Mel is firmly on Team Human. Sure, she lives in New Whitby, a town renowned for being vampire-friendly, but Mel has no desire to meet vampires, hang out with vampires, or (especially) become a vampire. She'd rather die. On the other hand, her best friend Cathy has always been fascinated by vampires. When a hot vampire guy enrolls in Mel and Cathy's high school, Mel fears the worst. Cathy is smitten with the newcomer, and he seems to return her interest. Mel is determined to save Cathy from a fate worse than death, whether Cathy wants to be saved or not. Mel is also investigating the mysterious disappearance of another friend's father, so she has a lot on her plate. Life gets even more complicated when she meets Kit, a human raised by vampires. Between Kit and Cathy, Mel is starting to rethink her position on vampires -- perhaps they're not all completely evil -- but she's still not about to let her best friend make the worst mistake a human can possibly make!
First of all, this book does bring the funny. There's the obvious question of why a centuries-old vampire would want to attend high school, and plenty of humor surrounding Kit's quirky adopted family. What really impressed me, though, was Mel's character development, and the way she comes to grip, over the course of the novel, with her own prejudices. It's handled lightly, of course, and that's all for the best -- the book would have been ruined if it came over all message-y. So, kudos to the authors for both writing something that gently mocks vampire romance, but is also worth reading in its own right.
(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)
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