Review: Vampire Island by Adele Griffin

Vampire Island

Author: Adele Griffin
Publication Date: August 16, 2007
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
ISBN: 978-0399237850
128 pages

Life isn’t easy for vegetarian vampires trying to blend in with regular people in a new city. The Livingstone kids are fruit bat hybrids who have left Old World dangers, and immortality, behind for a "normal" life in New York City. But normal doesn’t necessarily mean easy, especially with lingering vampire traits complicating things.

Older sister Lexie’s super speed, amazing strength and knowledge of tragic poets often embarrass her in front of her classmates, and worse—her secret crush. Devious Maddy would rather invent ways to spy on her suspicious, possibly blood-sucking (i.e., rule-breaking) neighbors than stick to her new vegan diet. Hudson, who can still fly like a bat and talk to animals, is determined to save the planet, but with odd habits and vocabulary from the wrong century, how can he rally his classmates to his cause?

In her offbeat portrayal of this not-quite-normal family, Adele Griffin uses her unique brand of humor to introduce readers to three siblings who face challenges growing up that most "normal" kids couldn’t even imagine.

My Thoughts:

I read this book mainly because I wanted to be able to finish something for the Read-A-Thon. This book was put on our bookshelf by my younger sister. She really liked the cover and thought it was interesting. I sorta connected with Lexi because she had a younger sister and a crush. I have been in her shoes plenty of times. You try to keep the younger siblings out of danger while trying to fight with your own emotions. Even though this book was a quick read it still had some good lessons to learn from.

This book was used as a bonding experience for my younger sister as she read it to me and I to her. However it did have some things such as "tricks" the kids could do that may affect how the younger children think. Such as their bat tricks. I recommend this book for ages 9-12, and give it a 4 out of 5 for family friendliness.