The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black: Some thoughts and a book recommendation

I just finished this book and I am going to have a hard time escaping its world for the “work and wonder” of my own work-in-progress. I have read a lot of good books this year, but this is one of those rare books that will stay with me for a long time, and I am likely to reread it dozens and dozens of times.  I bought this book last year when it came out for several reasons (1) I loved the cover art (2) it was a vampire story where the vampires are not the good guys (3) it was written in third person viewpoint, which is my favorite point of view in a novel  (4) I had read that the heroine had no super powers and was not a chosen one, in other words, she was just a normal girl going to school and parties  (5) I had read that there was a love story but not the usual one (6) It had modern Goth sensibilities (7) People die and each of the chapters had a quote about Death (8) It was set in a present time where vampirism had spread all over the world, but not so much that society could not function. (9) It had a new twist on the vampire mythology. I wish I could say that I bought it because I was a Holly Black fan, but honestly, I had never read any of her works, though I owned two titles by her, Tithe and Ironside.  I may be late to Holly Black's work, but I am now a die-hard fan and yes, I had to write that! (Note: I had read, long ago, a short story about a Coldtown on the Internet. This was years and years ago so I had an idea of what the vampirism might be like.)



First I want to talk about craft and then I will tell you what I loved about this book, because considering the fact that I am not able to sit long due to a back injury (am sitting now) I must truly love this book and want to talk about it. Meaning people, I recommend it to everyone. Yes, everyone.  I want to say there are too many YA books written in first person point of view lately. What happens is the story becomes very claustrophobic and involves a narrative that adds more than it should in certain elements of the story. I think a lot of YA has always been first person, however, I've read some wonderful third person narratives, especially this book.  The way viewpoint is handled in this book is an art form.  How flashbacks are handled is another wonderful aspect of this novel. I am not a fan of flashbacks of any kind, but in this book, I loved them and they were also placed and used in the narrative to increase tension. Very clever. The plot was genius. This was basically a road trip, but it's unlike any road trip I have read recently and is very nuanced.

The beauty of this story is about character and how is developed. I loved Tana, and from the very beginning, her character is developed by showing, not by telling and she is bound to that character. In fact, it is Tana's core personality that moves the entire action of the story. It is so clever, so subtle, and yet, right there for everyone to see. What happens in the beginning of the book is why readers get that perfect ending.

Gavriel was a bit of a surprise for me.  He an anti-hero with a big heart. I never expected to like him or love him, and I love him. He's a wonderful, complex, and interesting character who is so wise, and from the moment he meets Tana and she offers to help him, his life and future are changed, though we as readers can't completely understand the depth of that change without experiencing the story.

There are many other characters in this book and all of them are tightly defined. The worldbuilding, the Coldtowns, the mythology of the vampire, the technology in Coldtown, the family relationships, all these elements make this book a masterpiece in my mind.

It's the best book of 2013 for me, and so far, it's my favorite read of 2014. I honestly don't think I will read another book that makes me feel like this one.

It's a PERFECT BOOK.