Scan barcode
A review by robinlikesreading
The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
It's Halloween month so I really wanted to read something with vampires or something and then I realized I still have not read The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron so now I finally did. I don't read a lot of middle grade books but I was pleasently surprised by this one.
It's been 20 years since 'The Reaping' which was an event where the last vampires were wiped out by The Vanquishers. This event is still being celebrated and The Vanquishers are being idolized.
Malika and her friends are so sure vampires don't exist anymore and they don't understand why their parents still vampire proof everything until their new friend Aaron goes missing....
This was such a fun read. The cast was great. I loved Boog and her friends Jules and Cedrick. I love their new friendship with Aaron. I loved all of the parents as well. There's also some great queer representation which we are used to from Kalynn but I still love to see it. Jules uses they/them pronouns and Cedrick has two dads.
The story is predictable which you would expect from a middle grade book. That doesn't make the story less good. I still wanted to know what happened to Aaron despite figuring out what has happened pretty early on.
I love how Kalynn Bayron has so many different kind of stories. None of her books feel the same. From a fairytale retelling (Cinderalla Is Dead and she a Snow White retelling coming out next year as well which I'm so excited about!) to some greek mythology (This Poison Heart and its sequel) to some horror (My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix) and she even released a slasher book earlier this year (You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight) and then now this really good middle grade vampire book. She has something for everyone and I'm sure she's one of my all time favorite authors.
Luckily the sequel released yesterday so I know what I'm gonna read next.
It's been 20 years since 'The Reaping' which was an event where the last vampires were wiped out by The Vanquishers. This event is still being celebrated and The Vanquishers are being idolized.
Malika and her friends are so sure vampires don't exist anymore and they don't understand why their parents still vampire proof everything until their new friend Aaron goes missing....
This was such a fun read. The cast was great. I loved Boog and her friends Jules and Cedrick. I love their new friendship with Aaron. I loved all of the parents as well. There's also some great queer representation which we are used to from Kalynn but I still love to see it. Jules uses they/them pronouns and Cedrick has two dads.
The story is predictable which you would expect from a middle grade book. That doesn't make the story less good. I still wanted to know what happened to Aaron despite figuring out what has happened pretty early on.
I love how Kalynn Bayron has so many different kind of stories. None of her books feel the same. From a fairytale retelling (Cinderalla Is Dead and she a Snow White retelling coming out next year as well which I'm so excited about!) to some greek mythology (This Poison Heart and its sequel) to some horror (My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix) and she even released a slasher book earlier this year (You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight) and then now this really good middle grade vampire book. She has something for everyone and I'm sure she's one of my all time favorite authors.
Luckily the sequel released yesterday so I know what I'm gonna read next.