Perverse by Larry Rodness

-Carrie Anne

19 year old Emylene Stipe is a 2nd generation Goth who, like every teenage girl, is trying to find her place in the world.  One winter night she comes upon an old painting in an antique store and feels compelled to purchase it.  When she brings it home an image of a young woman appears in the sketch and then magically materializes in the apartment.  Emylene nick-names her 'Poinsettia' and they become fast friends.  But Poinsettia has an ulterior motive for her sudden and strange intrusion into her host's life which causes Emylene to question her entire belief system.  (taken from Amazon description)

The beginning of this book hooked me.  A second generation Goth.  I've never thought about there being such a thing!  How do you rebel against rebellious parents?  Is being a Goth more than just wearing black clothes?  How do you develop into your own person with such a distinctive background?

When Emylene finds the sketch of a tree in a winter scene and brings it home, we realize that there are sometimes footprints in the snow.  Then the girl shows up, comes out, and becomes Emylene's new best friend.  Great!  Someone to help her find her way in the world.  Ii wonder what happens next?

Unfortunately, for me, this is where I lost interest.  It probably isn't a shock when I tell you it became a vampire story:  an interesting one, complete with history and a love story, but I just didn't care.  The characters are interesting, but the story felt rather predictable.  I saw the 'twists' coming before they came.  There are times I had to re-read something multiple times to make sense of what had happened.  At one point I saw the word 'plaintiff' used when 'plaintive' is what was meant.  When Emylene is thinking about what being Goth means, and questioning what it is to die, I just wanted to finish the story and move on.

I will say, vampires aren't my thing.  That may have some bearing on what I took away from the book.  I wish, though, that the original idea of a 2nd generation Goth teenager coming into her own could have been explored a little more.  After all, Goths are real and vampires aren't.  Right?