Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style.
Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad.
My Thoughts:
This was cute! I was feeling a bit lackluster about reading anything so I went to the library, found the smallest book I could on the YA shelves and started reading. I'm so glad it was this one!
Things I loved: The voice. I was instantly hooked by the sarcastic humor of Daisy's voice. I loved the way she thought and how she approached things. She wasn't whiney, she didn't monologue too much (or ever, that I can remember) and I just liked her. She was likable. And cute. And funny.
The humor. The entire book felt like a satire of other YA paranormal contemporary romance books. It was completely kitschy. Which I loved. And nothing in this book took itself too seriously. I love that, when something basically makes fun of itself.
The Romance. No love triangle (woot!). I feel like this shouldn't have to be mentioned but I DO mention it because it's a big deal in YA literature to NOT have a love triangle in a book. I wish it wasn't so. But it is. So, once again, there was no love triangle. Just one cute love interest and a tasty amount of cute little kiss scenes spread throughout the book. I also loved that the love story wasn't an all-encompassing passionate affair where the characters couldn't control themselves. It was a friendship that evolved into something sweeter. It was just cute.
So I liked this book. But, you know, it was one of those outcast-loner-girl-turns-popular-cheerleader books. Plus it was a book about a town made up of paranormal creatures that somehow no one knows about even though they're everywhere and these people have lived there their whole lives. Everything was cliche. Kitsch. I'd read it before somewhere else and there wasn't really anything new to set this apart. And hints were SHOUTED at me while reading. The mystery element was a little different, I guess, in the sense that Daisy, herself, kept guessing who the killer was. Which is exactly what I do as a reader. So it was kind of fun to see that thought process. It also kept me guessing until the end, which is unusual. But mostly I just got annoyed at how quickly Daisy jumped to conclusions.
This was a quick, cute, entertaining read. Pre-teens and younger teens would probably like it a lot more than I did just because of all the kitschy-ness. Check it out.
Sexual Content: Moderate (just kissing. Vague talk of more than kissing)
Language: Mild
Violence: Mild
Drugs/Alcohol: Mild (if any)
