Vaughn, Carrie: Kitty Goes to Washington
Kitty Goes to Washington
Writer: Carrie Vaughn
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 342
Since starting this journal, I haven’t read anything written by an Odyssey graduate, so I haven’t been able to use the tag. Thanks to Carrie Vaughn’s latest, that’s changed. I just finished the second book in her Kitty series, Kitty Goes to Washington. And I must say, I’m as thoroughly entertained with this book as I was her debut.
When I read Vaughn’s first book, Kitty and the Midnight Hour, I couldn’t put it down. Kitty Goes to Washington is thankfully no different. The premise: due to the popularity of her radio talk-show about the supernatural beings of the world, Kitty is subpoenaed to testify in a Senate hearing that discusses the truth behind the legends, and determines if a research center will continue to get its funding for its research into vampirism and lycanthropy.
This book, we see more vampires, though in DC, not Denver. And even more interesting, we meet other were-creatures than just werewolves, which is great. You’ve got conflict, a bit of romance (Luis the were-jaguar-can I please have him?), and lots of fun, which is the great thing about Vaughn’s books. They’re fun to read, and the author is obviously aware of the humor, and craziness, of the situations, and never passes up a chance to go *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* to the audience. It’s not to say the story doesn’t take itself seriously, or that the characters don’t take themselves seriously. They do, but it’s still fun. Vaughn has an excellent use of humor, and while the first person voice is common to the pop-horror/supernatural genre, Kitty never comes off as wish-fulfillment. She makes mistakes, gets in trouble, and her gut reaction is always to run and hide. The first book was very character-focused, and we got to see Kitty evolve into the woman she is in book two, but the great thing is? She’s still evolving. I know books three and four have been greenlit, and while I don’t know how many stories Vaughn plans to tell with this character, but I have every confidence the stories won’t simply be serial adventures. Each story builds on itself.
If I have a complaint with this book at all, it’s that I worry it’s straying into familiar and overdone territory in terms of the premise and the future: government learns about supernatural beings, government takes actions, rights are violated, etc.” X-Men and The 4400 have definitely explored this, and while I don’t mind seeing it explored again, I hope we get a fresh angle. When Vaughn uses the conventions/clichés involving vampires and werewolves, she always does so with a bit of humor and well-done detail so you don’t take it for granted. The conflict is definitely settled by the end of this book (with several surprises along the way), but it sets up for far more. I look forward to the third installment.
If you haven’t yet read Vaughn’s work, and you like the pop-horror genre (vampires, werewolves, and demons-oh my!), definitely pick up Kitty and the Midnight Hour. I’m a sucker for reading books in order, and think everyone else should be too, but also: characters in or referenced in the first book make appearances in the second, and in terms of character, it’s important to know how Kitty has evolved and what her origins are. Don’t pick this book up cold and expect to get the details of how she became a werewolf, because all you get is a vague story without the truly heartbreaking details.
And if you have read the first book, what are you waiting for? Get the second and read, read, read! :) I will say the first book is a bit more gritty and dark, but this second is well-done, packs the punches, and also has a cute short story at the end: “Kitty Meets the Band”. So go forth, read, and tell all your friends about Kitty the werewolf! :)