Everybody cries sometime; when we are happy, sad, angry and overwhelmed. It seems that we always have a person, whether a friend, a sibling, parent or other, whose shoulder we can cry on. They give us strength and make things better, even when we are a mess. But what if this person was only there for you for their benefit? This is what happens in The Tear Collector by Patrick Jones. Cassandra Gray is the person everyone comes to with their troubles, and that’s because Cass wants it to be that way.
Cassandra and her entire family are what you would call an emotional succubus or an energy vampire. Her family feeds on the sorrow of humans. They do not cause suffering to humans, but they soak up the tears, which serve as the energy source that’s keeps them alive. Cassandra has never questioned her family’s duty; she volunteers at the hospital and the peer counseling hotline, and is there for any friend that has drama. At her high school, there is always drama, too.
Because of Cass’s rep as the school shoulder-to-cry-on, she’s pretty popular with every clique. She is best friends with the popular cheerleader, Robyn Berry, and has a popular jock boyfriend, Cody. She’s always in the middle of the drama, mainly because it seems to always center around Robyn. Her little sister Becca, who Cass babysits a lot and adores like her own sister, has cancer and is probably dying, and her boyfriend, Craig just cheated with her other ‘best friend’ Brittney.
Going back to Cody; he is soon dumped by Cass. His rich, suburban wanna-be gangster act has served its purpose, and he is now Cassandra Gray reject No. 7. Cass gets most of her tears from when she breaks up with guys, which has happened a bit. She doesn’t feel anything for them, because she can’t, so breaking up with them is fairly easy for her.
The last thing that really changes soon in the book is after Cass breaks up with Cody. She gets into a heated debate with a girl in her class named Samantha about God. She also gets support from a strict catholic guy named Scott, who she goes to see after class. Scott is a loner at the school, he really doesn’t do much there, but Cass gets a connection with him very quickly. She’s never had a connection with anyone, so this is strange for her.
Cass has been having trouble with her family and what is called her ‘duty’, especially since it involves her evil cousin Alexei. Alexei, well, let’s just say he’s completely psychotic. He’s tries to get Cass to do what he wants by threats and by force, which Cass always gets past him thankfully. The end is surprising; I did not expect some of the things to happen to Scott and his grandma and Cass. I expected Cass to choose what she did at the very end, but it was surprising to know how it’s done. I enjoyed reading it very much.
RED’S ALL STAR APPEAL: 3 ¾ out of 5 stars. I liked the book quite a bit, but it’s definitely not one of the best books I have ever read. It is good though, it has a good flow through the chapters.
MASS APPEAL: Anyone that is into the whole creature-fantasy theme, or likes vampires or wolves or books about them, this book is definitely for you. It has the fantasy element and the mystery behind it because you don’t ever quite know everything about it, and the teen drama along with it.
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