Second Bookses

I fully blame my tween daughter for my Vlad Tod problem; she forced me to start reading the series after she tore through it at record pace and then met her idol, series author Heather Brewer.::: The Plot :::In Tenth Grade Bleeds, our orphaned, half-vampire hero Vladimir Tod has several problems going on. For one, his best friend (and drudge), popular Henry, decides he doesn't really want to be a drudge anymore, and asks Vlad to free him from his bond. For another, after saving goth boy Sprat from the same bullies who have been harassing Vlad most of his life, Vlad has a new group of friends, who introduce him to the gorgeous Snow, who tempts him with more than just her beauty; he's tempted by her blood. And for another; he's having these really strange, violent dreams, and his godfather Otis, the one who could answer all these questions, has gone missing.::: Sucked in, If You'll Pardon the Pun :::It's impossible not to get completely sucked in by these books. From her obvious nods to all the vampire lore that has come before (her slayer character is named Joss, for instance), Brewer manages to take all the vampire canon and still inject her own unique spin on it. She is an author who has her fanbase in mind at all times when she's writing, and if there was ever an author catering to the Hot-Topic-shopping, Manic-Panic-wearing, social-outcast, pre-teen and teen crowd, it's Brewer. Her hero may land the pretty girl, but he still doesn't get to keep her, and it only makes his already complicated life even more complicated in the long run. He may end up with two gorgeous girls who want to be with him, but neither is really for the right reasons, and it only makes him more of an outcast in the end.Brewer often speaks to teens about bullying, and her in-tune knowledge shows in the books, both in Vlad's experiences as well as how she manages to keep her readers interested. Vlad is always the underdog and while he may triumph at the end of each book, it's never without cost, and there's never a completely happy ending for him. The books are grounded more in reality than most of the paranormal teen fare out there, and it's easy to see why my tween has annointed her "Auntie Heather" as her favorite author.It makes me wish Vlad Tod had been around when I was a teenager. He's a hero to rival my own favorite character: Madeleine L'Engle's Meg Murray. Now if he'd only think doing homework was cool...This review originally published on Epinions.com: http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Tenth_Grade_Bleeds_Heather_Brewer/content_575012703876