Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

Vladimir Tod doesn’t have much to look forward to in school. As a skinny pale boy in eighth grade, he is often subject to taunts and bullying. To make matters worse, the principal probably hates him and his crush probably likes his more popular best friend Henry. But puberty and teen angst aren’t all Vlad has to worry about; in fact, those are the lesser of his problems because Vlad is only half human—the other half is vampire. The disappearance of a well-liked teacher and the appearance of not only a strange and nosy substitute teacher but also a mysterious and likely dangerous stranger alert Vlad that someone knows his secret—and is out to get him. But in order to fully understand what’s happening to him in the present, Vlad has to drag up painful memories of the past and learn vital information about a vampire world he never knew existed before.

Eighth Grade Bites is a hilarious debut to an intriguing sounding vampire series that successfully combines supernatural dangers with the trials of being a teen. I just have to say that I love Vlad as the protagonist; he has emotional depth as well as determination and spunk, when he needs it. I really enjoyed reading alternately about Vlad’s vampire mischief or woes and his “human” crushes on girls and struggles with being bullied. The plot is interesting enough, mostly told from Vlad’s perspective thought with occasional flashes from other characters, with a nice balance between action and internal maturation. I truly enjoyed the unpredictability and suspenseful nature of the story as it kept me eagerly reading. The concept of a hidden vampire world isn’t quite so unique because it’s used in similar novels, and its background could’ve been better explained, but it is still an interesting addition that I hope to learn more about in the continuation of this series. Fast and funny, though a bit disappointingly short, Eighth Grade Bites is an excellent choice of vampire lore to read.

Readers who enjoyed Kimberly Pauley’s Sucks to Be Me will want to start Brewer’s vampire series, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. I can’t wait to read more of Vlad’s story in Ninth Grade Slays and the not-yet-released Tenth Grade Bleeds.

Rating: 4.25

Review copy from personal collection