Fun YA Vampire Romance Book – Team Human
By
Team Human by Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan
What would you do if your best friend fell in love with a vampire? In every vampire romance story there is always the best friend of the girl who falls for the fanged one, but no one ever asks her what she thinks of this inter-species human vampire romance.
Well, finally someone has considered that question and I must say has answered with some of the most fun dialogue I have read in a long time. Laralestier and Brennan have found a great story here, with Team Human really taking the idea of the BFF in a vampire romance and looking at what it would mean. With a fair amount of wit and loads of snark, Team Human is a great fun book for vampire romance lovers of any age.
A Vampire Romance with Bite
How can you resist a vampire romance with chapter headings like The Deadly Allure of the Vampire in the Lunchroom and My Enemy’s Enemy is My Date? It all started when Mel and Cathy met Francis, a hundreds-year-old vampire who for some reason has decided to come and attend their high school. Now Mel makes no bones about the fact she is very anti-vampire, despite the fact that the city they live in, New Whitby, is known for being a town that was settled by vampires. Mel explains it in a very matter-of-fact way. All manner of religious groups have come to America to escape persecution, vampires just happen to be persecuted because they drink human blood, while humans are still in it.
Of course, times have changed and New Whitby has plenty of blood banks to supply the vampires, who are very much a part of the town, although obviously just at night. All buildings have windows that are UV light shielded by law and the vampires even have their own vampire cops to deal with vampire crooks. But Mel just hates vampires, in that snarky “wouldn’t lift a finger if you were hit by a truck” way. So having her BFF Cathy, who is kinda obsessed with vampires anyways, fall head over heels in love with the schools resident vampire Francis is bound to be trouble, and she knows it.
The secondary characters are also great, I especially loved Kit. Kit was raised by vampires but is a human and makes friends with Mel. Since Mel has such a loathing for vampires, it is a real eye opener for both of them as they get to know each other and raise questions about their own assumptions. Kit had always thought he would make the transition to vampire as he grew older, but his friendship with Mel has him rethinking that assumption as much as his insider viewpoint of vampires has Mel rethinking her disgust with the fanged ones. Friendship can open up hearts and minds sometimes.
The Value of Friendship
There is a lot in this vampire romance that really centers on the questions of friendship and the value of finding your own path. Mel, for all her self-assured outward appearance is adrift in her teen years, not sure what she wants to do after high school. Cathy has always known that whatever it was would have to do with vampires, and now that Francis has offered to turn her, she feels she has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime – a really long lifetime. But Mel smells something fishy in Francis offer and needs to get Cathy to reconsider. The question is can she make her see reason before it is too late?
Beyond Cathy’s budding vampire romance there are more questions concerning vampires that Mel knows she needs to solve. Her good friend Anna’s father is said to have run off with one of the patients in his vampire psychology practice, but Mel thinks his behavior is strange. Did he truly run off and why is he only texting Anna?
Humor and Romance Do Mix!
You may find the plot a bit predictable, but I think in a parody like this one that is to be expected. The humor is so sharp you can cut yourself and I found myself laughing out loud quite frequently. Really embarrassing when you are reading your Kindle on the bus, I might add. You might want to stay home to read this one if being stared at while laughing at your kindle bothers you. But if snorting at some choice bits of vampire humor is your idea of a good vampire romance, this is just your book. For those of us who have consumed all the vampire romances and movies that have come down the pike, these two authors have put a stake through the lot, and with a gleam in their eye. Team Human is a chuckle and a half and a vampire romance comedy that is bound to entertain.
