"Crave" Book Review
Written by Tracy Wolff
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia
Crave is the first installment of a new series, written by Tracy Wolff, about a teen human, named Grace, who begins the school year at a secluded, fancy boarding school in Alaska. Reeling from the accidental death of her parents, Grace feels welcomed by her uncle Finn, the school's headmaster and her cousin and new roommate, Macy. All too quickly, Grace becomes caught up in a strange mystery around the school, bordering on the supernatural. She soon discovers that many of her peers are vampires, witches, dragon shifters, werewolf shifters, and even gargoyles. Although supernatural and romance stories with these archetypal characters are not new to teen readers, the story feels familiar, like an old friend. To many, Crave is reminiscent of many popular installments, such as Twilight, Riverdale, Sabrina, The Vampire Diaries, Jennifer's Body, and even Harry Potter. Though there is an abundance of literature, television, and film surrounding this type of story, I still think that Wolff brings nuance and a new, fresh take to the genre. Let's elaborate.
Grace's character is familiar. The beautiful yet mousy girl who has had a great deal of family tragedy falls in love with a movie monster. She is a cocktail, combining many of the famous and well-loved characters so much like her. We spy Elena Gilbert's spirit and vigor, Bella Swan's sweet and literature-loving personality, and Sabrina Spellman's eye for adventure. She isn't meek and mild; she is bold, funny, and interesting. Grace feels so incredibly fleshed out, that she is jumping from the pages to become a well-loved and inspirational heroine. Her willingness to put others before herself but her unwillingness to back down and stand up for herself shines. The folklore and history of each supernatural being excited me. I always find in books and media like this, that I look for creative, new biology for each being. Vampires are physically shocked by crystals, dragon shifters breathe ice and fire, and many cool types of telekinesis. Although I found many parallels to previously established mediums from this genre, I enjoyed the similarities. Certain scenes felt similar, such as a snowball fight, action sequences, and conversations. I personally enjoyed deciding which romantic interest I would choose for Grace, like I have enjoyed with Team Jacob or Edward and Team Damon vs. Stefan. I think it can be quite difficult to read a new supernatural teen romance without comparing it to its predecessors, but I think that many of us who have enjoyed the predecessors would love Crave. For those of you concerned with the healthiness of the main relationships in this genre, I found the love between Jaxon, lead vamp, and Grace to be extremely healthy, with some lies of omission but no clear manipulation tactics or gaslighting, as previous vamps have exhibited. In a few important, intimate scenes with Grace and Jaxon, consent was approached and executed well.
To continue, I did not see many issues with the novel, except the terribly cheesy chapter titles. They did grow on me, but I found it amusing to compare them to pop punk songs, like ones from the music groups, Fall Out Boy or Panic! at the Disco. Many scenes felt cinematic, so realistic and so well-written. The quality of Wolff's work impressed me, as I expected a parody or the quality level of fan-fiction. Her dialogue is superb. The scene pacing was impressive. The war between species was so interesting, and I loved how the history of each character played out into the war. Additionally, the scenery of a dark, elusive Alaskan school felt atmospheric. The tunnels, the cold, and the Northern Lights brought a curious, new element to the setting. I was grateful to find that although the majority of this novel was establishing the characters and world-building, that all other elements were still written well, without sacrificing in any category. The final reveal of the major villains was so exciting, allowing the climax to breathe and truly grip the audience. Lastly, I appreciated that while this is a teen romance, there were no obnoxious or smutty sex scenes, just a whole lot of hot kissing. Woohoo!
In conclusion, the series will be continued in Wolff's next installment, Crush, and boy am I excited for it. I enjoyed this novel so much more than I thought I would, and I highly recommend it to all reading this review. I think there's something for everyone. Even that I am now a twenty-four year old, I do believe this novel can appeal to those my age, without it seeming too modern and trendy with its texting, pop culture references, and slang. It takes me back to when I was a teen, and I like the feeling of that nostalgia. I eagerly anticipate works from Tracy Wolff in the future.
I rate this novel at 5 stars out of 5 stars. I absolutely believe it will be a new classic and a new favorite of mine.
Thank you to Entangled Teen at Entangled Publishing for the advance proof and all of the fun PR goodies, such as salted caramel marshmallows (I now get the fun reference), a great coffee cup, a bookmark, and a few other goodies. I appreciate the opportunity and cannot wait to represent Entangled again.
