Review: Eighth Grade Bites

Title: Eighth Grade Bites

Series: The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd #1

Author: Heather Brewer

Pages: 182

Publisher: Dutton Children's Books

Published Date: August 16, 2007

ISBN 13: 9780525478119

Rating: 3/5

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!

Review: 

This book was a very quick read, since I managed to finish it in all of one day. But it was surprisingly good, nonetheless. The plot was simple and easy to follow; typical of a book aimed towards preteens, but I enjoy a nice piece of fluff literature every now and then.

When picking a genre to read, I’m always a bit hesitant to choose books on vampires. Ever since Twilight came into success, everybody thinks they have what it takes to write about the undead. Not necessarily true.

However, I think Miss Brewer did a fantastic job of depicting the life of a thirteen year-old vampire. Not only was Vladimir’s character believable, but she gave life to the secondary characters as well. Sometimes authors make the mistake of focusing too heavily on the main character, and the others seem one dimensional. This was not the case at all. I also enjoyed that even the bad guys had redeeming qualities, while the good guys had their faults.

The only true complaint I have with this piece was the naming. I felt that some of the names, such as D’ablo and Otis Otis, were ridiculous. I can let this slide, because again, this is a book that is supposed to be geared towards kids in their early teens.

Aside from that, I felt like this was a refreshing change from some of the heavier books I normally choose. All in all, I give it three out of five stars.