Still Sucks to Me

Still Sucks to Be Me: The All-true Confessions of Mina Smith, Teen Vampire Kimberly Pauley

Mina's back! She's all vampire, and she's all pissed. There were a few things her parents and the vampire council left out-- like she'd be faking her own death and moving pronto. To a small town in Louisiana.

And then George decides to go to Brazil to visit his parents.

Mina's life is falling apart. All she has for a support network is a jock who can't understand why she doesn't want to date him, and another teen vampire who may or may not be totally evil.

And then when Raven shows back up and is trying to kill Serena? Well, it kinda sucks being a vampire.

So much fun, just like the original, Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe). One of the reasons I liked the first one was because you could take out all the vampire stuff and it would still be a good book. This depends more on the vampire-action, as it's heavily into the politics, drama, and history of vampires. But! There's still a good story of new girl moves to town and tries to fit in and misses the life she left behind.

We still get vampire myths and truths and cute drawings before every chapter, as well as lists as to why it sucks to be Mina. How can you not love this voice?

I have to say that flying is a totally different experience as a vampire than as a regular person. Basically, you're sitting in this flimsy seat that you could crush with your bare hands, listening to all these creaks and pops and other scary noises that the people around you can't hear. And the worst part? You can also hear every conversation goin on in the whole plane including

a) the pilot and copilot arguing about some reality TV show and apparently not paying any attention whatsoever to the plane
...
It's really kind of nerve-racking. I mean, if the plane goes down due to a couple of bonehead pilots who can't agree on whether the blonde with the long les or the brunette with the big butt should win the grand prize or not on some stupid TV show, I'll probabyl die a flaming death along with everyone else. I don't think even a vampire can survive a drop of 30,000 feet. Pretty sure, anyway. It definitely wasn't in the brochure. (p34-35, quoted from the ARC, so it may be different in the actual book.)

Mina goes through some definite culture shock/adjustment and initially I was irked because it sounded like it was one big "everyone in the rural south is a hick with a truck and country music. Country music sucks!" but as Mina gets to know people, her initial impressions wear off. But I did laugh when the Louisiana vampires call vampires who drink animal blood (Mina and her family aren't strict no-people drinkers, but tend to go for animal over human) "pig swiggers" and the muttered "damn Cullenist" comment at the blood bar? Made me snort coffee out my nose. Which kinda hurt.

Anyway, if you liked the first one, this one is just as good, if not better.

And if you haven't read these yet, what are you waiting for? 

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And then Buffy staked Edward. The End.

Today I bring you three (THREE) books about vampires that aren't at all scary, except for maybe in their views on love, women, and relationships.

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) Kimberly Pauley

Mina (yes, named after the character in Dracula) is experiencing a crisis of epic proportions:

1. Prom is just around the corner and she hasn't even had time to think about it.
2. She turns into a tongue-tied idiot whenever she sees a cute guy, especially her crush.
3. What is up with all this English homework?!
4. She has to take really boring vampire classes to decide if she wants to be a vampire.

Yeah, a vampire. Her parents are vampires. And now she has to decide if she wants to be one, too. And she has to decide soon, because she didn't have enough on her plate already. It also soon becomes apparent that the decision is even trickier and stickier than she thought it would be.

First of all, it's just plain funny. Everything from Mina's voice to the beginning of every chapter that had a vampire myth, the truth, and a cute/funny little doodle drawing to illustrate it. Second of all, this would still be a pretty workable book if you cut the vampire stuff-- there's a lot more going on than regular vampire knowledge. Also, a lot of talk about Dracula, because they're reading it in English class. I love how Mina wants to stand up for vampire rights. The romantic sub-plot is entirely predictable, but I like that it involved more than two guys.

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side Beth Fantaskey

At his first day as an exchange student in her high school, Lucius dumps a lot of Jessica. First off, he’s a vampire and she’s a vampire princess and they’ve been betrothed since birth. It’s time for them to get married, move back to Romania, and rule the vampires. But, until then, he’s going to live in her barn. What makes it worse is that her parents seem to know all about this! She always knew she was adopted from Eastern Europe, but vampires? They don’t even exist!

A fun romantic comedy that gets heated up by the hott boy next door and the meaner than mean cheerleader. Plus, possible vampire war. Lucius was a little too moody and tortured for my tastes, but Jessica could stand up to it, and did. I can handle controlling male leads if the girl is willing to give him a reality check. And Jessica was.

Got Fangs? Katie Maxwell

Fran's mother is a bonafide witch. Her best friend is 400-odd years old (she's related to vampires) and Fran is stuck traveling around Europe in the Goth Faire where everyone can use their freaky talents, because her dad got remarried and wanted 6 months alone with his new trophy wife.

Fran also thinks she's a freak, because she can read your memories and emotions just by touching you with her bare hands. She tends to wear gloves.

And then Imogen's brother shows up, and he really is a vamp. And he says Fran is his "Beloved" and can save his soul. Yeah, right. She's not buying it, but why does he have to be so cute? And why is her mother so determined to get her to appreciate her "gift" to the point where she's blackmailed into solving a mystery.

Funny and light, I really enjoyed this one and want to read more of Maxwell's works, especially her more realistic fiction like The Year My Life Went Down The Loo.