smash glass houses
Product Description
From the author of the popular Weather Warden series. Welcome to Morganville, Texas. Just don't stay out after dark. College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.
- Reading level: Young Adult
- Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: NAL Jam; Reissue edition (October 3, 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0451219945
- ISBN-13: 978-0451219947
I have this habit of searching through books on Amazon before I either buy them or request them from the library. Thankfully, this was one of the ones I got from the library instead of spending money on it. The writing is poor and the characters are even worse. For whatever reason even though this book was in the young adult section the word “college” made me think that it would be a bit more mature. Wrong. Let’s start out with our main character Claire, there are numerous parts in the book where she breaks down and cries for no reason. After finding that dorm life was intolerable she goes and checks out a new living arrangement. Upon, walking up to the sidewalk she burst into tears. Shortly after her roommate to be walks up and just acts like nothing out of the norm is happening. Um, if I was looking for a new roommate a crying seventeen-year-old girl would kind of freak me out crying in front of someone is a great first impression after all.
The supporting Characters:
Now on to the inhabitants of the glass house, there is Eve you token Goth girl with childlike innocence under it all. There isn’t much to say about Eve really but the Goth throw in do get a little annoying. Especially after the author makes a point to describe every outfit she wears. Nobody really cares if her white and black Hosiery all has tiny little skulls on her toes. I will say that the description of her room reminded me of my room when I was 18 and first moved out on my own but I’m really not sure if I should be amused or questioning my own tastes at this point.
Shane is the one in the house with the tragic past. Shane recently returned to Morganville after escaping for a few years. During his childhood he had a run in with one of the books villains (a human villain) who set his house on fire and as a result he lost his mother and little sister to the event. Throughout the book he makes a point to be Claire’s protector and the author makes a point to make the connection between Claire and his sister. She even goes as far as saying they were the same age and repeating over and over how he feels he has to protect her because he could not save his sister. Then, there is a plot twist and low and behold Shane become claire’s romantic interest. Creepy.
Michael the one in the house that has a secret to hide. Throughout the book there is speculation that he himself is a vampire since he never is awake during the day, mildly mysterious, and as pale as sin. Instead, he’s a ghost that is bound to the glass house and can only materialize at night. If course, he’s love interest turns out to be little Goth Eve who thinks it’s cool.
Now, lets move on to the vampires after the entire book is the first book in the Morganville Vampires series right? So far they are only three. There is Brandon who is seemingly the head vampire until the very last chapters of the book. Brandon is the stereotypical creepy vampire in modern clothes complete with long fingernails, pale skin, and dashing smile. There is only a few actual scenes with him but believe me I really wanted Buffy to come up and stake his ass. In the end his egotistical rouse of a character is deemed pretty much pointless. There is Oliver though; he doubles at Eve’s boss at Common grounds Coffee shop. Again, this was one of the rare moments where I had a little chuckle because there is a Common Grounds coffee shop here in Cleveland and it just so happens to be one of my favorite places to be. He ends up taking the rule of Mr. head vampire and also the one who sealed Michael’s fate. I don’t really know why the author decided to change Oliver from the peace-loving hippie in the grateful dead gear to a “ruthless” vampire but she did. There is also Amelie who plays the role of the smart sensible vampire. I’m not really sure yet of what side she’s on. Amelie is more concerned with her preservation as “the oldest vampire in the world.”
It’s sad to say that the human villains were scarier than the vampires in the book. Monica is like a psychopathic Barbie doll complete wither fair share of followers. In addition to pushing Claire down a flight up steps in the beginning of the book she also is the one responsible for burning down Shane’s childhood home. Not to mention she got one of her clones to poor acid all over Claire’s back during a lab assignment. That’s right, acid. They don’t joke around in Morganville.
As far as the book goes as a whole I really liked the concept of an entire town ruled by vampires but by the first twenty “oh my god” and the first five crying fits Claire had I really just wanted to finish this book just so I could add one more book to the list of books I have read this year. At least the cover art was decent.