The Tear Collector - Patrick Jones

The Tear Collector - Patrick Jones

Pages: 263
Publisher: Walker Books
Release Date: 1st September 2009

Other Titles by this Author: Things Change, Nailed, Chasing Tail Lights, Stolen Car, Cheated

Between hookups, makeups, and break-ups, there isn’t a day a Lapeer High School without drama turning to trauma turning to tears.

And tears are just as essential as air for Cassandra Gray. She and her family are vampires who thirst for human sorrow, and the energy that they soak in from a good crying jig can keep them fuelled up for days.

Anytime a friend needs a shoulder to cry on, Cass is there. Anytime a boyfriend gets too secure, she breaks his heart. Cass’s work as a school peer counsellor and hospital volunteer also provides the perfect cover and access to her family’s energy source. But she is getting tired of all the lies and manipulation - especially now that she’s actually fallen in love with a human. Can she bear to betray her family for a chance at happiness and a life lived with joy?

A perfect blend of romance and the supernatural, this unique kind of vampire story will hook readers.

The Tear Collector turns vampire lore completely on it’s head, and I’m not sure that it really worked.

I felt that the lore and myth of Patrick Jones’ vampires was vague and undefined. For a large part of the book I was grasping every tendril of information I could find. And it just wasn’t enough. I understand that Cass’s own knowledge was sketchy and to explain every detail to the reader would require Cass’s narration to be undermined, but she still didn’t tell us all she knew and that really quite annoyed me.

One of the elements of the lore that was mentioned prevented me from connecting with Cass for a large portion of The Tear Collector. Cass encouraged misery from her friends and received it from her family as well. Her nature prevented her from feeling any real emotion, it was even prohibited by her family. Regardless of this, I did begin to warm to her as she fell in love and learned what happiness is.

The Tear Collector moved at a slow pace in the beginning but it was a quick and easy read. Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to, I’d recommend it to die-hard vampire fans who are eager for a brand new take on the traditional lore.

Regardless of all my complaints, I did kind of enjoy The Tear Collector and if there’s going to be a sequel, which seemed like a possibility to me, then I will read it.

Sophie