336 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (2007)
ISBN: 0763627917
Reading Level/Lexile: 9th and up/760L
Genre: Fantasy
Annotation/Teaser: After the death of her parents, Quince and her uncle Davidson remodel and rename the family restaurant to include a vampire theme. As soon as the remodeling starts, the long time chef is violently killed in the kitchen. Will the choice between predator and prey become more real than Quince ever imagined?
Plot Summary: After her parents' death, Quince is left in the charge of her Uncle Davidson. The restaurant her parents owned was left to her and where she spends most of her time. The chef, Vaggio, is also considered her family. But the restaurant is not doing well and Davidson and Quince come up with a plan to boost business. They change the name to Sanguini's, an Italian restaurant with a vampire theme. While preparing to open the new restaurant, Vaggio is brutally murdered in the kitchen while Quince is in the back room watching tv. In Quince's world vampires and werewolves really exist and the murder investigation quickly turns to Kieren, her werewolf best friend. When a new, young chef is hired, Quince begins to transform him into a vampire chef. But what happens in the transformation is more than Quince bargained for.
About The Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Cynthia Leitich Smith was born in Kansas City and is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling
author of the TANTALIZE series and FERAL series. Her award-winning
books for younger children include JINGLE DANCER, INDIAN SHOES, RAIN IS
NOT MY INDIAN NAME (all HarperCollins) and HOLLER LOUDLY (Dutton).
Her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column.
Cynthia Leitich Smith Bio (n.d.) Retrieved from www.cynthialeitichsmith.com
Critical Evaluation: My favorite element in Tantalize is the imagery. The two menus that are developed for predator and prey are so creative. I loved the description of the food and the language used to describe everything on it. This is not your typical vampire story. It is written in the voice of Quince and told from the first person point of view. So the reader learns things as Quince does. This makes for a bit of suspense especially when dealing with the chef and then being kept in his house. While this is a fantasy book with otherworld creatures, teens will easily identify with the character of Quince. One part of the plot that I wish would have been a little more developed is the relationship between Quince and Kieren. There are more books in this series so there may be more about Kieren in those books that I haven't read. Cynthia Leitich Smith does a great job hammering out the details down to the smallest. For example, the lack of mirrors in the restaurant because vampires have no reflection.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Book Talk Ideas: How will Quince transform the restaurant to a vampire theme while dealing with the real vampires and werewolves in her life?
Controversial Issues: underage drinking, truancy, sexual situations
Defense:
Why I Chose This Book? I read this book for class but included it because vampires and werewolves are a favorite topic in young adult literature.
Her website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column.
Cynthia Leitich Smith Bio (n.d.) Retrieved from www.cynthialeitichsmith.com
Critical Evaluation: My favorite element in Tantalize is the imagery. The two menus that are developed for predator and prey are so creative. I loved the description of the food and the language used to describe everything on it. This is not your typical vampire story. It is written in the voice of Quince and told from the first person point of view. So the reader learns things as Quince does. This makes for a bit of suspense especially when dealing with the chef and then being kept in his house. While this is a fantasy book with otherworld creatures, teens will easily identify with the character of Quince. One part of the plot that I wish would have been a little more developed is the relationship between Quince and Kieren. There are more books in this series so there may be more about Kieren in those books that I haven't read. Cynthia Leitich Smith does a great job hammering out the details down to the smallest. For example, the lack of mirrors in the restaurant because vampires have no reflection.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Book Talk Ideas: How will Quince transform the restaurant to a vampire theme while dealing with the real vampires and werewolves in her life?
Controversial Issues: underage drinking, truancy, sexual situations
Defense:
*I will keep
the library's selection policy on hand and memorized with a good
understanding of the standards and
policies to show that the selection meets the standards.
*I will keep
good and bad reviews (both electronic and print) and make sure they are from
reliable and respected sources such as School of Library Journal, Booklist, and
YALSA. I will have copies of these reviews to give away.
*I will confirm
the library's position to provide intellectual freedom as stated in the Library
Bill of Rights and keep a copy of this.
*I will keep
a written rationale to justify the reasons this material is included in the
collection, such as educational significance and curriculum ties.
*I will be
respectful and calm and practice "active listening".
*I will make
sure I read the material and are very familiar with it.
* I will keep a reconsideration form on file
in the event that my other strategies don't work.
Why I Chose This Book? I read this book for class but included it because vampires and werewolves are a favorite topic in young adult literature.
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