Many good mystery books, or should I say all mystery books should have a plot that actually makes sense, and has some form of mystery somewhere in the plot, right? My question to you is: Why is the book Companions of the Night, by Vivian Vande Velde, categorized as a "mystery book"? There is hardly any "mystery" aspect in the book!! Okay, the author does show a trivial magnitude of mystery; Kerry's family "disappears" because the "vampire hunters" think that Kerry is a vampire. Whoever has her family leaves a spray-painted message in red, as if they want her to think it is blood on the wall, in her living room: "VAMPIRE, the writing said, WE HAVE YOUR FAMILY." The author doesn't use many clues, either. Companions of the Night generally a good book, but it should not be specified as a "mystery book", as most people think it is a mystery book.
Although this scene isn't well written, one of the most extremely vital scenes to the book Companions of the Night is the second scene in the book. The scene starts off with a remarkably graphic scene involving vampires, vampire killers, blood, and more blood, kidnapping and fighting. The Laundromat owner's "friends" threatened Ethan, a boy who is a suspected vampire. You would think that the main idea would be about people trying to again kidnap Ethan, but no, somehow Kerry is accused (out of nowhere) of being a vampire. In the second scene, Ethan's wrists and legs are tied together; to a washing machine and Kerry tries to free him by taking the razor blade that she found earlier in the Laundromat and cutting the rope between his wrists and legs. She ends up slitting his wrists open pretty severely and blood ends up all over the floor. However, the next morning, his wrists are completely healed. She questions him about his wrist and it is at that moment when he admits to being a vampire...
I feel that Vivian Vande Velde could use more efficient characterization. Honestly, there are only about five characters that are relevant to the plot: Kerry, Ethan, Marsala, and the two characters at the beginning of the book that the author refers to as "New York Giants" and "Sidowski." Each character that Velde uses is not necessary to the story. For example, the very first page has another irrelevant character-Kerry's little brother, Ian. He is never mentioned again in the book-until the end, where Kerry found him sleeping in his bed. Oh yeah, like that's important to the story (note sarcasm). Ian's relationship to anything in the book is just one of many examples where the author uses unnecessary excess characters. Vivian Vande Velde's use of characters really doesn't make much sense to me.
My recommendations on the book are that for the most part, anyone my age (thirteen and older) would enjoy this book, although it may depend on your interests whether you would like it. I would not recommend Companions of the Night as a mystery book; however, I would recommend it as a book for people my age and older.
My opinions on the book: Some things I appreciate about the book is that it makes me want to keep reading; I just can't put the book down. In addition to that, Companions of the Night gets a plus in relation to making the plot, or storyline believable, and somewhat realistic. The book is also superior because it is very vivid. I can picture exactly what is happening in the story in my head, like the graphic opening scene. Some things that the author should most definitely work on are how the story is written. The book is hard to follow and the plot is absolutely not written well. I cannot keep up with the `fifty' different plots that there are. The book contains bad organization, on the author's part. Another disadvantage or "con" to this story is that the author gives us information early in the book that you would think would be the main idea of the story; well, it's not. For example, when the author tells us that Regina was killed months ago, that only comes up once more in the story, and the story could have gone on without a reference to "Regina."
The author's clues don't help at all, either. This is a very hard part of the plot to follow. It seems as if the mystery AND main idea are just an irrelevant details to the author. It seems as if Vivian Vande Velde starts many plots throughout the book, but never finishes them, like, for example, a vampire, whose name is Regina, was killed by someone, but the plot is just totally dropped in the middle of the book; but, I would still recommend it. Overall recommendation: read it. Although there are many disapproving factors, it is worth it to read in the long run. Good story: NOT a mystery.
Bottom line: Companions of the Night is a chilling story of a teenage girl whose family disappears, and she falls in love with a vampire who is kidnapped and is on a "mission." Kerry cannot trust Ethan throughout the book, until she learns to in the very end. Kerry is forced to spend many days alone with him, traveling New York STATE with him. She learns an extremely important lesson...
copyrighted by Lindsay, 2006

While reading through the reviews of for this book, I've come across quite a few really negative ones. The main reasons seem to be because of the simplistic writing and the lack of concrete vampire details. I strongly disagree with those reviews and will have to add my vote to the much greater number saying what a wonderful book this is. I first read this book six years ago when I was 14, and loved it. Just recently I came across it again, and my love has become, if possible, greater. After reading quite a few Anne Rice books since this one, I think I prefer the simple writing displayed here to that of Anne Rice. Don't get me wrong, I love Anne Rice's books passionately, but I don't much like being interrupted at the climax of the story for details of a rain forest for five pages. The writing in CotN is easy to read, but the author did not sacrifice wonderful writing for the simplicity presented. The imagery is still strong, and her characters are brilliantly portrayed. That is in fact probably what I love most about the book: the characters. The plot is interesting, and the dialog is realistic and witty. As for the lack of vampire details; that is part of what gives the book its edge. As the reader you're learning about this world of vampires along with the main character and are forced to keep guessing just like her. The ending does leave a little to be desired, but its realistic and rewarding in its own right.

Basically, whether you're 14 or 20, if you like vampires and are interested in a quick and interesting read, I highly recommend this book.

This book is one of the better teen vampire books I have found, which are really hard to find! Loved it... if you liked this one, you should certainly like The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause. I'd say those books are really closely related, but like all books, a little different. I read it in a day and I really enjoyed it! Um... I'd like to say more but I'll end up spoiling it for you!

A 17 year old's Review
~Cathy~

Wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat and I wanted to stay up all night and read it. A fantastic mix of vampires, action and romance.
Vivian Vande Velde is a wonderful writer and knows just how to enchant her readers. I would recommend this book to any one and every one.