Review: Turned at Dark by C.C. Hunter

Book Description:

ebook, 32 pages

March 14, 2011, St. Martin's Press

Independent and strong-willed Della Tsang hadn’t believed in ghosts until she saw her dead cousin darting into the shadows of an alley. She hadn’t believed in vampires until in the dark of that same night she is turned into one. Introduced to a strange world of supernaturals, she struggles to accept this new reality. Unfortunately, the boy she loves senses something different about her and can’t accept her. Should she follow her vampire cousin’s lead–walk away from everything she’s knows and loves—and fake her own death? Or should she set her pride aside and ask for help from the camp leader of Shadow Falls—a camp where supernaturals go to learn how to cope with their powers. Either way, her life as she knows it, will never be the same.

Source: St. Martin’s Press (Thank you!)

My Thoughts:

Turned at Dark, the prequel to Born at Midnight, was consuming. Della, the main character, was an unbeliever of the supernatural. For her, vampires, werewolves and other mythical creatures simply did not exist. But one night, something happens that led her to believe that they do exist in her world.

Della Tsang’s transformation was wonderfully written. The way how the ‘virus’ spreads was also unique. It was less mythical and less magical, more medical. Della’s disbelief, hesitation and worry that she was going crazy were believable. The realization that she was no longer human and could no longer stay with her human family and be with her boyfriend showed me that Della, despite being inhuman after the transformation, still wanted to belong, needed to belong and had the heart of a human still. She was easy to like.

The author’s writing was beautiful. Her words seemed to be hypnotic, pulling me in, deeper and deeper until I was lost in Turned at Dark. The introduction of the supernatural world coexisting with the human world was also something that pleased me. The supernatural world had preconceived notions about races or kinds too. But like many things, life was not so simple. There was always something in between. In this world, Della, now a vampire, needed to make choices for herself. Will she make the right ones? Will she make the most important decision of all – to seek help from Shadow Falls camp or not?

Rating: