"Junior high really stinks 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 and no one to teach him, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a strange substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he realizes he has a much bigger problem: He’s being hunted by a vampire killer who is closing in . . . fast!"
Vlad Tod is half vampire, half human. His parents died three years ago, leaving him living with his aunt Nelly, who along with his best friend Henry, are the only ones who know Vlad is a vampire. As far as Vlad knows, there aren't any other vampires in the world. Then his favourite teacher disappears and his new substitute seems to know more about Vlad than he will say. And from there things just get stranger.
I've been curious about this series for a while, but I hadn't yet tried it because I wasn't sure I'd like it too much, despite an interesting premise. Humor and vampires don't always go well for me. I am a fan of angst. But I actually really enjoyed this! I liked Vlad almost instantly, the way he just takes being a vampire in stride, not stressing about it or what it means, aside from wanting to keep it secret of course. When it comes to cute girls though, he's very shy. Makes him seem very normal, it's cute and funny!
Eighth Grade Bites is a fun story with a semi-serious side. Vlad wants to know what happened to his parents, who died under very strange circumstances and who he misses very much. I just kind of loved the whole story. It's funny without being stupid, got a nice cast with potential to get better. I liked the twists and vampire lore aspects as well. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
Rating: 7/10
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod are being released in the UK in 2011 from Razorbill, Penguin. Books 1 and 2 (Ninth Grade Slays) will be out in February, followed by Tenth Grade Bleeds in April and Eleventh Grade Burns in June. Books 1-5 (Twelfth Grade Kills) are already out in the US.
1 comment:
I've been curious about the Vladmir Tod series for a while now, and your review may have put me over the edge of "curious" and into "going to read." It looks to be interesting and entertaining!
Also: Hi! Here through the book blogger hop. Now I'm off to read more of your previous reviews. Happy weekend!
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