In a time of vampire obsessions, the idea behind this book was fantastic. I loved the idea of some other creature that is dependent on humans and feeds off them but needs something besides their blood. On that note, I also had a great appreciation for Samantha and her obsession with classical vampires.

Often times, it was hard to remember that Cass really was just a high school student and not someone that was essentially immortal and had been through this for decades rather than just...more In a time of vampire obsessions, the idea behind this book was fantastic. I loved the idea of some other creature that is dependent on humans and feeds off them but needs something besides their blood. On that note, I also had a great appreciation for Samantha and her obsession with classical vampires.

Often times, it was hard to remember that Cass really was just a high school student and not someone that was essentially immortal and had been through this for decades rather than just a few years, given her voice and her view on things. Given that, there were times I felt like things didn’t really progress in a logical way to the character, including the changes Scott introduced in her- sometimes it seemed like it changed too quickly and without any real prodding but at the same time, if everything was for love it still would seem logical.

Overall, I did like the book as well as the shifts between typical, drama filled high school and the deeper going ons of Cass’ life and family. I also thought Scott was a very adorable character and the incorporation of religion into the book was also well done- even for nonreligious readers, the addition won’t detract from the story or put it in an ill light. ( )

Cassandra is a unique kind of vampire, one that doesn’t drink blood. Instead, she and her family need human tears to survive, and so Cassandra is constantly volunteering at the hospital, making new friends and giving them a shoulder to cry on, breaking guys’ hearts. She feels like she is constantly sacrificing normalcy to help her family, and yet she doesn’t know what to do.

Then Cassandra meets Scott, and all of a sudden she has something worth fighting for. Cass no longer wants to be a pawn for her family, reliant on others’ misery to survive. But how can she attain a normal teenage girl’s life if she needs tears to survive, her classmates are against her, and her family holds their fate over her head?

THE TEAR COLLECTOR attempts to work an interesting spin on the well-established genre of vampire lit, but fails miserably at raising readers’ sympathies and holding their attention. The characters are flat and the interactions unbelievable.

Cassandra is an unlikable protagonist, and not because she’s a girl with questionable morals and intentions—there are many “mean girls” in YA lit whose faults and funky attitudes I embrace fully. However, Cassandra is often difficult to connect to emotionally: we hear that she is frustrated by her family, scornful of her classmates and ex-boyfriends, but we don’t see or feel it. This emotional distance makes readers unable to sympathize with Cassandra’s difficulties. She’s really a character in a fictional story, not someone who could be our classmate or a person we knew back in school.

Cassandra’s interactions with the other characters in the book are far from interesting. Most of the time, conversation falls flat as stereotypes attempt to catfight with one another…while neither of them have real claws. Cassandra and Scott’s relationship is also dull: there’s about as much successful chemistry between the two of them as remedial science classes.

Perhaps that was a bit harsh, but that’s the problem: THE TEAR COLLECTOR doesn’t know what harsh is. Jones comes up with a brilliant premise, one that could really go places, but ends up only playing on stereotypes and surface emotions. And it’s really a shame. THE TEAR COLLECTOR will appeal to those not as well read in YA vampire lit or those who are willing to overlook uninspiring writing for the sake of an original concept. ( )

It felt like I was being dropped right in the middle of heavy high school drama. There's gossip and heartbreak. Later on, there's even death. I was a bit lost and certain bits felt contrived, but as I read on, the story got better.

I felt the characters lacked in characterization, but the story was not short in heart-stopping events or tear-inducing moments. The story after all is about Cassandra, a tear collector who must place family before friends, honour and responsibility before her own wants, until she questions the nature of her very being when she meets Scott Gerard.

Cassandra is popular in school because everyone likes her, not to mention that she is pretty and that all the jocks want to hook up with her. As a member of the peer counselling group, she's your go-to person whenever you need a shoulder to cry on, literally.

Scott is somewhat of an enigma. Unlike the other types she has dated, he actually has a head on his shoulders. He is smart, kind, thoughtful, but there seems to always be something he's not saying. There's something about his eyes. There's something that's making Cassandra fall for him, but that's not supposed to happen. She has a reputation of being a heartbreaker because of what she is, but this time, it's different.

Throughout the story, the question "what do you mean?" appears quite often. It's okay, but at some point, it get repetitive. What I do like in this book is the concept of a tear collector and the themes, like that of right/wrong and right/obligation. The idea of having a choice seems new to Cassandra too. There are some passages about having faith and others about reflections on how the world works (and how it's unfair) that are quite deep, but that's not to say that there aren't some cheesy teen stuff in between.

There are beings who feed on human tears in order to survive? Now that's a first. This intrigued me, but I felt the book was somewhat short; there was so much more I wanted to know, but the ending is rather satisfying. I believe readers would want a sequel. Overall, it's an 'okay' read. If you're looking for a new kind of vampire, then give this one a try. (bambireads.blogspot.com) ( )