Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

ISBN: 0763627917
Publisher- Candlewick, 2007

310 p.

Reading Level: Grades 9 and above.

Summary:

Meet Quincie Morris, a young teen girl whose parents have died and whose true love is a werewolf. Mix in a family Italian restaurant that needs a face-lift to survive and you’ve got trouble, rapidly brewing. Quincie’s family’s restaurant is turned into a hot, new nightspot with a vampire theme, but before they can debut, a horrible murder leaves a hole in their heart and in great need of a chef. Can the man they hire help turn the restaurant into a success? Is there something behind this man’s jovial façade? As readers delve into a world of werewolves, vampires, and shape shifters, no one, not even the reader, will guess who Quincie should be on the lookout for until the very end. Readers will embark on a journey full of adventure, suspense, horror, and love that will keep them on the edge of their seats until the very end.

Critical Evaluation:

The chapter breakdown that reads like a menu from an Italian restaurant is a delicious idea that kept me moving forward in the story. The multi-racial and cross-species love story about a human and a werewolf is also especially compelling and relevant to our times. It is refreshing to find a young-adult fantasy where the lead characters are of mixed races. As the author herself has said, “The casts are diverse—including protagonists like Kieren Morales, who’s Irish-Mexican American, and Miranda, who’s Chinese-Scottish American, and angels who’re described as looking black or Latino or otherwise mixed race”. (Retrieved from http://www.leeandlow.com/p/tu_cls.mhtml).  Such melting-pot casts are one of the best ways to challenge the minds and hearts of today’s young American readers.

Kieren’s feeling that his journey’s path is to travel with his pack may be understood in a variety of ways. Believing that he needs to leave so that he does not accidentally harm Quincie again, as he did when they were younger, shows a selfless concern for others that is surprisingly mature. His love for her runs so deep that he is willing never to see her again in order to keep her safe, even though she herself would gladly run the risk. The pack is where he feels he belongs and where he can truly be himself. The manner in which he strives to come to terms with himself can be compared to how a homosexual teenager often feels as he confronts the realization that he may be somewhat different from his peers. Also, the sense that he wants mostly to be with those who are similar to him is a feeling everyone can relate to. Whether it is race, sexual identity, or likes and dislikes, most young adults wish to stay near those who love and fully understand them. The reader can only hope that their voyage will be, as Kieren’s was, with all the love, compassion, and support of friends and parents. I, myself, was anticipating that, if the series continues, Kieren might take more control of his werewolf half in order to live a life of love with Quincie. This, however, may prove more difficult to accomplish, now that she must come to terms with her own vampirism.

Reader’s Annotation:

If you’re hungry for the most decadent Italian food you’ve ever had,
take a look at Sanguini’s new menu. It’s to die for, and so are you. 

Author Biography:

Ms. Smith was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She is a tribal member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and blends her upbringing and ethnicity into many of her children’s books. Cynthia has been the author of Eternal, Tantalize, and Blessed as well as a author for younger children with such titles as Jingle Dancer, Indian shoes and Rain is not my Indian name. “Smith is a member of faculty at the Vermont College M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.  She has her own website at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com and was named one of the top 10 Writer Sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest and an ALA Great Website for Kids. Her Cynsations blog at cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/ was listed as among the top two read by the children's/YA publishing community in the SCBWI "To Market" column.” (Retrieved from http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/cyn_events/media_kit/media_kit.html

Genre: Fantasy - Werewolf/Vampire

Curriculum Ties:

This is an especially good book for reluctant readers. The storyline has offerings for both young men and women. There’s love, adventure and cooking for everyone’s specific tastes.

Booktalking Ideas:

-Discuss why Kieren feels he has to leave in order to protect the ones he loves.

-Discuss the relationship between food, wine, and blood in this story. Which is the strongest addiction?
-Werepeople and shape shifters are targeted far more then vampires, who are romanticized.
What parallels can be drawn from this to our real world?

Read-Alikes:

-The Wereling Trilogy by Stephen Cole.
-Blood & Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.

Challenge Issue:

Perhaps some of the violence, but it is unseen for the most part, there are no explicit  sexual scenes, and no profanity. No challenge issues as far as I can see and when our class spoke to her she let us know that she was not aware of any of her books becoming censored. 

Reason to include in blog:

Although when I first read this for class, I did not love it, after our class discussions and some thought, this novel grew on me. I do think that the short chapters and fantastic pacing will have reluctant readers devouring this book. By the end of the book, I was looking to see where I could find Blessed.

 

References:

Lee & Low Books. (n.d.). Cynthia Leitich Smith on Living in a Multicultural World.

Retrieved from http://www.leeandlow.com/p/tu_cls.mhtml

Smith, C. (2011). Cynsations. Retrieved from cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/

Smith, C. (2011). Official Author Site. Retrieved from www.cynthialeitichsmith.com

Smith, C. L. (2007). Tantalize. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.