Title: Eighth Grade Bites
Series: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #1
Author: Heather Brewer
Publishers: Dutton Children's Book
Date of Publication: August 16th, 2007
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Length: 172 pages
My Source: Ebook
Synopsis
Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: he's being hunted by a vampire killer.
Review
This book follows a 13 year old boy, Vladimir Tod, a vampire, through his first year of high school. Vlad is a human-vampire hybrid with a human mother and a vampire father. Vlad deals with the usual dilemmas in high school like crushing on the pretty girl at school, putting up with bullies and having your aunty hide your blood fix in your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches…
Vlad has to deal with a creepy substitute who seems to know exactly what he is. Vlad begins to discover secrets of his parent’s who died 3 years earlier in a mysterious fire and the secret’s his father had been keeping from Vlad and his mother. Without giving away any spoilers, I love Henry, Vlad’s best friend who just happens to be the only human Vlad has ever bitten. Throughout the book, Vlad is figuring out his vampire powers and lives with his Aunt Nellie who hides his blood fix in Twinkies (whatever they are) and sandwiches. While I think he could have just taken a normal drink bottle to school full of blood, I still love the creativity of the whole “hiding the blood capsule” thing.
Vlad discovers his father's journal in the attic and is learning about the reality of being a vampire and the powers that he may possess. Vlad also becomes convinced that there is a vampire killer in town, and that he is next on the killer's list. Things go from bad to worse when Aunt Nelly invites Otis to dinner and he confronts Vlad with what he knows.
Vlad has to deal with a creepy substitute who seems to know exactly what he is. Vlad begins to discover secrets of his parent’s who died 3 years earlier in a mysterious fire and the secret’s his father had been keeping from Vlad and his mother. Without giving away any spoilers, I love Henry, Vlad’s best friend who just happens to be the only human Vlad has ever bitten. Throughout the book, Vlad is figuring out his vampire powers and lives with his Aunt Nellie who hides his blood fix in Twinkies (whatever they are) and sandwiches. While I think he could have just taken a normal drink bottle to school full of blood, I still love the creativity of the whole “hiding the blood capsule” thing.
Vlad discovers his father's journal in the attic and is learning about the reality of being a vampire and the powers that he may possess. Vlad also becomes convinced that there is a vampire killer in town, and that he is next on the killer's list. Things go from bad to worse when Aunt Nelly invites Otis to dinner and he confronts Vlad with what he knows.
Overall, this book is a first in a series so it has a few plot holes and leaves you with a lot of questions as to how Grade 9 is going to be for Vlad. Vlad is refreshing and one of the best characters I’ve come across. So while the plot of this first book is a little washy, Vlad is freaking awesome and I’ll definitely be reading the next four to find out where this series is going.
About The Author
Heather Brewer was not your typical teen growing up. She wore black, danced under full moons and devoured every book in sight.She hasn’t changed much.
Today, Heather can be found writing in her funky, black Happy Bunny jammie pants, dancing under the full moon, devouring every book in sight, and attending Renaissance Festivals in costume (and in character).
When Heather's not writing, dressing up, dancing and reading, she's answering email, which she LOVES to get. You can email Heather by using the contact form on the right. But before you do, make sure you check the FAQ to see if your question has been answered there. Unfortunately, Heather cannot respond to all emails, as doing so would take up valuable writing time (and we wouldn't want that, would we?), but you can always reach her by commenting on her blog or her Facebook, or by following her on Twitter.
My Friendship Bond
My Reaction
No comments:
Post a Comment