By Annette Curtis Klause
From Goodreads:
Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf?My Thoughts: I've been meaning to read this book for years, and I actually saw the movie when it came out, although the plot in the book is fairly different from what I remember about the movie. I liked Vivian as a character- she's not insecure, she's not whimpy, and she's not a victim waiting for the right boy to save her like so many other heroines of YA. The struggles Vivian faced were handled well, and her pack dynamic was very interesting. Normally I don't particularly care for werewolves, but this past year I seem to be enjoying them more and more (the Shiver series, the Lonely Werewolf books). Vivian's mom is a piece of work, though, and the romance with Aiden definitely does not follow YA teen formula. All this works for me. Plus for a 1990's YA book, there's lots of smexy smex going on, which is a bit surprising. Of course, the 1990's books I was reading as teen were the early 90's and dominated by R.L. Stine (no sex), Christopher Pike (some sex but all older teens) and L.J. Smith (hinted sex, but all off screen and just the "bad girls"). By the time Blood and Chocolate came out I was already in college (and I use "in college" loosely, as I was there, but not really there, as in "not really in class". Which might be why I have a book blog instead of owning a book store- education, people! Take it seriously!) So, back to the book, it was good. I liked it, even though I have as much in common with Vivian as I do a supermodel (which is NOTHING, not even the same species).
Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.
Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really—human or beast? Which tastes sweeter—blood or chocolate?
Blood and Chocolate gets a Midnight Book Rating of:
