Blood and Chocolate

In Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause does for werewolves what Anne Rice has done for vampires.Sixteen-year-old Vivian Gandillon is trying to fit in to her new home in the suburbs.  But trying to act "normal" isn't always easy, since Vivian and her family are werewolves.  It's glorious to have the power to change, and Vivian is a beautiful loup-garou with all the young wolves howling for her.  But she wants no part of her squabbling pack, left leaderless by her father's recent death.Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy.  If she reveals herself, will he relish the magic of her dual nature?  When a brutal murder threatens the pack's survival, Vivian's divided loyalties are further strained.  What is she really--human or beast?

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up. In the thick of her pack's leadership struggle, a 16-year-old werewolf complicates matters by falling for a human "meat-boy." A provocative exploration of a young woman's psyche in the flesh and "in her pelt." Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 11 and up. Gabriel--raw and sharp like blood; Aiden--rich and smooth like chocolate. It's Aiden, sensitive and gentle, whom Vivian thinks she desires, but he is a "meat-boy," a human, and Vivian is a werewolf, a worshiper of the Moon and part of a small sect of werewolves living double lives in a contemporary Maryland suburb. Should Vivian reveal her proud, sleek animal self to the boy she loves? By the author of the Silver Kiss (1995), this violent, sexy novel is a seamless, totally convincing blend of fantasy and reality that can be read as feminist fiction, as smoldering romance, as a rites of passage novel, or as a piercing reflection on human nature. Vivian is a strong main character, tough yet vulnerable, and her every move reflects her duality. Klause's imagery is magnetic, and her language fierce, rich, and beautiful, whether she is describing a frightening, vicious fight to the death among Vivian's werewolf clan or the moment when Vivian realizes that showing her true self has been a tragic mistake. Passion and philosophy dovetail superbly in this powerful, unforgettable novel for mature teens. Stephanie Zvirin

From Kirkus Reviews

Klause returns to the steamy sensuality of her first book, The Silver Kiss (1990), for this tale of a hot-blooded teenage werewolf who falls for a human ``meat-boy.'' Grieving for her father and unimpressed by the age-mates in her pack, Vivian defies her mother and fellow lycanthropes by setting her sights on suburban poet-schoolmate Aiden Teague. It's an experiment that's doomed from the start. Vivian may look human (when she chooses), but her attitudes, instincts, and expectations are decidedly wolflike; short-tempered, direct in action and emotion, rough in love and play, shapeshifters make dangerous companions, their veneer of rationality as thin as their senses are sharp. Poor Aiden--as a prospective lover he's not so different from prey; to Vivian his smile flashes like heat lightning, and at times he looks so delicious she wants to ``bite the buttons off his shirt.'' When, after a series of sultry but frustrating dates, Vivian reveals herself to him, he responds, not with the pleasure and lust she expects, but stark terror. Extrapolating brilliantly from wolf and werewolf lore, Klause creates a complex plot, fueled by politics, insanity, intrigue, sex, blood lust, and adolescent longings, and driven by a set of vividly scary creatures to a blood-curdling climax. The werewolves' taste for risky pranks and the author's knack for double--and even triple--entendres add sly undercurrents to this fierce, suspenseful chiller. (Fiction. 12-14) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap

In Blood and Chocolate, Annette Curtis Klause does for werewolves what Anne Rice has done for vampires.Sixteen-year-old Vivian Gandillon is trying to fit in to her new home in the suburbs.  But trying to act "normal" isn't always easy, since Vivian and her family are werewolves.  It's glorious to have the power to change, and Vivian is a beautiful loup-garou with all the young wolves howling for her.  But she wants no part of her squabbling pack, left leaderless by her father's recent death.Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy.  If she reveals herself, will he relish the magic of her dual nature?  When a brutal murder threatens the pack's survival, Vivian's divided loyalties are further strained.  What is she really--human or beast?

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The flesh of her arms bubbled and her legs buckled to a new shape. She doubled over as the muscles of her abdomen went into a brief spasm, then grimaced as her teeth sharpened and her jaw extended. She felt the momentary pain of the spine's crunch and then the sweet release.She was a creature much larger and stronger than any natural wolf. Her toes and legs were too long, her ears too big, and her eyes held fire. Wolf was only a convenient term they had adopted. Those who preferred science to myth said they descended from something older--some early mammal that had absorbed protean matter brought to Earth by a meteorite.Vivian stretched and pawed at the ground, she sniffed the glorious air. She felt as if her tail could sweep the stars from the sky.Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. Copyright (c) 1997 by Annette Curtis Klause. Excerpted by permission of Delacorte Press, a division of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. -->

About the Author

Annette Curtis Klause, a self-professed fan of horror, science fiction and fantasy, read her first vampire book when she was 14; it was Jane Gaskell's The Shining Narrow Grin. "I was enthralled," she says, and immediately began fantasizing about the book.Klause, who is currently head of children's services at the Aspen Hill Community Library in Maryland, had been a member of a biweekly writing group, mostly writing picture books, when the group's "mentor" encouraged her to write a novel. While deciding on a subject, she "remembered the vampires," and after years of work, and six rejections, her highly acclaimed The Silver Kiss was published. Her second novel, Alien Secrets, features a main character whom Klause calls "a rather feisty individual," as well as "ghosts, a haunted ship, aliens and treasure." While writing this suspenseful science fiction adventure, Klause says "again, I thought 'What would I have liked as a kid?'" Her third novel, Blood and Chocolate, was published in September 1997. It tells the story of the 16-year-old Vivian Gandillon, who is trying to fit in to her new home in the suburbs. But trying to act "normal" isn't always easy, since Vivian and her family are werewolves. When Vivian falls in love with a human, and a brutal murder threatens her pack's survival, Vivian's divided loyalties are strained. What is she really--human or beast?Born in Bristol, England, Annette Curtis Klause now lives in Hyattsville, MD with two cats. Klause holds a B.A. in English literature and an M.L.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park. In her spare time, Klause collects science fiction, fantasy, and horror first editions, limited editions and chapbooks, and enjoys going to science fiction conventions.

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