Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd, #1
CHILDREN, FANTASY

rating

Vlad has to keep his vampire urges under control while dealing with the pressures of middle school.
Thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod really hates junior high. 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.

“Whoever had decided that school should start so early in the morning and last all day long needed to be hunted down and forced to watch hours of educational television without the aid of caffeine.”

I met this author at a movie convention and bought this book, had it signed, planned to read it soon…but then it sat on my shelves for years for some reason. That’s the story of my life with books.

The writing style is simple and humorous, which should be enjoyable for the middle school age. It was a little too simplified for my tastes, but the story was good enough to stay interesting. I would have liked a bit more complication, but again it’s middle school age, so that’s more forgivable under that circumstance.

Vlad is a hybrid who goes to school like any other normal child, but he soon finds out that he is being unfairly judged by a vampire council I wanted to strangle. There’s a few oddball characters where you’re not sure if they’re trustworthy or not, but all ended up okay on the last pages.

Basically a fun book with several cute moments, it works to be a quick read and nothing more. The series may develop more – I have a few other books to read in it – and I’ll continue to see if the plotline improves a bit as he gets older.



   Book Quotes:

“Because teachers, no matter how kind, no matter how friendly, are sadistic and evil to the core.”

   Trailer:



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