“Silver in the Blood,” by Jessica Day George, Bloomsbury USA Childrens, July 7, 2015, Hardcover, $17.99 (young adult)
Jessica Day George is one of the reigning “fairy tale authors.” She’s best known for her Twelve Dancing Princesses and Tuesdays at the Castle series. Jessica departs from the princess genre in “Silver in the Blood,” her latest novel for young adults.
The year is 1890. Cousins Dacia and Lou are spoiled society girls from New York City. Finding a suitable match is their purpose, but even that is suddenly up in the air when they are sent to Romania to meet their mysterious relatives, the Florescus.
The cousins are no longer on the hunt for society partners, but rather husbands approved by the Florescus, who happen to be shape-shifters. For Dacia and Lou, this revelation is almost more than they can bear. The Florescus aren’t just shape-shifters, they are the servants of the royal Dracula family.
The girls want nothing to do with the family tradition, but when Mihai Dracula sets his sights on Dacia as part of his plan to secure power over all of Europe, the cousins have only two options — go along with the plan or fight back. The choice is clear; they must fight.
As far as the storyline and the plot behind it, Jessica has taken a familiar subject — Dracula —and made it her own. “Silver in the Blood” draws focus to the protectors (Florescus) rather than the vampire legend. It’s a smart move. I find it frustrating when people try to reinvent the source material. This is more of a jumping off point for something else.
“Silver in the Blood” should not be confused with Jessica’s other books, which work well as crossovers between ages. This is definitely a YA novel. It’s interesting to see Jessica take this more mature path. Her writing is still accessible and content still interesting, but the tale somehow feels darker and carries with it an intensity not present in her other works.
