Slayed

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 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 ...

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Daphne Van Helsing has been raised, educated, and given extensive training in the family business—vampire hunting. Some might think staking and decapitating vamps for cash is the ultimate job but not for this 16-year-old. All she wants is to settle down, attend high school, have friends, meet guys, and go to prom. Instead she is forced to travel from job to job in a beat-up van, living in cheap motels, eating fast food, and spending all her time with her parents. Now the Van Helsings and their arch rivals, the Harkers, are sent to Maine. Not only is Bristol overrun with vamps that are stronger and more difficult to kill but a terrifying evil is also preying on children and wreaking havoc on the inhabitants of the town. It is up to Daphne; her new BFF, Kiki Crusher; and handsome, crush-worthy Tyler Harker to discover the dark forces' source of power and destroy it. Marrone delivers an action-packed thriller that is full of suspense, intrigue, drama, and romance. Daphne's witty first-person narrative makes this story come alive. As her character grows, readers will identify with her personal struggles as she is torn between family obligations and her own needs and desires.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

Amanda Marrone grew up on Long Island where she spent her time reading, drawing, watching insects, and suffering from an overactive imagination. She earned a BA in education at SUNY Cortland and taught fifth and sixth grade in New Hampshire. She now lives in Connecticut with her husband, Joe, and their two kids.