Book Review: Never Bite A Boy On The First Date by Tamara Summers

Never Bite A Boy On The First Date - Tamara Summers

Synopsis:
Kira November is a sixteen-year-old vampire, secretly living among mortals, and attending her second high school since becoming a vampire one and a half years earlier.
When star football jock, Tex Harrison, is found dead on the front steps of Luna High School, Kira’s family immediately point the blame at her, despite her protestations of innocence. As the second youngest vampire in the ‘family’, and partly responsible for the incident that forced them to leave their previous home, Kira’s reckless reputation means that she is the likely suspect regarding the gruesome murder of her classmate. Determined to clear her name and desperate to avoid getting locked up in a padded coffin by her old-fashioned ‘father’ Wilhelm, Kira sets out to find the real murderer.
Narrowing the suspects down to three cute boys, Kira has to use all her detective skills (which she has learnt from Nancy Drew books and the Veronica Mars television series), to find the culprit. Could it be Rowan, the weird loner who’s clearly hiding something? Or Milo, the sweet and sexy swim team member? Or perhaps it’s Daniel, the new boy in school who seems to shadow Kira wherever she goes…
All Kira knows is, she has to solve the mystery if she doesn’t want to spend the rest of eternity confined in a coffin.

What I gained from reading this book:
After she died and was turned into a vampire, Kira was adopted by four adult vampires- Wilhelm (her ‘father’), Olympia (her ‘mother’), Crystal (her ‘sister’), and Crystal’s husband Bert, and they taught her how to cope with being one of the undead. Zach was a later addition to the family, but he too was taught how to control the blood urges and re-integrate into society as a ‘human’. Kira explains in the novel how vampires who create others like them are obligated to take the new vampires under their wing and therefore avoid any disasters or suspicious human deaths. While the blood-drinking part doesn’t apply to us, I think that similar honour codes to this, as well as a strong sense of familial obligation, are important factors to remember in every day society. If everybody treats each other with respect and helps others in need, the world will be a much better place.

Positives:
Kira is a refreshing change, compared to the dark and moody characters of other teenage vampire novels. While she isn’t exactly enamoured with the idea of being a vampire and drinking blood, it’s for reasons entirely original- she was a vegetarian for four months before her death and thinks blood is ‘disgusting’. She also hates that she can’t check herself out in the mirror and has to have her makeup done for her by her ‘sister’. These normal teenage characteristics, plus her witty retorts, make her into an appealing person that you can’t help but like.

Negatives:
The ending. It’s not too bad, but I want to know what happened to some of the other characters. It feels as though the author took the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach with them, which leaves you wondering how the characters of Rowan and Milo are coping with what happened to them towards the end of the novel.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: Teenage Fiction

Recommended for: Teenagers looking for a tongue-in-cheek novel that has everything- humour, a murder-mystery, romance, action, and (of course) vampires!

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Book Review: Six Feet Under Or Up In Smoke by Jim Eames

Six Feet Under Or Up In Smoke - Jim Eames

Synopsis:
In this novel, Eames explores the Australian funeral industry and provides readers with an interesting overview of what goes on behind closed doors. While many people dread the thought of death and funerals, Eames jumps right into it- interviewing people from the industry and explaining all the intricacies involved in such a necessary but morbid profession. He covers many topics, including information about the picking of gravesites, the process of cremation, viewings, coffin manufacturing, hearses, women in the industry, unusual family requests, and people whose job it is to deal with the aftermath of natural disasters, war or terrorism. He also points out the drastic differences between the funeral profession in large cities like Sydney or Melbourne, compared to those of small and isolated rural communities such as Brewarrina or Wanaaring in New South Wales.

What I gained from reading this book:
Everybody dies. It’s a fact of life. Through reading Six Feet Under Or Up In Smoke, readers can learn all about what happens after they pass, and can then make informed decisions about how they want their funerals or memorials arranged. Whether you want to be cremated and have your family scatter your ashes on a favourite beach, or if you’d rather be entombed in the family mausoleum, Eames looks at the pros and cons of each method without passing judgement. This book will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the business of death in Australia.

Positives:
There are many amusing anecdotes scattered amidst the facts in this novel. While many are these are from Eames’ father’s experiences as an undertaker in the Australian bush, other people in the profession have also contributed some very interesting tales. These experiences include everything from bogged ‘hearses’ (or utes) to strange requests from the families of the deceased (like the person who was buried with a beer keg as part of his tombstone, so visitors could ‘have a drink on him’)!

Negatives:
Anybody who is reading this book and hoping to see how the Australian funeral industry compares to those overseas may be disappointed. Although Eames mentions the international trade, he does not delve too deeply into the similarities and differences between the two. This book is primarily about Australians and how they cope with death and dying.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: Non-Fiction

Recommended for: Anyone who is interested in reading about the Australian funeral industry, and how it is has changed throughout the years.

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Book Review: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank - Ellen Hopkins

Synopsis:
It’s been eight years since Kristina Snow last saw her dad. When she is given the opportunity to spend her summer holidays with him, Kristina jumps at the chance to spend quality time with the man who she once considered the ‘Prince of Albuquerque’, despite her mother’s wishes. But on her arrival in Reno, she is confronted with a father who is totally different to what she expected- the strong, loving father she remembers from childhood has been replaced by a drinking, drug-taking layabout. Desperate to reconnect with her dad, and intensely interested in Buddy, the young man who lives in an apartment downstairs, Kristina finds herself embracing her dark side, going by the name of Bree and partaking in activities that shy Kristina would never consider. While in this state of emotional unbalance, fearless Bree starts taking crank- crystal meth- and quickly becomes addicted to the rush that it brings her. Soon, crank starts to take over her life, and before she knows it, good girl Kristina has receded into the shell of her body, and is ruled by the destructive Bree, in need of her next fix.
As Kristina/ Bree’s addiction grows, and she disassociates herself from her family and friends, she begins to realise why people call crank ‘the monster’, and struggles to find a way to get herself back on track. But the monster is always there, and it’s a difficult demon to ignore…

What I gained from reading this book:
This novel delves into the dark world of drugs, booze and sex, but what makes it all the more challenging to comprehend is that this is experienced by a sixteen-year-old girl. Crank is loosely based on real-life events that occurred in Hopkins’ daughter’s life as she became addicted to the drug, and turned into a virtual stranger to those who know and love her. The sad thing is, this is probably not an isolated story, with many teenagers facing similar concerns as their substance abuse grows out of control.
In the novel, the character of Kristina is a model student, and rarely finds herself in trouble. But on her trip to Reno to visit her dad, she unleashes her darker side- Bree- who is sitting on the sidelines and just waiting to cause problems. Living in a place where she is an unknown, meeting a sexy bad boy, and realising that she has glorified her father in her memories, Kristina recreates herself as Bree as a way of coping with all the sudden changes. When she is introduced to the monster, she is more than happy to jump right in and try something new- even if it is potentially risky- in order to gain respect from the new people in her life.
This sort of damaging behaviour sets the tone for how the rest of the novel plays out. Readers become aware, through reading the verses, that addiction to an illicit substance such as crank changes everything in a person’s life, and affects more than just the person taking the drug.

Positives:
Although I’m not usually a fan of poetry, this verse novel had me hooked. Kristina/ Bree’s story drew me in and I found I couldn’t put the book down- I wanted to find out what she would do next to get out of her predicaments.

Negatives:
Kristina’s alter ego Bree- a strong and vibrant character- is also very destructive. As her addiction to the drug grows, Bree’s actions get progressively worse, resulting in a novel that is recommended for those aged 14 and up, due to its content. This book would probably not be a good choice for people who hold more conservative opinions about human behaviour, or for those who struggle to emphasise with a young person who has fuelled her own demons.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Genre: Teenage Fiction

Recommended for: People who are interested in reading a verse novel that is addictive as the subject matter.

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below: