Category: Fanging Around
Teen Vampire Fiction with Bite!
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Okay, I know I’m probably preaching to the choir with this one–if you are any kind of vampire fan at all, you’ve probably already read Interview or at least seen the excellent movie version with Brad Pitt and a blond Tom Cruise. But no vampire list would be complete without the sad story of Louis, an 18th century plantation owner who, after losing his family, allows himself to be turned into an immortal vampire by his blood-letting sponsor, Lestat. Louis and Lestat are friends and hunters together, until Louis’s all too human conscience begins to bother him. He can’t take all the murder and death that comes with being one of the undead, and he especially can’t stand how cruel Lestat is to his victims. So Louis sets out with his own creation, a young girl that he and Lestat “turned” and tries to find the meaning of life, if there is one. A good, deep vampire read. If you really want to know how vampires tick and ponder the mysteries of the universe along the way, Interview is just the cup of negative AB, I mean TEA for you.
Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde
This is the story of what happens to 16 year old Kerry when she illegally drives to the laundromat in the middle of the night to rescue her brother’s lost stuffed animal. You may think she gets arrested for driving without a permit, or at the very least, her dad wakes up, finds the car gone, and grounds her. No such luck. Kerry makes it to the laundromat and even finds her brother’s toy. But then she’s pulled into an attempted murder, kidnapped by Ethan the vampire, forced to help bury a corpse in a swamp, and blackmailed by an extremist group who have captured her family. And that’s just the first night. By the end of her unlikely adventure with the undead, Kerry wishes she HAD been arrested on the way to the laundromat. This one will get you home by curfew and keep you there.
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
This granddaddy of vampire fiction was penned ‘waaaaaay back in 1975, but is still amazingly popular today. Stephen King, one of my all time favorite authors, asks a simple question with this book: what if Dracula moved to YOUR small hometown? Maybe he keeps to himself, maybe not. Maybe he likes to be alone…or maybe he plans to turn the entire town into blood sucking zombies who will keep him company. Maybe you’re safe if you lock the door…or maybe you’re not. As more and more townspeople start taking naps during the daytime hours, it’s up to one young man and his writer friend to figure out how to save the soul of a town that may have already sold it to the devil. Oooooo, this novel is so scary, I wouldn’t recommend reading it after dark.
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
After a sudden attack by a stranger, Jody gets a nasty sunburn every time she goes outside and feels a need to drink something warm and red instead of the usual Evian. What’s going on?? Could Jody be(gasp!) a VAMPIRE??? She needs a guy fast, and not just because she’s hungry. After all, SOMEONE has to go to the bank for her during the day! You’ll enjoy every odd-ball minute of this hip take on love, death, and undeath in California. And don’t forget to read the funny follow-up sequel, You Suck: A Love Story
