The Silver Kiss

Klause, Annette Curtis.  The Silver Kiss.  New York: Delacorte Press, 1990.  Print.

Awards

1990 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

1990 Booklist Editor’s Choice

1991 Thumbs Up! Award

1991 ALA YALSA Best Book for Young Adults

1991 ALA YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

1992 Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award

1993 California Young Reader Metal Award

1993 Oklahoma Sequoyah Young Adult Book Award

1993 South Carolina Children's Book Award

1999, 2009 ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

2001 ALA YALSA Best of the Best Revisited: 100 Best Books for Teens

Annotation

Zoe is trying to come to terms with her mother’s terminal cancer diagnosis when she meets a beautiful boy named Simon.  Simon, a vampire, has been on a mission for three hundred years and he needs Zoe’s help to finish it, just as much as she needs his.

Booktalk

Zoe wants to be in the hospital with her mother.  She hates that her parents are shutting her out; she doesn’t want to be in the house by herself all the time, waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for the news to come that the cancer has finally killed her mother.  She’s also scared to be alone at night because there’s a killer loose in her town, one who lures women into dark places and slashes their throats. 

When Zoe meets Simon she learns that he knows more about this killer than anyone else…and he has a plan to stop him.  The only problem is, Simon is a vampire and he’s been hunting this killer for hundreds of years.  In order to finally catch him, Simon needs Zoe’s help.  Will Zoe and Simon be able to catch the murderer before he kills more innocent women?  Will Simon be able to save Zoe’s mother from cancer?  Will Zoe herself turn into a vampire if she lets Simon get too close, if they exchange a silver kiss?

Image credit:  http://www.librarything.com/work/16249/covers/