Book: Slayed by Amanda MarroneAmanda Marrone crafts an intriguing, fun story with Slayed. It is certainly not a particularly dark or scary book, it resonates more with the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie than with today's darker vamp hunting models (like the Winchester Brothers).
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand Alone
Pages: 240
Genre: Young Adult / Urban Fantasy
Publication Date: October 5th, 2010
Description (From Goodreads): The Van Helsing family has been hunting vampires for over one hundred years, but sixteen-year-old Daphne wishes her parents would take up an occupation that doesn’t involve decapitating vamps for cash. All Daphne wants is to settle down in one place, attend an actual school, and finally find a BFF to go to the mall with. Instead, Daphne has resigned herself to a life of fast food, cheap motels and buying garlic in bulk. But when the Van Helsings are called to a coastal town in Maine, Daphne’s world is turned upside down. Not only do the Van Helsings find themselves hunting a terrifying new kind of vampire (one without fangs but with a taste for kindergarten cuisine), Daphne meets her first potential BF! The hitch? Her new crush is none other than Tyler Harker, AKA, the son of the rival slayer family.
What's a teen vampire slayer to do?
The story opens with the Van Helsing family's arrival to a sleepy Maine town - they have been called in by the local authorities to deal with a Vampire outbreak. Soon they are informed, much to their dismay, that they will have to work with another Vampire Slaying family; the Harkers. The two families go way back, but have been on the outs ever since Mrs. Harker's death. Now they are forced to play nice in the sandbox. At first Daphne and Tyler (Harker) avoid each other, but soon they form a friendship.
I wish that the relationship between Daphne and Tyler would have been drawn out a little more. It was, "I hate you"..."oh, your kind of cute without your guyliner"... "I love you". I mean, bing-bang-boom. I know they are teenagers and they have raging hormones and all, but come on.
Daphne also makes her first real female friend in Kiki; a vampire slayer wannabe. Maybelle "Kiki" Crusher was easily my favorite part of the book, her character was absolutely hilarious. She was a childhood television star and is now going through a rebellious stage. Kiki and Daphne hit it off after Kiki forces her way into the vamp slaying life - much to Daphne's chagrin. The scenes in which the two teens hunt vamps together are priceless. Kiki shows up in her idea of hunting gear - a pink hoodie, black cami and blinged out stakes that she purchased online.
Parts of the story were certainly predictable, but if you go into reading it with the right attitude, you will find it enjoyable. Slayed is a light, fluffy take on the vampire craze and it doesn't try to be anything else. The story is suspenseful and engaging enough that you can easily finish it within a few hours. I wouldn't drop everything to run out and buy this one, but if you are looking for something to light it was certainly a cute read.
4 comments:
This sounds like a really fun concept. I think I'd like this book. It sounds a shame about the romance though - that's one of the things that bugs me a lot when I'm reading, and not just in YA. It sounds interesting though, I'll look out for it in the library.
~Ailsa
I do like the sound of this one though the romantic element seems to fall a little short. That being said, I always appreciate a book that doesn't try to be anything but enjoyable and just a fun read. Nice review Sarah!
I've been wanting to get this one for a while but I've read a lot of bad reviews about it. However, the reviews I read didn't know how Marorne writes--with language and all-- so that did effect their reviews. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it and sometimes fluffy and light is exactly what I need after a particularly heavy novel. Thanks so much for the review.
Thanks for the review! I still think I'm going to try to find a copy of this one!
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