Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Review (15): Bloodthirsty

Bloodthirsty
by Flynn Meaney


Series: None
Other Reviewed Titles: None
Release Date: October 5, 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 234
Source: Own
Challenge: 2011 OTS

Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before - he becomes a vampire, minus the whole bloodsucking part.

With his brooding nature and unusually pale skin, it’s surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be supernatural. But when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected.
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Characters: I really liked Finbar. He is very sweet, smart, and extremely observant. He went from being the awkward, nerdy boy that all the other guys liked to pick on to being the confident, school badass that people were afraid to mess with. His transformation happened quickly, but was completely believable. He meets two completely different girls at his new school and they each help him realize that being himself is all he needs to make people like him. All of the characters in the story really help him realize this.

Plot: I’m not going to lie, I’m starting to get a little tired of all the YA vampire books because that’s pretty much all anyone will write about these days. I was a little hesitant to read this one, but I’m definitely happy that I finally decided to pick it up because it was completely different from what I had expected. The main character is a “vampire”, but that is only a small part of the overall story. He is just a normal teenage boy trying to figure out who he is and where he fits in. The only reason he even becomes a “vampire” is to get girls, but he soon realizes that it was a dumb idea when his plan backfires. Other than this, the book has nothing at all to do with vampires. It was fun to read about his adventures, but some of his thoughts should have been a little more censored. I didn’t need to know what he did in the shower or that he had a thing for librarians, lol.

Cover: The cover is so cute! When you look at it you know the book is going to be about vampires, but at the same time you get this feeling that it might not be. It has a very playful aspect to it.

Overall Impression: This was a really refreshing read and a very different take on the traditional vampire story. It has a great message; be who you are because that is who people will like, not some made up persona. I think that people who like, as well as people who dislike, vampire stories will enjoy this book.

Rating: * * * 1/2