Book Review of "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" by Holly Black

No longer is the vampire a thing of nightmares and myths, a creature that lurks in the shadows under the cloak of nightfall. Vampirisim has spiralled out of control and has now become a epidemic. The vampires of old had very strict regulations and were thus able to, for the most part, remain off the radar, but it has now spread across the globe to the point that vampires are now just another fact of life. The virus spreads through their bite, if they leave you alive then you have become what is known as a 'cold'. You begin to thirst for blood, and if you give into that desire you will change over. A cold cannot transmit the virus through bite, they can only change over themselves. A cold can attempt to wait for the virus to exit their body, usually within the time frame of eighty days, but none have seceded, usually being driven mad with blood lust within the first day or two of contacting it. After the epidemic some of the cities were locked down in a attempt to contain the vampires inhabiting it. Some were locked in during the lock in, others are captured and brought in for a bounty, and the infected are either forced in or freely turn themselves over in a attempt to protect others from themselves. These cities are called coldtowns. In our crazy and messed up society people have glamorized the vampire, and they not only seek out these coldtowns and freely offer their blood but they also desire to be changed over. You can go in but you can't come back out. The vampires coexist with the humans for the most part. As long as they have a steady food source they are relatively clear headed, and there is no lack of that thanks to their adoring 'fans' always eager and willing. Everyone who goes in desires to be changed over and become one of them, but very rarely does that actually happen. The vampires have no desire to change people over, after all they are their food source and more vampires means that that source is stretched out thinner because of there being more mouths to feed. So rather then feed by bite they feed by IV so there won't be any virus transmission taking place. In this society vampires are hunted by bounty hunters, but they are also adored through reality television shows being featured through the coldtowns, and having entire blogs dedicated to them. People must take care at night to prevent vampire attacks, and yet they frequently sit down to enjoy their favorite vampire reality television show.

My Rating: 4 Stars