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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
'Morning, sunshine.'
Vlad blinked at her. 'Morning, sulfuric acid.'
Get it... because he's a vampire? 🤣
Honestly, this book was genuinely entertaining. I laughed a good amount throughout the story, and I even teared up in some parts:
Honestly, this book was genuinely entertaining. I laughed a good amount throughout the story, and I even teared up in some parts:
Nelly had such a sweet way of making him feel completely normal. Not that being a vampire was bizarre or anything, certainly not abnormal. But sometimes, when he was putting on his sunblock in the morning or when Henry would describe the incredible lasagna his mom made, he felt a pang of jealousy for humans.
Of course, there were a lot of moments where the story tried to take itself seriously, and it was not successful in its attempt. I just felt so bad for Vlad while reading. My heart broke a little every time he would describe wanting to feel like he belonged somewhere. :( I definitely related to him in some ways as a queer WOC, which makes sense considering stories about vampires tend to be relatable to us. </3
I am planning on reading the rest of the series, and I'm excited to see if the writing and characters improved... The build up to the climax was decent, in my humble opinion, but there were some plot holes, especially in the beginning, that were never resolved. I'm hoping their contents will be addressed in the following installments.
I also want to mention that I read this book with a friend of mine after I asked her if she knew any books that would be considered emo. And, I can safely say that her judgement was accurate; Eighth Grade Bites is peak emo, next to The Catcher in the Rye of course. Don't worry, the masterdoc of emo literature is coming in the near future...
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What starts out as a potentially tongue-in-cheek vampire book morphs into something much more serious and exciting! Eighth grader, Vlad Tod, is the child of a vampire father and human mother who are no longer living. Vlad lives with his aunt Nelly, eats raw meat and drinks 'expired' blood bags Nelly can score from the hospital. He has okay grades, tries to steer clear of bullies, and is working on getting up the courage to ask out the gorgeous Meredith. Pretty standard stuff, that is until a favorite teacher goes missing and the mysterious Otis Otis appears as the substitute teacher. Everything Vladimir thought was true in his life will change dramatically in a few short pages of this first installment of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites.
Lots of bloody fun for middle-school boys who could care less about froo froo, frilly vampires and their soap-opera love stories!
Lots of bloody fun for middle-school boys who could care less about froo froo, frilly vampires and their soap-opera love stories!
Overall this is a good start to the series. Definitely has eighth grader vines to it but am looking forward to where the story goes next.
The book was a nice read, I finished it in just one day. Even though this is a children’s book it was still interesting. The ending was very cliche but since it’s a children’s cook I was not surprised, just slightly disappointed. I’m hoping that when I continue the series the books will become more mature and better written.
This certainly has merit as young adult fantasy--particularly because it revolves around a mystery instead of a love story. But for my time, Necromancer was better.
This was a quick, easy read. I was apprehensive about reading it after reading the Twilight series. I needed a break from vampire drama but to my surprise this book wasn't like that at all. I will probably read the next one in the series...
This was too juvenile for me, which is saying something since I did make it through the Twilight series. I guess maybe if Vladimir was obsessed with a girl from Arizona...
Anyway, while these books didn't snag me, one of my 17-year-old male students is on his second or third time through them, and he's languishing waiting for the third book to hit the classroom shelf. Teen and tween guys who like fantasy may very well like this book.
Anyway, while these books didn't snag me, one of my 17-year-old male students is on his second or third time through them, and he's languishing waiting for the third book to hit the classroom shelf. Teen and tween guys who like fantasy may very well like this book.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Obviously not for anyone older than eighth grade. I bought this book for $7 because it came with a free t-shirt and the logo is pretty cool, but the writing is horrible and the concept is pretty cookie-cutter of more popular contemporary YA vampire novels. I would not recommend this book for anyone regardless of age. Heck, even Twilight is better than this, and I'm no Twihard. There has been much better YA vampire fiction, given the gratuitous amount of it there is, and this is something that is on par with them at all.