The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones

Title: The Tear Collector
Author: Patrick Jones
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2009)
Pages: 272 pages
Reading Level: Young Adult

Cassandra Gray is a vampire-only she doesn't feast off blood, she thrives on human tears. Cass is always there when someone needs a shoulder to cry on and she'll be the one to listen and comfort. But Cassandra isn't happy with her manipulative life-she wants more and she wants to be human, especially since she's starting to fall in love with a human boy. Can she betray her family and the life she's always know?

The Tear Collector accumulated mixed reviews. The premise was seriously interesting. The whole idea of tear-sucking vampires was so unique and unheard of.

Cassandra was a character that was a little uneven. I found her to be fluctuating with her thoughts and emotions, making for a not so solid characterization. I wasn't able to relate with her relationship with Scott because it was so out-of-the-blue. Also, I wished that Alexei was there more often because the action in the book really needed a lot of pizazz.

I found her family interesting. The hierarchy was fascinating but her grandmother, mother, and aunt were all unrealistically cruel to her. I wasn't able to understand why the family worked that way and how they could ever put Cassandra in that position. Her aunt is so intent on getting her to make Alexei her 'mate'. It's kind of gross and sick of them to breed within the family.

Overall, The Tear Collector was an okay start to a new series. I hope that the next books will be more action-packed. The Tear Collector just didn't have that spark for me. It fell flat and was almost superficial. The potential of the book is amazing. Hopefully, the series will grow from The Tear Collector.

Cover:

Ending: .3

Writing: .5

Overall: .5