Cold Kiss

Lauren Kate

"Beautiful and haunting. Every page tore me apart—and I loved it."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Fans of Shiver will appreciate the nuanced, more bitter than sweet portrayal of star-crossed supernatural love in this promising debut novel."

Horn Book Magazine

"Garvey could easily have told a cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for; instead, this is a story of the redemption possible in taking responsibility for mistakes and the comfort found in sharing burdens."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Fans of Shiver will appreciate the nuanced, more bitter than sweet portrayal of star-crossed supernatural love in this promising debut novel.”

Publishers Weekly

Adult romance writer Garvey makes her YA debut with an introspective paranormal story about holding on when one should let go. Seventeen-year-old Wren has inherited her family's ability to tap into the energy of the world to make magical things happen. She's never been one to think things through, but has outdone herself by raising her boyfriend from the dead after he is killed in a drunk-driving accident. As Wren becomes less certain about how to deal with what she's done, the reanimated Danny (who isn't exactly the boyfriend she remembers) is recovering his memories and becoming more difficult to control. Wren is thrown even further off-balance when new student Gabriel, who has supernatural abilities of his own, uncovers her secret. After more lies tumble together and escalate, Wren confronts her attraction to Gabriel, the reality of her inadvertent cruelty, and her failing relationships with friends and family. Garvey sidesteps zombie tropes by keeping the focus on Wren's emotional state and the consequences of her actions, painting a delicate portrait of first love, loss, and a "girl who thought love came with ownership papers." Ages 13–up. (Sept.)

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“The writing heightens the sense of tragedy and hopelessness and makes us care. While the supernatural elements are an essential hook, it is the pain of first love lost, that longing for the person who is irretrievably gone, that is the crux of Garvey’s gripping first novel for young adults.”

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

“Fans of Shiver will appreciate the nuanced, more bitter than sweet portrayal of star-crossed supernatural love in this promising debut novel.”

Children's Literature - Sarah Maury Swan

Wren inherited magical powers from her mother and grandmother. If she's angry, things tend to catch on fire or be hurled across the room by using the energy in her body. But Wren gets carried away when her boyfriend, Danny, dies in a car crash. She misses him so much that she casts a spell and brings him out of his grave, but not really back to life. Obviously, Danny must stay out of sight—most people freak out around the "undead." Wren soon learns that the Danny she brought back isn't the Danny she loved and soon he begins to chafe at being stuck in a garage attic. Her two best girl friends are bewildered, hurt, and then angry about Wren's refusal to hang out with them, but she can't let them in on the secret and she can't leave Danny alone too much. Plus her mother is being closed mouthed about their powers, which frustrates Wren, especially when she sees her younger sister, Robin, beginning to develop powers of her own. To top off her miseries, Wren is befriended by Gabriel—a new boy in school—who happens to have psychic powers of his own and for whom she begins to fall. She finally realizes the selfish mistake she made by bringing Danny back as he begins to remember more about his death and searches out a new spell to put him back in his grave. The book is a good read, with a compelling narrative and plenty of angst. It could be a good jumping off point for a philosophical discussion of what is life and is there a soul, not to mention how to deal with death. Reviewer: Sarah Maury Swan

VOYA - Mary Arnold

Paranormal romance is hot—"Danny was mine, and I was his, and that wasn't going to work if he was dead." Wren finds true love, only to have it ripped away when Danny is killed in a car wreck. She has long known that she inherited power, but her Mom refuses to share what it might mean, and in her grief and desire, Wren makes a big mistake: a graveyard ritual brings Danny back from the dead, but the Danny who returns is not Wren's sweet Danny: he is something between a ghost and a zombie, cold as marble, without any memory but his deep need for Wren's presence. She knows she cannot keep him hidden in a neighbor's garage forever, nor turn her back on him for a choice he did not make, especially now that he is on the brink of realizing his true condition. Can Gabriel, a new boy in town with powers of his own who recognizes Wren's gift, possibly help? Think Steven King's Pet Sematary (Doubleday, 1983/VOYA April 1984)-creepy with the emotional impact of first love, complicated by a dead boyfriend and an emerging love triangle. The writing, especially the flashbacks that reveal the depth of their relationship, heighten the sense of tragedy and hopelessness and make us care. While the supernatural elements are an essential hook, it is the pain of first love lost, that longing for the person who is irretrievably gone, that is the crux of Garvey's gripping first novel for young adults. Reviewer: Mary Arnold

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—When her boyfriend dies in a car accident, Wren is so inconsolable that she uses her budding supernatural gifts to raise Danny from the dead. He waits patiently for her nightly visits to their little nest in the loft above her neighbor's garage, and she endures his cold kiss. Wren slowly realizes that she made a mistake, and that the boy she loved is gone though his reanimated body remains. Then Gabriel arrives at school, and he seems to know more about Wren's mysterious powers than she does. She feels an undeniable attraction to Gabriel, who can see into her mind, where he discovers what she's done. Danny, meanwhile, grows restless as he remembers more about the night he died, and he escapes from the garage to find answers. Suddenly, he's more than a gruesome secret-he's a danger to Wren and Gabriel. Because he is already undead at the beginning of the book, and the courtship is relayed through Wren's memories, readers miss out on many of the qualities that made the prickly teen fall so hard for Danny, and the narrative lacks emotional intensity. Nonetheless, this novel succeeds on many levels, especially as a cautionary tale about the all-consuming power of first love and the need to move on after it ends.—Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA

Kirkus Reviews

To what lengths is it acceptable to go to hold on to someone you love?

Devastated by the premature death of her boyfriend, Wren enlists her natural magical abilities to bring him back—although even Wren has to admit that the Danny she has brought back is only a shadow of what he was in life. Desperate to keep what she has done a secret, Wren is forced to live a double life. She must keep one foot firmly planted in teenage reality: attending classes, dealing with friends and ducking her mother's questions. Her other foot is planted in her secret, as she struggles to keep a boy who is more her puppet than her former boyfriend hidden. Her plans are slowly unraveling when she meets Gabriel, a new boy who can read her thoughts and guesses her dark secret. As Danny becomes more difficult for Wren to handle, she begins to see that not only is he not the boy she once knew, but he might actually be dangerous. In the end, it is Danny's own words that help Wren the most. Fast-paced and achingly real, this fresh tale hints at the danger that lurks beneath Wren's spell without veering into the macabre. Driven by her selfish desires both to keep Danny and then to be rid of him, Wren is not a traditional heroine, but her character is ultimately redeemed by her decision to make things right no matter the cost.

A provocative romance rises above zombie conventions. (Fiction. 14 & up)