Janet L. Rose (Children's Literature)
Raven, a high school outcast, definitely dances to her own music. She wears black clothes, black boots, black lipstick and black nail polish; she loves Halloween and craves a vampire kiss. She calls her brother Nerd Boy, the town Dullsville and herself Gothic Girl. Then the Sterlings move into the haunted mansion on the hill and Raven's life turns even more macabre. Alexander Sterling is Raven's age and she is smitten with love, hoping he is a true vampire. The book is full of double entendres so we are never sure what is real. The Sterlings are from Romania where Dracula originated and the butler says, "It's been centuries since I've seen [my village in Europe]" and uses blood and bloody in every other sentence. Raven is constantly tormented by the class bully, Trevor. She smashes his hand with her father's tennis racket as he tries to spray paint the mansion Halloween night. For her 16th birthday, she is invited to Matt's party where Trevor tries to rape her. Instead she tricks him into derobing and races off with his clothes, leaving him cold and naked in the woods. Alexander and Raven start dating, but he leaves when he learns Raven wanted him to be a true vampire. In the end we never know for sure about Alexander, but we do know that Trevor is the real monster. This is a great story for teenagers who do not fit into the norm or those who try to mold themselves to be part of the in-crowd. 2003, Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, $15.99. Ages 15 to 18.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 13))
An awkwardly endearing tale of teen angst and Goth romance. Vampire-loving Raven is a misfit in the town she calls "Dullsville." Her black lipstick, combat boots, and sneering dislike of her classmates leave her nearly friendless. Dullsville has only one exciting feature: the Mansion, abandoned years before. Now the owners have returned, and Raven has never been more excited. A creepy butler, a mysterious Romanian couple nobody sees, and the gorgeous teenaged son, Alexander, populate the spooky mansion of her childhood vampire dreams. Alexander is perfect-a gothic prince, a dark and broody knight of night, maybe even a vampire! Alexander seems equally intrigued by Raven, who knows it must be love. In a sweetly silly climax, troubles in Raven's relationship with Alexander allow the townspeople of Dullsville to show themselves as fun and decent people despite their suburban sameness. Cheesily written, but cute. 2003, HarperCollins, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 10 to 14. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, July 2003 (Vol. 37, No. 4))
Schreiber was a stand-up comedienne before becoming a writer; and her talent with humor is apparent in this story. The main character is Raven, who lives in a boring town where she stands out as a "goth," wearing strange make-up and dreaming of becoming a vampire--or at least meeting one. Much of the narrative reads like a comic monologue, with good timing for jokes. Her parents (once hippies but no longer so), her little brother, her classmates and school life all are topics to comment upon. There is a spooky mansion in town--fascinating to Raven, of course--and people come to live in it, including a young man who becomes the love of Raven's life. Raven of course wants him to be a vampire--there are many hints that perhaps he truly is--and the ending is perfectly inventive. A large part of the story consists of the wonderful ways that Raven deals with bullies at school who can't leave her alone--just because she is unusual, perhaps, and also because she is very attractive and smart. Raven is capable of every kind of ingenious revenge, which is highly gratifying to all readers. This lighthearted novel will be fun to read for many YAs. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2003, HarperCollins, 197p., $15.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Becky B. Stephens (Library Media Connection, February 2004)
Raven Madison is the sixteen-year-old daughter of former hippie parents now turned yuppies. Carrying on their youthful rebellious spirits, Raven decides in kindergarten that she wants to be a vampire when she grows up. Raven expresses her darker side by wearing black clothes, black lipstick, and combat boots. Life in "Dullsville" takes an unexpected turn when a family moves into the supposedly haunted mansion previously belonging to a Romanian baroness. A series of misadventures result in Raven being caught by resident seventeen-year-old Alexander Sterling. Alexander's dark good looks and lovely manners impress on Raven that she may have finally found her soul mate. They begin dating, but the relationship is almost destroyed when Raven takes Alexander to her school's Snow Ball. Trevor, Raven's nemesis for years, shows up determined to sabotage her happiness by convincing Alexander that Raven was interested in him only because she thought that he was a vampire. Alexander is humiliated and leaves Raven distraught. Almost too abruptly, all ends on a happy note as Trevor's best friend, Matt, sees him for the superficial ego-maniac that he is. This novel will be a good choice for young teens who want a light, eerie read. A combination of mystery and fantasy, the plot sucks the reader into vacillating back and forth as to whether Alexander is a vampire or not. Recommended. 2003, HarperCollins, 197pp., $15.99 hc. Ages 11 to 16.

Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, October 2003 (Vol. 57, No. 2))
Sixteen-year-old Raven Madison is a Goth Girl in a Tommy Hilfiger world, and she battles conformity with reckless abandon. Her running feud with snobby golden boy Trevor Mitchell takes second place to her fascination with the mysterious Sterling family, recently moved into the town’s old (and presumed haunted) Mansion on Benson Hill and rumored to be vampires. Her fascination with the Mansion and seventeen-year-old Alexander Sterling ("Gothic Guy") leads her to true love with her "Knight of the Night" and to a showdown with Trevor at her high school’s Snow Ball. Raven is styled as a wiseacre with a mordant wit, but the dialogue never quite rises to the promising occasions, and convenience drives a shallow outsider-insider, pop-romance plot. Be that as it may, Raven is a fluid narrator with a fast line of patter whose fascination with the dark side will attract like-minded readers. Horror hooks such as a haunted mansion, a romantic teenage vampire, and a dark heroine who wins against the golden guys make this a title that readers will bite into with Goth gusto. Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Tegen/HarperCollins, 197p, $15.99 and $16.89. Grades 6-9.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2004)
A goth girl living in "Dullsville," Raven is thrilled that the new hunky goth boy might be a vampire--but will she lose him when he discovers her assumptions? Despite some snazzy dialogue, the plot is a lame contrivance, resolving when the town implausibly refuses to judge by appearances--a point undermined when the goth boy turns out at the last second to be a real vampire after all. Category: Older Fiction. 2003, HarperCollins/Tegen, 198pp, $15.99, $16.89. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 5: Marginal, seriously flawed, but with some redeeming quality.

Monica Irwin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 2))
For readers who love a good vampire story or a good romance, this book will fit the bill. It has the best of both worlds. The main character is a girl who is "Goth" and has always wanted to be a vampire when she grows up. In fact, when she was in kindergarten, that is what she told her teacher she wanted to be. Now sixteen-year-old Raven has discovered the new inhabitants of the old "haunted" mansion. Those inhabitants include a reclusive boy who Raven finds irresistible! His name is Alexander. Raven must now find a way to meet him and after having met, she must find a way to keep her relationship with him a secret from her parents. This relatively short novel will be particularly popular with the reluctant reader. It charges right into the meat of the story, and Raven is a character that should be popular among those readers who are not a part of the in-crowd. Yet, because it is a romance, it will also appeal to many teenage girls. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 7 and up. 2003, HarperCollins, 197p., $16.89. Ages 12 up.

Dotsy Harland (VOYA, February 2004 (Vol. 26, No. 6))
There is not much to do in rural "Dullsville" for a feisty self-proclaimed Goth teenager named Raven. She has always been fascinated by the abandoned mansion on Benson Hill, originally built by a Romanian baroness and said to be haunted. On Raven's sixteenth birthday, Alexander, a teenaged descendant of the baroness, and his eerie butler, Jameson, move into the mansion. Raven believes that she has met her true love in Alexander. He is different from her schoolmates, having traveled all over the world and been tutored at home. He is handsome, artistic, gentlemanly, very cultured, and a Goth like Raven. A rumor begins circulating that Alexander belongs to a family of vampires. At first Raven is thrilled by the idea, but she later becomes ashamed of herself and defends Alexander against the vicious gossip. In a rather odd twist, after the "Dullsvillians" have accepted him, Alexander reveals to Raven that he is a vampire after all. Schreiber, a former comedienne, writes a witty and enjoyable book. Raven's obsession with the "dark side" is a little over the top at times, and the other characters in the novel tend to be poorly formed. Nevertheless, Schreiber portrays the sexual tension between Raven and town bully Trevor realistically, and she captures Raven's bittersweet infatuation with Alexander in a tender way while keeping it innocent. This novel is more romantic than suspenseful, and will be especially enjoyed by female readers. VOYA CODES: 2Q 3P J S (Better editing or work by the author might have warranted a 3Q; Will appeal with pushing; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, HarperCollins, 208p., $15.99 and PLB $16.89. Ages 12 to 18.