Chelsea Russell's Blog

I consider Holly Black one of my favorite authors, but I was truly disappointed with “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.” I didn’t like the in-between chapters at all. Every time I came to one I just wanted to skim through it. Some of them contained pertinent information, but I pretty much thought they were a terrible bother since they broke up the flow of the main story. The different twist on vampirism was interesting, but it didn’t make up for the rest of the story.

I really hate how Young Adult books contain so many adult topics. I’ve mentioned this before in some of my other book reviews, but obviously it’s a recurring theme since I keep on having to rant about it.

Books are typically considered a safer option for teenage recreational activities than video games, but sometimes they’re worse! For instance, drinking is portrayed as an acceptable activity for teens in this book. Tana (the main character) is only seventeen, but the book opens with describing a “sundown” party she attended where the main objective is to get raging drunk. It soon became obvious this wasn’t the first time she’s attended parties of this nature.

My next tirade is more of a personal opinion, but I figured it was worth mentioning since it upset me so much. I didn’t like how Aidan, Tana’s ex-boyfriend, was openly bisexual. He would even kiss other girls and boys in front of Tana. She’d try to act "cool" and started scoring his kisses on technique. The fact they were in a committed relationship while they were doing these things really bothered me. I understand some individuals want to have open relationships, but I honestly think this leads no where but trouble. I didn’t like having this sort of content in a book directed toward young adults. Sometimes it scares me to think of where our society is headed.

I understand some people might not agree with my thoughts, but I thought I’d at least express them. I think what bothered me so much about the presence of bisexual and transgender individuals in this story was that it all seemed very random. It added nothing of value to the story.