Crave

A chronic illness shapes not only the awareness of the sufferer, but the dynamics of an entire family, a tactic cleverly used by frequent collaborators Burns and Metz to structure the plot of this vampire romance. Shay McGuire has been sick from birth with an undiagnosed blood disorder. Now 17, she longs for even enough normalcy to make it through a week of school. When her physician stepfather offers her a new kind of blood transfusion therapy, Shay is unprepared for the startling visions and unusual vitality that follow. During her spurts of energy, Shay acts out recklessly, until her mother demands a halt to the new treatment. Breaking into her stepfather's office, Shay finds a man chained to a table—a man she recognizes instantly from her visions. He is the source of her transfusions, and a vampire. Though not marketed as such, this volume is clearly first in a projected series, ending on a cliffhanger. Smoothly written and offering a thoughtful look at the very human reactions of "the Sick Girl," it's a promising entry in an overcrowded field. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)