the book dealing with Raven vs. Trevor, her childhood nemesis who also totally wants her Goth bod, yo. Here cometh a villain who is such a ridiculous cardboard cutout and such a dolt that anyone with a modicum of intelligence wouldn't even give him the time of day. His obsession with Raven is contrived, and for a guy who's so worried about his rep, you'd think he'd get it into his head that following the "outcast" girl around all day and bothering her in the way he does may make his buddies start to wonder. The entire situation is made worse by the fact that Raven, though constantly mentioning what an a**hat he is, has no problems making out with him.
I found the most sympathy for Raven's best friend, Becky, a poor girl from the wrong side of town with a crush on a popular guy and the dubious honor of playing second fiddle to her BFF's schemes and general brattiness.
The town itself is unbelievable. I understand that we see it all from Raven's point of view, but am I to understand that she is absolutely the ONLY edgy rebel in town? That EVERYONE else is blond and country-club-ready? Um, no. Sorry. Even small towns have depth and more than one rebel. This Goth!Lite movement that Raven is a part of really isn't THAT rare.
The writing was, quite frankly, a bit juvenile, and the only reason I can see why this book gets slotted in YA is because of some of the subject matter that crops up during Raven and Trevor's bickering. Not that this book even qualifies as edgy. Far too many exclamation points. Far too many instances where Raven "screamed" something that had no business being "screamed".
I was gratified to see that Raven did learn before the end that she needs to like someone for who they actually are and not just who she wants them to be, although this lesson felt rushed and not well-developed enough. It was also ruined by the fluffy, bonding-heavy, party-with-the-Ewoks ending where everyone "good" is patted on the head and everyone "bad" gets their comeuppance with no surprises whatsoever, no character development, and it's all because of Raven and her Gothic awesomeness. Seriously, I could practically see the montage of hugs and handshakes and cheesy grins.
I'd Rate This A 50/5! 2008-01-27
My Friends Bought All The Other Vampire Kisses Books For Me, Too! My Name Is Raven, I'm A 7th Grader, & I Loves Vampires! A Great Vampire Love Story Without The Gore!
Goth Girls and Vampires 
2008-01-04
Raven is a 16-year-old goth girl social pariah who becomes obsessed with the weird new family who have just moved into Dullsville - and who are rumored to be vampires. She is especially fascinated by the handsome teenage son Alexander, who she hopes will transform her into a vampire. He, in turn, becomes fascinated by Raven, but is he or isn't he a vampire?
I liked this book - and I really liked the character of Raven, even though she had plenty of goth cliches built into her character. I found the book to be well-written with a good deal of humor, and it dealt realistically with the idea of being different and being a high-school misfit.
Silly but sweet enough to sink your teeth into 
2008-06-14
I have a weak spot for teen vampire romance. As a bit of an outsider myself and as a quietly Gothic person, I completely *get* teenagers fascination with vampires: it's a chaotic phase of life, and you feel like you're on the outside of things looking in, and vampire stories help kids embrace this. And this book certainly fits that well. Sixteen year old Raven Madison is a wonderfully snarky kindergothen (ie. a teenaged Goth) who isn't afraid to think for herself and stand up to the golden boys and girls who clutter Dullsville High and try to get in her way as she finds out the identity of the mysterious family that's moved into the creaky old mansion in town. The tone and the writing are a bit flippant and a little silly at times, but it's pitch-perfect for this character and her feelings about her world as she manuevers to find her place in it.
A Worthwhile Read 2008-06-05
I noticed this book on a shelf in my local Borders while I was browsing around one night, and, seeing as I'm a teenager constantly on the lookout for a great vampire novel after reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, which my the way, I would recommend to absolutely anyone, I was interested and picked it up and started reading.
One thing I enjoyed about this book is that right off the bat, it had me hooked. It's a quick, gripping read for readers that are in the prescribed age range (12 to 16) and are interested in vampires and some of the less common aspects of life. The writing had good voice, which kept me reading, and I ended up finishing before the night was out.
Some things in the novel weren't quite realistic, however. The main example was that Raven's (Raven is the main character) "gothness" that began in early childhood was kind of an overkill. I mean, what parent lets their 5-year-old watch "Dracula" and "The Exorcist"? And in essence, Raven was clearly based on a stereotypical goth, and that's only looking at the physical aspect of it. Being goth is about what's on the inside, not how good your combat boots look or whether or not you wear pink every once in a while.
Despite the fact that some reviewers think of it as "badly written," but I beg to differ; this book was creative and had lots of voice (as I said earlier) in it. That helped me to get to know Raven as a person and share her love for Alexander, and I praise Ellen Schreiber for keeping the attention of me and so many others.
Anyway, this book is a good read overall, and I, like Raven, was intrigued by the mysterious Alexander Sterling and disgusted with the annoying Trevor. I would recommend it in anyone from grades 6 to 10. It's an especially good read for someone who needs something interesting to do and wants to kill a few hours reading. I wasn't disappointed, and judging by the other reviews, most readers of this book share that opinion of mine.
Absolutely no redeeming qualities. 
2008-06-04
I was actually in awe at how poorly written this book is. For starters, all of the characters are unbelievably one demensional. The main oh-so-Gothic character named, wait for it...RAVEN, is the typical misunderstood woe is me high school student full of the typical jocks and preps. Sound familiar? It should, the high schools in every 80s movie created is essentially how this high school is. She is obsessed with finding a hot vampire boyfriend. Personalities? Nah. Even the portrayal of vampires offered no variation from the typical vampire; garlic, crucifixes, reflections, etc. Everybody in this book is, in fact, a walking stereotype and extremely predictable. The main character is a complete brat and unbelievably stupid (throwing a hissy fit because she has to get a job? Come on now).
The plot is laughably shallow, as Goth girl and Goth guy,(seriously, that's what she calls him) who may or may not be a vampire, fall in love after...let me say one meeting? And she decides they are definitely soul mates. All of the problems in the story pretty much root back to a guy at her high school, beautifully written as a stereotypical jock that you would have a hard time finding outside of really bad teen movies. He pretty much has no spine, and is only there to create problems where convenient; such as spreading rumors about Goth Boy to the whole town.
Let's not forget the insanely cliche portrayal of the "Goth girl", Raven. Basically: black lipstick, black clothes, combat boots, and she likes horror movies, AKA roughly 50% of the people who shop at Hot Topic. She claims to hate "jocks" and "preps" because they are judgemental and all look the same, but she continues to categorize people by what they wear, and is a walking stereotype and a complete hypocrite. See: South Park Goth episode. It was almost painful to read.
Of course, people may say it's only a teen book and not to expect much from it. However, I have read teen books, and though they're not all well written, there is at least some substance. This book has absolutely no substance, and the only reason I would give this book one star is because it was in fact, written out and printed with no typos. Don't buy this book, if you are into modern day vampire stories I do recommend Twilight, though it is not a masterpiece of modern literature it is still gripping. The only use I found for this book was to keep me company when I stayed up all night sick.
Actually very cute and well written book:] 2008-05-31
I had to read this one quick because it is due at my library and I cant have anymore late fees:D I read this as it was thunder storming and it really set the mood. I read this book in about two hours, very fast and short read for most. I couldn't put this book down, it was just an amazing book and everything about it was fun and interesting. I actually laughed a lot during this book. There is humor, romance, and conflict all bundled up together and it was wonderful to finally read a book that had that and knew how to use it. So right away you get into this book and believe me it is worth at least renting at your library and giving it a read, it is very good. At first I was skeptical and didn't think that it was worth the time but I proved myself wrong. It had some twists and turns and just shocked me at certain points. There are some reviews that say it is a typical vampire book but it is more then that and it is not your typical vampire book. Just because she is gothic and loves vampires and wants to be one doesn't make this a bad book, it actually adds to this book. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because the ending really upset me. I wanted her to end up with Alex but he left and that just left me sad but I guess I would rather have that then him staying, that would have made it strange. I don't know but anyways it is worth reading.
Vampire kisses 2008-05-20
Goth girl Raven has always wanted to be a vampire, ever since kindergarden.
When the creepy old masion in "Dullsville" finally gets a new owner, and they might just be vampires, Raven knows she has to meet them, and get a vampire kiss.
I loved this book and i can't wait to read the next books. It's a light fast read i finished in a few hours.
I love Raven, she is funny, fun, and tough.
There were of course things i didn't like as much:
I thought the love part of the story was rushed a bit. Other then feeling the story was rushed i couldn't put it down for a second. It was awesome!
