Thicker Than Water
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A small town holds secrets beneath its tranquil façade and Kia is about to discover just how deep they go.
“Fans of Pete Hautman’s Sweetblood will exult in the . . . bizarre subculture and respond to the questions Kai’s intense experiences invite about the nature of true belonging.”—Booklist
When does escape become obsession?
Kia is searching for an escape. From her mother's cancer. From her father's apathy. From her own rage. The pressure is building. There's a craving in her veins, a secret urge. She needs a way to let the inside out. But she knows she must resist. She knows she must find another way.
When she becomes immersed in an underground scene—goths who live as vampires—Kia thinks she's finally found that way. At the center of everything is the sexy and mysterious Damon. With his otherworldly presence he pulls Kia deep into the night, into a world where the unbelievable can be believed. the unreal made real, until Kia herself can no longer draw the line.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Seventeen-year-old art student Kia has just moved in with her non-custodial father in New York City because her mother's unspecified cancer has reached the terminal stage. Floundering at school, the teen has been "hitting the blades regularly," hiding the cuts she makes in her arms under long-sleeved shirts. At her mother's hospital she meets Hecate, whose grandfather is undergoing treatment, and the two girls strike up an instant friendship. Levelheaded Hecate gets Kia a job at the Goth clothing store where she works and introduces her to an edgy club scene where the preferred beverage is a red wine concoction known as the "bloodbath." This is also where Kia first lays eyes on Damon, a pale, "sizzling hot" disc jockey who becomes her obsession. School, friends, her dad-even her mother's illness-recede into the background for two-thirds of Jablonski's (The Invitation) book, which segues awkwardly from familiar problem novel to campy vampire mystery. Unfortunately, the "cutting" issue is handled as if it is a symptom of latent vampirism, which is to say it is not addressed seriously, and a party scene in which a handcuffed couple, naked to the waist, are slashed while others watch-and feed-is dismissed as "kinky weirdness." Teens tired of Buffy reruns may enjoy this, but it's a mish-mash of motifs and messages. Ages 14-up.
