attempting obscurity

I heart this book. I heart this author, actually. I suspect this is just a trilogy, but I really hope not -- I think Claudia Gray is right up there with Kristen Britain as far as 'Awesome Author's Whose Books Must Be Read At All Costs.' To qualify: I don't like vampire lit. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that before (maybe a hundred times or two) but I really do not like vampire lit. It didn't matter if it was Anne Rice, Stephen King, Charlaine Harris or Stephanie Meyers, up until this year you couldn't convince me there was vampire lit I could stomach. Although I do like Harris' werewolves.It wasn't like I was unreasonably biased, either -- I'd give the stuff a try, I'd read it. I just would finish it and feel like I'd wasted my time. At least, with Rice, King's and Harris' I felt that way. With Meyers, I felt as though I'd actually done damage to my brain by reading that sh*t.Something about the whole immortal/mortal love dynamic that's always written in. I hate it. I also really dislike how it's almost always handled from the human p.o.v., and when it's handled from the vampires, it's all about how s/he's a tortured unhappy soul of the centuries.Anyway, Claudia Gray is the one author of vampire lit I can handle. I don't know what it is. Maybe *series spoiler* *series spoiler* *series spoiler*It's that she doesn't let you know the main character is a vampire until halfway through the first book. I mean, the hints and signs are there, but you don't really catch on until a third to half-way through. So you're all bonding with this regular teenage girl, and then *bam* you find she's a vampire.*back to our regular review*Or maybe it's Gray's unique take on the whole supernatural thing (explained in book 2) -- I really liked it. I felt it was somewhat limiting as far as supernatural creatures go, but hey, it's her universe and her take, and it's an incredibly creative and poetic explanation. I loved it.Maybe it's just that she's that great of a writer -- which if anyone else agrees with me, Gray should be very happy, because I've just rated her above Stephen King, Anne Rice, Stephanie Meyer and Charlaine Harris. I just know that I like her writing enough that when I saw Stargazer on the shelf at Barnes and Noble, a squeal of delight fell from my lips, I grabbed it off the shelf, and I did a little dance right there in the aisle. It's a must-have.