Alterna-Twilight

In the past couple weeks, I've been given the responsibility of being the library liason to Deerfield High School and handling teen programs here at the library.  I quickly realized that I hadn't spent much time reading teen books since my Young Adult Lit class in grad school.  I have read the first 3 Twilight books wasn't particularly impressed.  I like the idea but not the end-all-be-all sort of love they depicted.  That being said, I was interested in reading what else was out there in the not quite human love world!

Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon features Renee Winters, a teenager who has recently discovered her parents dead in the woods.  Their deaths are not grisly but don't quite make sense either.  Her grandfather steps in and quickly enrolls her at Gottfried Academy.  Gottfried Academy is a boarding school that focuses on classes such as Latin, Philosophy, Horticulture, and "Crude Sciences".  Renee doesn't immediately fit in but starts to build a group of mismatched friends.  She also develops a crush on the school's gorgeous, quiet guy.  Might I point out the beginnings of Twilight comparisons?  Add in cold skin, lack of interest in sleep, and lack of dating history to said hot guy and need I say more?

As can be expected, nothing is quite as it seems at Gottfried Academy and strange incidents start to come to light.  I will admit, I didn't quite follow their explanations for everything (way too complicated at points!) but I was dying to know what the clearly not human people actually were! They don't explain this part of the story until the last half of the book.  I made the mistake of reading something that gave it away and was pretty mad at myself.  It's probably more obvious to other people more well read in this area but I was entertained for quite a while trying to guess.

Overall, the story probably doesn't flow as seemlessly as I would have liked and there were a couple moments of "huh?".  But, I thought it was a much more believable teenage romance than the Edward-Bella black hole.  I also felt it painted an interesting picture of the school and enjoyed that it wasn't set in such a typical environment.  There is a definite gothic theme to the story that I appreciated.  I would recommend Dead Beautiful for anyone who is looking for another Twilight-esque book and for those who might not have really liked Twilight to begin with.  On to my next teen read!