Evernight by Claudia Gray

author: Claudia Gray
release date: May 31, 2008
appeals to: Young Adult
length: paperback – 327 pages
overall rating: 4 stars

*the back cover*
At the eerily Gothic Evernight Academy, the other students are sleek, smart, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn’t fit in.
When she meets handsome, brooding Lucas, he warns her to be careful – even when it comes to caring about him. But the connection between them can’t be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she’s ever believed.

*my review*
When I picked up this book, all I knew was that it was a “vampire book,” but who doesn’t love a good vampire story right?! The book grabbed me from the beginning with detailed descriptions of people and places that didn’t read like boring descriptive paragraphs. I felt like I could relate to Bianca and the awkward situations she was encountering. I thought I had the story pretty much figured out until a scene at the end of chapter 7 blew me away! (I won’t spoil it for you, but wow!) At that point, I could barely put the book down wanting to know what would happen next. The book has a solid ending, but I am glad that it is part of a series, because there are still a lot of questions in my mind.
The characters Gray develops are very intriguing. Since the book is written from Bianca’s point of view, I obviously felt like I knew her the best, but the twists and turns made me question even that! Lucas was interesting and it is easy to see how Bianca feels about him, but I’m still not always sure whether I like him or not. While the main characters are interesting and developed, some of the minor characters were my favorites. Balthazar, Vic, Raquel, and even Mrs. Bethany are characters I hope to learn more about in coming books. (And truthfully, I often find myself rooting for Balthazar.)

*short and snappy*
writing: detailed without being over the top – Gray writes descriptions into the plot so that you feel like you can see and hear things without reading a paragraph that just describes without advancing the story.
plot: twisty – I really thought I had the plot figured out, but Gray writes twists into the story when you are least expecting them.
characters: There are a number of major players in the story, and all seem well developed, but I don’t think we know everything about any of them yet.
judging by the cover: The cover doesn’t give any plot away, but the font of the title has some interesting details.
miscellaneous: The second book in the series is “Stargazer” and the third book, “Hourglass,” is due out in March.