Nerdy Vampires Exist!

TITLE: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

AUTHOR: Heather Brewer

LENGTH: 182 pages

SUMMARY: Vladimir Tod is a vampire and a nerd. He’s bullied and tormented as only 8th graders can be yet he’s content with this less than perfect teenage existence. Sure, it’s a pain to pretend to eat real food, have to put on sunblock EVERY DAY – rain, snow, or shine – before going to school, and refrain from draining his tormentors dry, but it’s a price Vlad’s willing to pay in order to fit in with the human kids. Vlad’s father was a vampire and his mother was a human so he’s writing his own rule book as far as what is “normal” for his kind. He lives with his “Aunt” Nelly after his parents’ tragic deaths in a house fire and subsists on a combination of real food and bagged blood she pilfers from the blood bank at her job as a nurse. Vlad’s best friend, Henry, makes horrible puns about Vlad’s secret and the two are navigating their 8th grade year as best as any middle school boy can.

But then Vlad’s English teacher, Mr. Craig, goes missing and is replaced with the eccentric Mr. Otis Otis. And this substitute shows more than a passing interest in Vlad. As the search for Mr. Craig peters out, Mr. Otis begins to make more and more thinly veiled remarks about vampires and other supernatural creatures. Vlad worries that Mr. Otis may somehow know his secret. The impending threat of having his secrets out in the open sends Vlad searching for clues. He finds a strange symbol at Mr. Craig’s house that matches a book in his father’s library. He returns to his family’s former home to uncover the truths about his parents’ deaths, the reason for Mr. Otis’s interest in Vlad, and maybe even the legacy of the vampire world he has lived without. Until now.

BRIDGE: This book would be a great introduction for middle school students into the world of literary allusions. Brewer’s story is chocked full of references to Brahm Stoker’s Dracula as well as historically “vampiric” figures like Vlad the Impaler. Teachers could use the text as a companion to Dracula or in a set of vampirically themed YA to compare and contrast the different mythologies surrounding vampires. One could even do a minilesson on puns using the banter between Vlad and Henry.

For older students, this could even lead to research in different areas: history, mythological creatures, and even biology. It would also be a great way to introduce the tradition of myth and the use of allusion in layering a narrative.

READER: Any reader who is fascinated with the supernatural will enjoy Brewer’s Vlad. Though about vampires, the first few books in the series aren’t too gory and are well balanced with humor. The series would appeal more to male readers and would be a good pick for reluctant readers.

OTHER TITLES: Readers who like this book would also enjoy The Maximum Ride books by James Patterson, Fat Vampire by Adam Rex, The Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan, or The Skinjacker books by Neal Shusterman.

Disappointing Death Diva

Violet is still exploring her romance with Jay as the second installment in the Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting begins. As they try to get back to normal after the terrifying events at the dance at the end of the first book, Violet is attempting to reconcile her ability to sense dead bodies and live a normal teenager’s life. That’s made all the more complicated when she senses another body locked inside a shipping container and, when she lets the authorities know, she may have given herself away.

Mike and Megan, a new pair of siblings moves to town, and suddenly Violet is competing with Mike for Jay’s attention when she needs him more than ever. Violet struggles to maintain honesty in her relationship with Jay as she fears having her ability discovered. When she starts receiving anonymous, threatening messages and learns a secret about Mike and Megan, she has to decide who to trust. If she doesn’t decide soon, they could all be in danger.

Honestly, I was disappointed in this sequel. I was so intrigued by Violet’s ability in the first book and she seems to be a refreshing type of female protagonist. She has both parents who are at home and involved. She has a solid network of friends and has established what seems to be a healthy romantic relationship. She is equal parts decisive and doubtful, as most teenagers are. But she seems to unravel in the second book. She becomes more indecisive and almost whiny. She doesn’t trust anyone, not even Jay, who is the one person who seemed to be a constant in the first book.

In addition to Violet’s unraveling character, the plot in this book seemed weak. I felt it was a little too predictable and the pacing seemed off. I was pretty sure I had it figured out by the time the first message appeared. And, more than in the first novel, Violet seems controlled by the echoes she hears. I always got the sense in the first book that Violet was in control. Here in the second book, it seems that Violet is merely being pushed around by all the different forces she faces. It’s almost as if the plot took over the characters.

All in all, a disappointing second installment. I have to give it a THUMBS DOWN. However, I like Derting’s writing style and the length of her books is suitable for readers who may shy away from longer tomes but are interested in paranormal fiction. I am anxious to see if Derting continues Violet’s story and if a subsequent book will redeem Violet for me. I have heard marvelous things about The Pledge and am hopeful that Derting will deliver with this new book.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

17-year-old Cas Lowood is carrying on the family business after his father’s death. He travels the country, never staying in one place too long, honing his craft. While many would think this sounds ideal, there is one disadvantage: potential death. Cas is a mortal with the ability to help the dead find their final peace – even if that peace comes at the edge of Cas’s blade, the athame.

Now Cas and his white-witch mother have come to a new city tracking another restless spirit the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood. She’s been haunting her family’s home since the 1950s, filling the community with ghost-stories and killing anyone who sets foot in her home.  This “assignment” is different from the others.  Cas has more support this time than just his oddball mother and his spirit-sensing cat – he’s actually making friends rather than pushing people away. This “kill” is also supposed to be his last before he journeys to avenge his father’s death at the hands of an unholy spirit in Louisiana. Most bizarre of all, Anna – who is the perfect combination of creepy, crazy and cross – spares Cas’s life when she has not shown mercy to anyone in almost 50 years. Cas is determined to find out why.

Blake’s story is a little sleepy after the initial action-packed opening. It’s hard to follow a near-death, careening-car-off-the-side-of-the-bridge scene with a more tired new-kid-in-town template. But things get moving again nicely as Cas begins to meet some stereotypical high school kids who aren’t so stereotypical. The characters that could be cardboard-cutouts actually have some depth. The feeling that both Cas and Anna can never have what they really want propels the story along and the ultimate resolution leaves a bittersweet, romantic tang in the air. Overall, it’s a pleasing read that is difficult to put down. THUMBS UP  to Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.

YA Historical Lit: Connect Then to Now

Title: The Name of the Star

Author: Maureen Johnson

Length: 384 pages

Aurora “Rory” Devaux is an American teen attending Wexford Academy, a posh boarding school in London. While Rory is settling in to her dorm room and meeting her roommate, a young woman is murdered and the details of the case bear a striking resemblance to Jack the Ripper’s murders in the early 20^th century. As “Rippermania” grips London, Rory and her new classmates watch as the police fumble to find a lead. Except Rory thinks she has seen him, but even though her roommate was with her, there’s no other person who can corroborate her sighting. Fraught with suspense and a touch of the paranormal, Johnson’s story takes readers right back to the heart of what made Jack the Ripper so frightening: his identity and motives were completely unknown. Rory and her new friends have to navigate the ever-increasing restrictions being placed on students at Wexford to see if they can help stop the murderer before he kills again.

BRIDGE: This novel spans mutiple genres and could be used in a variety of ways. The Name of the Star would work well as a springboard for research on a number of different topics: Jack the Ripper or serial killers in general, Victorian England, paranormal history, or boarding school/college dynamics.  One could use this in a cross-curricular literature circle activity with other YA novels which reference real historic events like Donnelly”s Revolution or Witch Child & Sorceress by Celia Rees.

READERS: This book appeals to mystery fans as well as drawing in the paranormal contingent. Rory is a likeable Southern girl thrown into a unfamiliar situation and would be a suggestion for readers dealing with a new situation of their own. Students with inquisitive minds would be drawn into the story and history/nonfiction buffs will like the real-life connections.

OTHER TITLES: Readers who enjoy this book would also enjoy the 39 Clues books or the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books by Rick Riordan.