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    Vampire Kisses
    Vampire Kisses
    Vampire Kisses
    Ebook186 pages2 hours

    Vampire Kisses

    By Ellen Schreiber

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    In her small town, dubbed "Dullsville," sixteen-year-old Raven -- a vampire-crazed goth-girl -- is an outcast. But not for long...

    The intriguing and rumored-to-be haunted mansion on top of Benson Hill has stood vacant and boarded-up for years. That is, until its mysteriously strange new occupants move in. Who are these creepy people -- especially the handsome, dark, and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town prattle actually ring true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at the risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth.

    Ellen Schreiber's spooky and stirring romance tells the story of two outsiders who fall in love in a town where conformity reigns, and ends with a shocking surprise.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061975639
    Author

    Ellen Schreiber

    Ellen Schreiber was an actress and a stand-up comedienne before becoming a writer. She is the author of the first two books about Celeste and Brandon, Once in a Full Moon and Magic of the Moonlight, as well as Teenage Mermaid, Comedy Girl, Vampire Kisses, Vampire Kisses 2: Kissing Coffins, Vampire Kisses 3: Vampireville, Vampire Kisses 4: Dance with a Vampire, Vampire Kisses 5: The Coffin Club, Vampire Kisses 6: Royal Blood, Vampire Kisses 7: Love Bites, Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings, and Vampire Kisses 9: Immortal Hearts. She is also the author of the fully illustrated manga series about Raven and Alexander, Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives and Vampire Kisses: Graveyard Games.

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    Reviews for Vampire Kisses

    4/5

    108 ratings45 reviews

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    • 4/5
      What a quick, funny, teen romance with a twist at the end. Enjoyable read. Wish I had been as gutsy and funny as Raven when I was in high school!
    • 3/5
      The YA novels I've been reading lately are generally written fairly recently. I feel like somewhere along the way there was a shift in YA writing and it's a little more sophisticated now. This book was kind of a throwback. If I were a teenager, I'm pretty sure I would have dismissed this book as condescending tripe.However, I'm not a teenager, so I instead enjoyed it as fluffy, anachronistic tripe. The main character is the most cheerful goth I've ever heard of, and the is he/isn't he a vampire plot is reminiscent of those children's books which try to help little kids grow up by explaining away magical seeming events as misunderstandings, and try to "teach a lesson" while squashing their souls.
    • 5/5
      Most definitely juvenile, but a super cute story regardless. It's a nice break from the crazy stories. New and mysterious guy in town. Kooky family. Curious young girl. It was well written and keeps your attention. Overall, I recommend!
    • 3/5
      I personally found the main character Raven very stereotypical. I think the story is good in theory but not in reality.Raven is a vampire-obsessed goth girl who just doesnt fit in Dullsville. She is the only one "like" her. Until a new family moves in Benson Hill.... Who are they? What are they??
    • 5/5
      I am typing a book review on the great book, Vampire Kisses, by Ellen Schreiber. I chose to read this book, because I like vampires, (not the sparkly kind). It really caught my eye, and thought it looked interesting. I loved this book. The book had the same kind of younger humor I could relate to. The book had a lot of imagery in the characters. It was about a goth girl who finally meets the vampire boyfriend of her dreams. One of the chapters in the book describes a teen party in which Raven, (the main character) and her best friend, (Becky) crash. She gets her arch nemises (Trevor) naked in the woods, and then grabs his clothes and run, leaving him drunk and alone in the woods. I thought that was hilarious! That is the kind of teen humor I can get. Also, when she sees Alexander, (her future boyfriend)for the first time, is very mysterious and scary. Becky thought she had run him over with her truck by accident, and he disappears. I thought this book was very good. I didn't like the ending though because Alexander vanishes. It was sad. It didn't really meet my expectations because I thought it would be stupid and terrible, but in reality, it was really awesome! So anyone into goth, vampires, humor, or all, I highly highly recomend it. :)
    • 5/5
      This book is about a girl names Raven. She and her friend Becky are outcasts at her school and have been since elementary school. All this time they have been dealing with this. Raven now is turning 16 and she doesn't want to forget about it.
    • 4/5
      This is the third book by her that I've read, and she has a very light, ditzy kind of style of writing. Or maybe it's just her main characters, I don't know. Raven is a total perky goth. Like, seriously. She's very perky, it would be very annoying if I didn't like perky goths, so I'm warning you in advance. But here again, vampire romance. It was actually pretty cute, and there's also totally something going on with this other guy that does not get fully developed, but hey, there's 2 more books now, so maybe something will happen.
    • 4/5
      A great start to this series. It's too bad I couldn't take a swing at Trevor with that "infamous" tennis racket. I'm sure Alex returns in the second installment, for which I cannot wait to read.
    • 3/5
      Personally, I really liked this book. I was willing to overlook its faults because it was a such a fun, light hearted read. Very enjoyable if you're looking for a cute, quick, easy to read vampire romance. While it has been fitted with a new cover and displayed on shelves with twilight and its many rip offs, it wasn't intended as that kind of book. To appreciate it, you have to realize that it is partly comic, not meant to be taken as a dead(pardon the pun) serious story. In some moments, it is almost a spoof. One thing I must add,however, is that Raven is such a classic mall goth its almost embarrassing. Any true goth would be disgusted at her choice in dress and music. Thats not to say I didn't like her, or her vampire boyfriend. In fact I found them very funny, likable characters.
    • 5/5
      Though it is technically written/promoted for a teenage audience, Vampire Kisses is a great, light read for anyone who enjoys a book filled with wit and humor, mystery and romance, and of course, the much beloved vampire plot. In short, if you loved Twilight, you will probably enjoy Vampire Kisses , I have to say that I personally still hold Twilight as number one, and probably always will. But that's just me. :)Though Vampire Kisses can be a bit 'immature' at times *That is how one reviewer put it, though I would never call it that. It's too harsh for a book that, over all, is still a good read!* reminding you that it is told by a teenager for a teenager. But that's the fun thing about VK-- its not always heavy and complicated, but instead it's a lighter, fluffy read. The author, Ellen Schreiber, meant for the story to come out more laugh- out- loud than deep-in-thought-must-save-the-world kind of plots. It's a quick read, really quick. In fact, I finished this book in under 5 hours. Raven is an interesting character, to say the least. She's never felt like she fits in, and practically from birth she's been obsessed with vampires and all things Gothic related. Her biggest goal in life? To meet a vampire and get turned into one. So when she meets this dark, mysterious Gothic boy that just moved into the deserted Mansion on the hill, it seems like fate is finally making her dream come true. But can she make it work when everyone in town, including her friends and family at first, are still against her and her weird ways? I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll have to read it yourself. But warning-- the ending is a big cliff hanger, and you will want to have the next books at hand because as soon as you finish VK, you will need to find out what happens next!I think my favorite part in the book, besides some of the melt-into-a-puddle-on-the-floor quotes that Alexander says to Raven, is when Raven decides to screw with her nemisis, Trevor, one of the most popular boys in her school. I was laughing through the whole thing! It makes more sense, and you'll laugh more, if you read it yourself, so I won't say too much about it other than this: Underwear on a locker. Are you scratching your head, trying to figure out what this scene could be? I'll bet you are, but I'm not saying any more about it! 4.5/5 STARS! For a charming and witty vampire romance, Vampire Kisses is the perfect option!
    • 5/5
      Sixteen-year-old goth Raven is the odd-girl-out in her small hometown. No one else dresses in black, plays in cemeteries or is obsessed with vampires. When asked by her fourth grade teacher what she wanted to be when she grew up, Raven promptly replied, “I want to be a vampire.” Still, nothing remotely interesting happens in Dullsville, until a new family moves into the abandoned mansion of a Romanian baroness. Town rumor has it that the new residents are vampires. Raven is ecstatic, when she finally meets the boy of her dreams. But Alexander has a secret. Is he truly the dream-boy, or a nightmare? This is a really fun book. Raven is funny, interesting and candid. Schreiber challenges some stereotypes, while using others to her advantage and the product is a novel worth reading.
    • 5/5
      Raven reminds me of myself when I was a teen, except she is more outgoing and can, and will, talk. I think that's why I love this book, well, the whole series. It's incredibly easy for me to relate to Raven.These books are fast, easy and cute reads. They are also a lot more than that. At least they are to me. I don't know how to explain how much I love this series, especially this book, since it's the one that got me hooked.If you love vampires, and you want a nice fun read, you should pick up this book. But I will warn you know, you will want to run out and get the rest of the books as soon as you finish this one.
    • 5/5
      This book is really amazing. I really love it!
    • 3/5
      I found this book at goodwill last week and it seem interesting enough to spend fifty cents on. It's a short read but it's just fun. Like a lot of teen books the charters are fairly simple and stereotypical at times, But as just a fun, quick read it works. I'm not really sure if this is a book series I could ever get into, but I'd like to look into the other books out of curiosity there is potential here.
    • 4/5
      Nice enough and funny in spots. I'm too old to be not the target audience.
    • 3/5
      A good read for a young Vampire enthusiasts. The story was good, and the storyline is much more appropriate for a young reader than Anne Rice of even Twilight. I don't plan to continue the series as I'm much more into Anne Rice's vampires, but were I 11 or 12 you wouldn't be able to pull me away!
    • 4/5
      Sixteen-year-old goth Raven is the odd-girl-out in her small hometown. No one else dresses in black, plays in cemeteries or is obsessed with vampires. When asked by her fourth grade teacher what she wanted to be when she grew up, Raven promptly replied, “I want to be a vampire.” Still, nothing remotely interesting happens in Dullsville, until a new family moves into the abandoned mansion of a Romanian baroness. Town rumor has it that the new residents are vampires. Raven is ecstatic, when she finally meets the boy of her dreams. But Alexander has a secret. Is he truly the dream-boy, or a nightmare? This is a really fun book. Raven is funny, interesting and candid. Schreiber challenges some stereotypes, while using others to her advantage and the product is a novel worth reading.
    • 4/5
      This book is very different than the graphic novels of the same name. While it tends to be a bit formulaic, it's a fast read, has a strong ending, and should hold up well with it's target audience.
    • 5/5
      I could not put this book down. This is the perfect book for a teen to read about vampires. There isn't a lot of sex, or bad language in it. It also reads more like a YA book. And it has lots of vampire reading in it, even though that doesn't start until the end of the book, not going to say anymore because I don't want to ruin the book for anyone. The book starts off with a girl named Raven who wears black all of the time and has never fit in, only with her best friend Becky who never fit in either. Raven has a lot of trouble with a guy named Trevor in the book, which I think he secretly likes her since he always seems to end up where she is and is always talking to her. But Raven gets her revenege over Trevor towards the end of the book, without even really trying. The best part of the book, and the most entertaining for me is the house on top of the hill. It is a mysterious dark house that no one has lived in for a long time until a strange family moves in that the town thinks are vampires. Which makes Raven very happy since she has wanted to be a vampire since kindergarten. After Raven meets the mysterious boy that moves into the mansion the book takes off and I stayed up very late reading it.
    • 1/5
      Awful. I'm glad I read this online or I would cry for having spent money on this.
    • 3/5
      There's a lot of young adult fiction out there that appeals to an older audience. Besides some soft language and tamer content, they're still interesting and well-written stories. 'Vampire Kisses', on the other hand, is clearly intended for a young audience and doesn't cross over well to older readers. Even as a teenager -- or a preteen, for that matter -- I would have found this book to be too juvenile. The characters are shallow and generally unlikable. The plot is trite and predictable. In summary, this is a weak book. It's possible that the series improves as it progresses, but I'm jumping ship on this one. The twelve-year olds can have it.
    • 4/5
      This book was a really quick read. It didn't have a whole lot to the story and you could tell it was one of those series books, where the series never ends. It was an interesting view on the vampire romance- the view of a Goth girl who hopes she's falling in love with an undead boy. The end was unsatisfying, leading into the next book in the series. Worth the read if you don't mind following book after book and are in on the whole vampire craze.
    • 3/5
      This book is a simple, goofy read if you are looking for something light to pick up. Don't get me wrong, this book is very stupid, but it is so stupid it is funny. I read the next one just for the fun of it more than for its literary value.
    • 1/5
      Flat, cliche, and predictable. In many ways, is a lot like Twilight and New Moon. The main character was nothing more than a stereotype, right down to her name, Raven. Maybe I'm just too old for this stuff.
    • 3/5
      It's actually two and a half stars and ONLY because it could have been a decent book if only it weren't so underdeveloped. Raven could have been so funny a character. As I remember she's supposed to be around 16, instead she acts as if she is 6, I expected her any minute to start stomping her foot in addition to her constant whining. Actually she had the behavior of some stuck-up princess, who is used to getting everything on a silver platter, instead she is portrayed as an absolute outcast. What is the point to have a personage, especially a principal one, make it a social pariah and not give it a real character and a witty attitude, it seems a bit pointless. The here-and-there snarky comments, which were fun from time to time, were far outweighed by the cliche and superficiality, spread throughout the entire book. I'm still thinking about whether I should give one of the next parts a shot.
    • 4/5
      I haven't laughed so hard and so long in months. Raven is easy to like. I loved when she had to go to school for the first time and after the first day she was upset to find out it wasn't a one day, one time thing. I wanted to hate Trevor but I couldn't. A lot of the best scenes are the confrontations between Raven and Trevor.
    • 3/5
      I read vampire Kisses, by Ellen Schreiber. I chose to read this book because it was about vampires. It was also recommened to be by a friend.It was filled with love and hate. I was a wonderful story that you never wanted to end. The book was about a girl named Raven. She was the goth girl who everyone picked on. Then come along the one person she wil love the rest of her life,Alexander. He is mysterious and charming.He also likes the night just like raven. i read the book Vampire Kisses, by Ellen Schreiber. I was a wonder ful story filled with mystery and love.This book met all my expectations. I could not put it down.Alexander and Ravens love is so interesting.
    • 2/5
      I've read too many vampire themed books and so it's really hard not to compare it to my favorites. Before I read this book I wasn't sure what to expect of Raven, so I speculate on an awkward girl that had a traumatic experience when she was a kid, and now reaching sweet 16 she reflects it by having a dark phase with very low self esteem and parental issues. Of course now I see that I was wrong. Raven is a very interesting character. She have a loving parents that used to be hippies. She's witty, funny and have a lot of spunk. She never cares what people think and doesn't dodge Trevor's BS. (Their bouts are always a hoot, except for that last part.) Aside from her preference in clothing and her ambition in life - which is to become a vampire, I think she's pretty normal. Schreiber under-described Alexander which I think adds mystery to his character. All I got was he was tall, pale, handsome... and I view this as a good thing. The negative part was the vampires in this book we're the stereotypical ones. They only come out at night, can't handle garlic, no reflection, they turn into bats, etc... but it seems like they age. Which raised a very interesting question- do they really? if yes, how? I guess I'd have to find out if that is the case.
    • 5/5
      It’s common for teens to go through a “goth phase”… wearing black, waiting to be kissed by a vampire… but 16-year-old Raven has been like that since she was five. Her peers call her a freak, and her only friend even wonders about her sanity sometimes. Then a new family (with a hot teenage goth-boy) moves into the mansion on the hill… there are rumors the family are vampires… two reasons Raven should definitely meet this guy. But does she like him for who he is… or because of what he might be?
    • 3/5
      Gee, I was so expecting to like this book and I just did not. Raven, the main character, will do just about anything to get a rise out of folks. She dresses Goth, but she really is not. She just has to rebel by wearing black when she lives in a very preppy sort of town. She is the object of massive teasing at school but she seems to enjoy it and is really more in a competition with her main nemesis rather than being a victim. She gets into physical confrontations with this boy and is very satisfied when she hurts him. She befriends a lonely girl, but she uses this friend and bosses her around. She breaks the law by tresspassing and even entering a house through a window. I really did not like her.The vampire part of the story is really not developed much in this first book of the series. There is the spooky house that has been empty for years that is finally occupied by a mysterious family, yada, yada. I am really having a hard time figuring out the appeal and for that reason alone I will probably read the second in the series to try to figure out why these books are so popular with young adults.

    Book preview

    Vampire Kisses - Ellen Schreiber

    1

    Little Monster

    It first happened when I was five.

    I had just finished coloring in My Kindergarten Book. It was filled with Picasso-like drawings of my mom and dad, an Elmer’s-glued, tissue-papered collage, and the answers to questions (favorite color, pets, best friend, etc.) written down by our hundred-year-old teacher, Mrs. Peevish.

    My classmates and I were sitting in a semicircle on the floor in the reading area. Bradley, what do you want to be when you grow up? Mrs. Peevish asked after all the other questions had been answered.

    A fire fighter! he shouted.

    Cindi?

    Uh…a nurse, Cindi Warren whispered meekly.

    Mrs. Peevish went through the rest of the class. Police officers. Astronauts. Football players. Finally it was my turn.

    Raven, what do you want to be when you grow up? Mrs. Peevish asked, her green eyes staring through me.

    I said nothing.

    An actress?

    I shook my head.

    A doctor?

    Nuh, uh, I said.

    A flight attendant?

    Yuck! I replied.

    Then what? she asked, annoyed.

    I thought for a moment. I want to be…

    Yes?

    I want to be…a vampire! I shouted, to the shock and amazement of Mrs. Peevish and my classmates. For a moment I thought she started to laugh; maybe she really did. The children sitting next to me inched away.

    I spent most of my childhood watching others inch away.

    I was conceived on my dad’s water bed—or on the rooftop of my mom’s college dorm under twinkling stars—depending on which one of my parents is telling the story. They were soul mates that couldn’t part with the seventies: true love mixed with drugs, some raspberry incense, and the music of the Grateful Dead. A beaded-jeweled, halter-topped, cutoff blue-jeaned, barefooted girl, intertwined with a long-haired, unshaven, Elton John–spectacled, suntanned, leather-vested, bell-bottomed-and-sandaled guy. I think they’re lucky I wasn’t more eccentric. I could have wanted to be a beaded-haired hippie werewolf! But somehow I became obsessed with vampires.

    Sarah and Paul Madison became more responsible after my entrance into this world—or I’ll rephrase it and say my parents were less glassy eyed. They sold the Volkswagen flower power van that they were living in and actually started renting property. Our hippie apartment was decorated with 3-D glow-in-the-dark flower posters and orange tubes with a Play-Doh substance that moved on its own—lava lamps—that you could stare at forever. It was the best time ever. The three of us laughed and played Chutes and Ladders and squeezed Twinkies between our teeth. We stayed up late, watching Dracula movies, Dark Shadows with the infamous Barnabas Collins, and Batman on a black-and-white TV we’d received when we opened a bank account. I felt secure under the blanket of midnight, rubbing Mom’s growing belly, which made noises like the orange lava lamps. I figured she was going to give birth to more moving Play-Doh.

    Everything changed when she gave birth to the playdough—only it wasn’t Play-Doh. She gave birth to Nerd Boy! How could she? How could she destroy all the Twinkie nights? Now she went to bed early, and that creation that my parents called Billy cried and fussed all night. I was suddenly alone. It was Dracula—the Dracula on TV—that kept me company while Mom slept, Nerd Boy wailed, and Dad changed smelly diapers in the darkness.

    And if that wasn’t bad enough, suddenly they sent me to a place that wasn’t my apartment, that didn’t have wild 3-D flower posters on the walls, but boring collages of kids’ handprints. Who decorates around here? I wondered. It was overcrowded with Sears catalog girls in frilly dresses and Sears catalog boys in tapered pants and perfectly combed hair. Mom and Dad called it kindergarten.

    They’ll be your friends, my mom reassured me, as I clung to her side for dear life. She waved good-bye and blew me kisses as I stood alone beside the matronly Mrs. Peevish, which was as alone as one can get. I watched my mom walk away with Nerd Boy on her hip as she took him back to the place filled with glow-in-the-dark posters, monster movies, and Twinkies.

    Somehow I made it through the day. Cutting and gluing black paper on black paper, finger painting Barbie’s lips black, and telling the assistant teacher ghost stories, while the Sears catalog kids ran around like they were all cousins at an all-American family picnic. I was even happy to see Nerd Boy when Mom finally came to pick me up.

    That night she found me with my lips pressed against the TV screen, trying to kiss Christopher Lee in Horror of Dracula.

    Raven! What are you doing up so late? You have school tomorrow!

    What? I said. The Hostess cherry pie that I had been eating fell to the floor, and my heart fell with it.

    But I thought it was just the one time? I said, panicked.

    Sweet Raven. You have to go every day!

    Every day? The words echoed inside my head. It was a life sentence!

    That night Nerd Boy couldn’t hope to compete with my dramatic wailing and crying. As I lay alone in my bed, I prayed for eternal darkness and a sun that never rose.

    Unfortunately the next day I awoke to a blinding light and a monster headache.

    I longed to be around at least one person that I could connect with. But I couldn’t find any, at home or school. At home the lava lamps were replaced with Tiffany-style floor lamps, the glow-in-the-dark posters were covered with Laura Ashley wallpaper, and our grainy black-and-white TV was upgraded to a twenty-five-inch color model.

    At school instead of singing the songs of Mary Poppins, I whistled the theme to The Exorcist.

    Halfway through kindergarten I tried to become a vampire. Trevor Mitchell, a perfectly combed blond with weak blue eyes, was my nemesis from the moment I stared him down when he tried to cut in front of me on the slide. He hated me because I was the only kid who wasn’t afraid of him. The kids and teachers kissed up to him because his father owned most of the land their houses sat on. Trevor was in a biting phase, not because he wanted to be a vampire like me, but just because he was mean. He had taken pieces of flesh out of everyone but me. And I was starting to get ticked off!

    We were on the playground, standing by the basketball hoop, when I pinched the skin of his puny little arm so hard I thought blood would squirt out. His face turned beet red. I stood motionless and waited. Trevor’s body trembled with anger, and his eyes swelled with vengeance as I mischievously smiled back. Then he left his dental impressions in my expectant hand. Mrs. Peevish was forced to sit him against the school wall, and I happily danced around the playground, waiting to transform into a vampire bat.

    That Raven is an odd one, I overheard Mrs. Peevish saying to another teacher as I skipped past the crying Trevor, who was now throwing a fit against the hard blacktop. I blew him a grateful kiss with my bitten hand.

    I wore my wound proudly as I got on the school swing. I could fly now, right? But I’d need something to take me into warp speed. The seat went as high as the top of the fence, but I was aiming for the puffy clouds. The rusty swing started to buckle when I jumped off. I planned to fly across the playground—all the way to a startled Trevor. Instead I plummeted to the muddy earth, doing further damage to my tooth-marked hand. I cried more from the fact that I didn’t possess supernatural powers like my heroes on TV than because of my throbbing flesh.

    With my bite trapped under ice, Mrs. Peevish sat me against the wall to rest while the spoiled snot-nosed Trevor was now free to play. He blew me a teasing kiss and said, Thank you. I stuck out my tongue and called him a name I had heard a mobster say in The Godfather. Mrs. Peevish immediately sent me inside. I was sent inside a lot during my childhood recesses. I was destined to take a recess from recess.

    2

    Dullsville

    The official welcome sign to my town should read, Welcome to Dullsville—bigger than a cave, but small enough to feel claustrophobic!

    A population of 8,000 look-alikes, a weather forecast that’s perfectly miserable all year round—sunny—fenced in cookie-cutter houses, and sprawling farmland—that’s Dullsville. The 8:10 freight train that runs through town separates the wrong side of the tracks from the right side, the cornfields from the golf course, the tractors from the golf carts. I think the town has it backward. How can land that grows corn and wheat be worth less than land filled with sand traps?

    The hundred-year-old courthouse sits on the town square. I haven’t gotten into enough trouble to be dragged there—yet. Boutiques, a travel agent, a computer store, a florist, and a second-run movie theater all sit happily around the square.

    I wish our house could lie on the railroad tracks, on wheels, and carry us out of town, but we’re on the right side near the country club. Dullsville. The only exciting place is an abandoned mansion an exiled baroness built on top of Benson Hill, where she died in isolation.

    I have only one friend in Dullsville—a farm girl, Becky Miller, who is more unpopular than I am. I was in third grade when I officially met her. Sitting on the school steps waiting for my mom to pick me up (late as usual) now that she was trying to be a Corporate Cathy, I noticed an impish girl cowering at the bottom of the steps, crying like a baby. She didn’t have any friends, since she was shy and lived on the east side of the tracks. She was one of the few farm girls in our school and sat two rows behind me in class.

    What’s wrong? I asked, feeling sorry for her. My mom forgot me! she hollered, her hands covering her pathetic, wet face.

    No, she didn’t, I consoled.

    She’s never this late! she cried.

    Maybe she’s stuck in traffic.

    You think so?

    Sure! Or maybe she got a call from one of those nosey sales people that always asks, ‘Is your mother home?’

    Really?

    Happens all the time. Or maybe she had to stop for snacks, and there was a long line at 7-Eleven.

    Would she do that?

    Why not, you have to eat, don’t you? So never fear. She’ll be here.

    And sure enough, a blue pickup drove up with one apologetic mother and a friendly, fluffy sheepdog.

    My mom says you can come over Saturday if it’s okay with your parents, Becky said, running back to me.

    No one had ever invited me to their house before. I wasn’t shy like Becky but I was just as unpopular. I was always late for school because I overslept, I wore sunglasses in class, and I had opinions, all atypical in Dullsville.

    Becky had a backyard as big as Transylvania—a great place to hide and play monsters and eat all the fresh apples a growling third-grade stomach could hold. I was the only kid in our class who didn’t beat her up, exclude her, or call her names, and I even kicked anyone who tried. She was my three-dimensional shadow. I was her best friend and her bodyguard. And still am.

    When I wasn’t playing with Becky, I spent my time applying black lipstick and nail polish, scuffing my already-worn combat boots, and burying my head behind Anne Rice novels. I was eleven when our family went to New Orleans for vacation. Mom and Dad wanted to play blackjack on the Flamingo riverboat casino. Nerd Boy wanted to go to the aquarium. But I knew where I was going: I wanted to visit the house of Anne Rice’s birth, the historical homes she had restored, and the mansion she now called home.

    I stood mesmerized outside its iron gate, a Gothic mega-mansion, my mom (my uninvited chaperone) by my side. I could sense ravens flying overhead, even though there probably weren’t any. It was a shame I hadn’t come at night—it would have been that much more beautiful. Several

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