The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Book 1 by Heather Brewer
Eighth Grade Bites (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Book 1) by Heather Brewer
2007
182 Pages
4/5
While thirteen year old Vladimir Tod’s friends drink their fruit juice boxes at school, he has his own bag of red drink….blood. Vladimir is what he thinks is the last of the vampires, the spawn of a human woman and his father, a vampire. He’s the first vampire to ever be conceived this way. And he defies traditional views of vampires. He can go into the sun as long as he has his sunblock on. He doesn’t drink blood from it’s source, but rather from his caregiver, Nelly. Well, not exactly FROM Nelly, but she brings him “blood bags” home from her work at the blood bank. He attends school with all of the other teens, though he’s less than popular and has to make sure to hide his fangs when he becomes angry.
His best friend is Henry, the only person in the world aside from Nelly to know that he is a vampire after he bit him during play when he was 8 years old. Vlad’s mother and father were killed mysteriously when he was younger and since then, Vlad has felt like an outsider. As much as Nelly and Henry try to make him feel normal and treat him as a human, he knows he is something else, a vampire. Things suddenly take a turn for the bizarre though when his english teacher goes missing and is later pronounced dead. Vlad starts to think that he may not be alone. Replacing his lost teacher is a bizarre man named Otis Otis.
Mr. Otis is a fun teacher that everyone seems to like except for Vlad. Otis teaches the class of various mythological and folklore creatures. Witches, zombies, ghosts, werewolves…and vampires. And he always seems to have his eye on Vlad. When he tries to enter into Vlad’s life more than a teacher is welcomed, Vlad grows worried. And he soon notices a mark on his teachers arm that is similar to the one that his father once wore, the same mark that is on a book of vampire secrets that his father left him. Combined with the discovery of his father’s journals, he soon begins to think that he may not be as alone as he once thought he was.
This first book in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod was SO MUCH FUN! I really loved it. It’s not great literary writing by any means, but it’s a truly fun, fast paced, and relevant story. Brewer makes a lot of fun puns throughout the novel. Of course there is Vlad’s name…there’s also a kid named Edgar Poe who goes by Eddie. There’s a town nearby called Stokerton. A villian named D’ablo. You get the picture. But the novel isn’t all fun and games. Sure there are the moments that make you snicker, but the majority of the story is a well thought out tale of a kid trying to find himself while in a very strange world. Think of it as a YA coming of age novel with a twist thrown in.
Brewer “gets” teens and I think this bodes well for her books. This is a book that I would feel comfortable giving any kid that said “I hate reading.” (such horrible words). Want to know what I did as soon as I finished Eighth Grade Bites? Ordered Ninth Grade Slays 
Can’t wait to continue with this series! And the third book comes out this month! And one more thing…these books have the best covers! I want Vlad’s hoodie!
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Not that the ending is one of total desperation, but the book is an emotional rollercoaster…going downhill. I’m always amazed when an author can evoke such strong emotions in me, and Carrie Ryan did just that. I really can’t wait to see what she comes out with next! If it’s half as good as this one, we’re in for a treat. Truthfully, when I put the book down after reading it, I didn’t want it to end. I was left with one of those “wow” moments where I really just had to sit back and let it all sink in. 
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1. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix - This book was AWESOME! I wish I would’ve gotten the whole series to read during the Read-a-Thon…I didn’t know how much I would enjoy it. The book is set in some alternative modern day earth…the time is never really mentioned. The government has put restrictions on how many children families can have, but Luke’s family has broken that rule. He is a third child. He lives his life in constant hiding as he has to be non-existent as far as the rest of the world goes. But one day, while hiding in the house, he notices that one of his new neighbors seems to have a third child as well. He risks it all by going to see for himself…and he meets Jen, also a third child. Jen has big plans for fighting for third childrens’ rights, but are they too big? This was a really engaging book and a short read as well! Just perfect for the read-a-thon. Great way to start things off.
with Atwood and it certainly won’t be my last. Anyone who’s read The Odyssey knows who Penelope is. She is Odysseus’ wife, the ever patient wife who waits for her husband to come home. And her 12 maids have made legend as well. Well in this installment of the Canongate Myth Series, Atwood explores Penelope’s life in further death from her point of view and also shows us the 12 maids point of view. The story is told from the afterlife. This likely will not be in my favorite reads of the year, though it was really good and will have me reading more Atwood and more of the Myth series. Another great one for the read-a-thon.
3. Skim by Mariko Tamaki illustrated by Jillian Tamaki - So freaking good! This was the first graphic novel that I decided to read for the read-a-thon and boy am I glad that I read this one. First of all, I love that cover…isn’t it great? The illustrations inside are just as good. Skim is the story of a young girl that’s confused about life. She comes from a family where her mother is of Asian descent, her father white, and they are divorced. Her name is Kimberly and she’s Wiccan. Though she’s somewhat confused about what that means. She takes her religion seriously, though the others in her circle don’t seem to so much. And her best friend can be a little wrapped up in herself sometimes. Kim has also found that she has feelings for her female drama teacher and has a hard time figuring those feelings out. It’s obvious that Kim is confused. A suicide happens at the school which puts the whole school on suicide alert and people start worrying about her during a time that she doesn’t need the added stress. This was a really touching story and one that actually reminded me a LOT of my own adolescent years. Really loved this book and I’d recommend it to everyone!
chapters, some of them only taking up 1/4 of the page. It’s the tale of a married silk worm importer who travels to Japan for his business. While there, his eyes connect with a young woman who’s very mysterious. And while they never speak a word to each other, the chemistry is there from the beginning. He goes back to Japan throughout the years desperate for more contact with her, but in doing so estranges his own wife who loves him so. The end of this book was awesome. It really gave me a good impression of the story overall. But there were times when my mind just strayed from the story and I couldn’t even remember what I read in the last 4 pages. Still a recommended read though!
5. Marcello in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork – I REALLY liked this story. I didn’t know how I would feel about it at the beginning. But I liked it. It’s the story of a young boy named Marcelo who has Asperger’s Syndrome, a disorder that’s found on the autism spectrum. He’s lived his life in a tree house that his father built for him and has attended a special school for people with disabilities. And he’s always been happy doing that. Over the summers, he works at a therapeutic horse camp for people with disabilities. But his father wants something different from him this summer. He wants him to go to school with “normal” kids in the fall and wants him to work at his law firm in the mail room. My fear with this book was that it was going to spread the message that in the end, Marcelo learned that he shouldn’t have Asperger’s, that there was something wrong with him and that he needed to be normal like everyone else. I would’ve been SO angry if the story was like that, because it was set up to where it could be at the beginning. But it wasn’t and I was SO thrilled. Marcelo was such a wonderful character. I really loved him. He reminded me of a kid I see at the hospital who has Asperger’s and he’s one of my favorites (shhh, we’re not supposed to have favorites). Some of Marcelo’s characteristics change throughout the novel, but he never loses who he is. He remains an individual. He just adapts some to his surroundings. In the end, he’s still Marcello and for that, I would recommend this one highly!
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