YA Book Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Die for Me by Amy Plum
© May 2011 by HarperTeen

Goodreads description:

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

My Thoughts...

I read this one while I was on vacation in the UK and I think that it was the perfect vacation read.  The kind of book that you read purely as part of the escapism of a vacation.  One of the first things that I noticed when I started this book was just how easy it was to read.  Amy Plum's prose is beautiful and the writing simply flows beautiful.  The woman sure does know how to write a good story!

Our main character here (as I'm sure you gathered from the synopsis) is Kate Mercer, a  young woman who has been devastated by the loss of her parents.  The way that Plum writes Kate at the beginning makes her an incredibly sympathetic character; her pain in losing her parents jumps off the page and becomes very real.  I think I connected with her at this point because she dealt with the loss in a way that felt similar to how I would react.  While Kate makes some of the same mistakes throughout that generally make me sigh and shake my head at the character, I overall really liked her character. 

The romance in this book is really beautiful...that simple beautiful "first love" kind of romance (although it's not Vincent's first time in love...).  Now, I must admit that Vincent had a little bit of the "stalker" air about him when he first starts talking to Kate, but I got over it.  I know that some readers will have problems with this, but I overlooked it.  Maybe I'm just too in love with my hot male leads and my "kissing books."

What I thought made this book unique was the idea of revenants--it was like this completely different take on zombies?  So interesting!  I thought that it really worked, even making one form of them "good" and another "bad" and the way that each "type" was created.  I don't want to tell you what they really are so you can discover them for yourself.  Let's suffice it to say that I loved Amy Plum's debut novel and look forward to reading more from her in the future!

Oh, I also met Amy at the Dark Days of Supernatural tour stop.  She's super sweet and I was so excited to get the chance to meet her! Also, I'm totally jealous that she lives in France. She also brought absolutely delicious chocolate--dark chocolate with sea salt?! Yum!




And just because you should know that not everyone is in love with this book and I fully realize you may not like this book...if you're on the fence, read these blogs' reviews as well!

• Parajunkee's View
• The Story Siren
• Bewitched Bookworms
• Book Chick City

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I would normally say I'm not into cheesy YA chick lit. I don't have an abundance of Meg Cabot or Kate Brian or Sarah Dessen under my belt...because they don't particularly interest me.  So, why did I pick up this book? Because I saw it on NPR Books.

In a somewhat stereotypical storyline, Anna is sent to boarding school (against her will) in Paris (because obviously just being in Paris breeds culture). There, she meets a cast of friends and enemies and instantly falls for the cutest guy there...who is (obviously) taken. Anna is not too impressed with Paris and French culture to begin with...not until Etienne swoops in and shows here around. While she learns to embrace French culture (particularly through classic movies at French theaters), she is also quickly and totally falling for Etienne.  I won't ruin the ending here, but let's just say that Etienne is quite reluctant to leave his steady girlfriend and much conflict ensues.

So, my intro may have seemed less than optimistic about this one, but I have to admit that I loved it!  The storyline may seem nondescript but Perkins has created a fantastic story that really sucks you in and doesn't let you put the book down until you are done. The ups and downs, joys and disappointments, are all themes that readers of any age can relate to.  While this novel may be about teen love, it resonates as a story of true love--where love is won on a battlefield. So there you have it: no vampires, werewolves, faeries, dragons--real characters, a real story, and a fantastic read.