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Overview
It doesn’t take long for Cody Elliot to realize that his new high school is a little different. The other students are supernaturally strong, don’t like the sunlight, and are always placing orders at the local blood bank. When his new friend shows him his fangs, Cody doesn’t need any more clues—these kids are vampires! As Cody struggles to fit into this secretive community, he disrupts centuries of human-vampire segregation, with some serious—and some seriously funny—consequences.
In sharp, humorous, and insightful prose, Douglas Rees creates a world of vampires where the real issue for humans is not the fear of being bitten, but the need to get along.
When his family moves from California to New Sodom, Massachusetts and Cody enters Vlad Dracul Magnet School, many things seem strange, from the dark-haired, pale-skinned, supernaturally strong students to Charon, the wolf who guides him around campus on the first day.
Synopsis
It doesn’t take long for Cody Elliot to realize that his new high school is a little different. The other students are supernaturally strong, don’t like the sunlight, and are always placing orders at the local blood bank. When his new friend shows him his fangs, Cody doesn’t need any more clues—these kids are vampires! As Cody struggles to fit into this secretive community, he disrupts centuries of human-vampire segregation, with some serious—and some seriously funny—consequences.
In sharp, humorous, and insightful prose, Douglas Rees creates a world of vampires where the real issue for humans is not the fear of being bitten, but the need to get along.
Publishers Weekly
Rees (Lightning Time) sinks his teeth into teenage satire with this witty and original vampire novel. The narrator, 15-year-old Cody Elliot, is rebelling against his family's move from California to New Sodom, Mass., mostly by failing at school. His parents transfer him to what they are told is a public magnet school, Vlad Dracul. With bold, almost hyperbolic humor, the author describes a lavish campus, impossibly erudite students (nearly all of whom are tall, pale and raven-haired) and ludicrously difficult assignments. As the title suggests, the school proves to be almost entirely populated by vampires (or "jenti," the term these vampires prefer), a premise Rees exploits with aplomb. Cody, along with the six other "gadje" (non-jenti) students, has been accepted only to fill out the state-required water polo team (jenti, of course, are deathly afraid of water), and no one cares about his schoolwork-he is to get automatic A's. Unlike his numbskull teammates and their sodden coach, however, Cody refuses to accept his free ride. Friendship with a bullied jenti and a tentative romantic interest in a jenti aristocrat prompt Cody to probe the boundaries of jenti/gadje relations, an effort which, in this author's hands, also translates to an exploration of classic teen tensions between wishing to belong and maintaining individuality. The resolution is marred by some oddities in narrative logic (suddenly vampires are related to selkies), but on balance the story is fluid and fun. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Rees (Lightning Time) sinks his teeth into teenage satire with this witty and original vampire novel. The narrator, 15-year-old Cody Elliot, is rebelling against his family's move from California to New Sodom, Mass., mostly by failing at school. His parents transfer him to what they are told is a public magnet school, Vlad Dracul. With bold, almost hyperbolic humor, the author describes a lavish campus, impossibly erudite students (nearly all of whom are tall, pale and raven-haired) and ludicrously difficult assignments. As the title suggests, the school proves to be almost entirely populated by vampires (or "jenti," the term these vampires prefer), a premise Rees exploits with aplomb. Cody, along with the six other "gadje" (non-jenti) students, has been accepted only to fill out the state-required water polo team (jenti, of course, are deathly afraid of water), and no one cares about his schoolwork-he is to get automatic A's. Unlike his numbskull teammates and their sodden coach, however, Cody refuses to accept his free ride. Friendship with a bullied jenti and a tentative romantic interest in a jenti aristocrat prompt Cody to probe the boundaries of jenti/gadje relations, an effort which, in this author's hands, also translates to an exploration of classic teen tensions between wishing to belong and maintaining individuality. The resolution is marred by some oddities in narrative logic (suddenly vampires are related to selkies), but on balance the story is fluid and fun. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.KLIATT
To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 2003: Angry over his family's move from California to New Sodom, Massachusetts, Cody acts out by flunking all his courses—even homeroom. His parents search out an alternative school, and offer him a choice between Our Lady of Perpetual Homework and Vlad Dracul Magnet School, which has a gorgeous campus and a great reputation, though it's a little unusual. For instance, the principal has a pet wolf, and most of the students look similar—tall and pale, with dark eyes and black hair, and Rumanian names. Cody is admitted to Vlad Dracul immediately, on condition that he joins the water polo team. It turns out, of course, that the other students are vampires, who abhor water. When he comes to the aid of a fellow student who is being bullied, Cody makes some friends, including a lovely vampire princess, but also some enemies, and he starts to learn more about vampire culture. His forthrightness ends up bringing about changes in the relations between vampires and non-vampires, with surprising and happy results. Snappy dialog and the age-old appeal of the vampire make this comedy a winner. Action, romance, literature and humor all play a role, and the result is an entertaining romp that middle school and junior high students will enjoy. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2003, Random House, Dell Laurel Leaf, 226p., Ages 12 to 15.—Paula Rohrlick
VOYA
Cody is not succeeding in school. In fact, he is even flunking homework. He has two choices for a new school-Our Lady of Perpetual Homework or Vlad Dracul Magnet School. He chooses the latter, but soon notices that things are different. The students are vampires. The school must retain a water polo team so that they are not shut down. Vampires cannot swim. Cody and a few other jentis (this title's version of muggles) are allowed to attend this school, receiving automatic As and advancing to college as long as they play on the team. At first the silliness-the principal tells him he should go back to California-and lack of reality seem to create a story with no values. Soon, however, Cody decides he would rather earn his grades. He also gives his own blood to save a friend. In some ways, this novel is like Harry Potter. Its magical world of jentis (muggles) and vampires (wizards) exists with the focus on school and friendships with a little sport or water polo (quidditch) added. Fans of vampire fiction will not find the traditional darkness, blood and gore, and transformations. Although the characters are in high school, they seem a little younger, especially because Cody and his friends play a game involving dolls. This story will surely be appreciated by reluctant male readers who enjoy the writing of J. K. Rowling or Lemony Snicket. Readers will find humor and reality along with the fantasy. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Delacorte, 226p., and PLB Ages 11 to 18.—Jennifer Bromann
Children's Literature
Cody Elliot is a bright but unmotivated youth who misses his former home and friends in California. Due to poor grades in his new Massachusetts school, his father forces him to attend Vlad Dracul, a private high school unlike any that Cody has imagined. With their tall, lean forms, jet black hair, and fair skin, most of the students look strikingly similar. They move quietly through the halls, generally ignoring him and his obviously different ways. He soon learns that he is attending a school for vampires, or jenti, as they prefer to be called. He is granted admission only due to his ability to enter water, a fear held by vampires, to compete on the school's water polo team. Without him and his fellow non-jenti students, the school would not meet accreditation standards and would thus be shut down. As a result, Cody does not have to do any homework or even attend class, a seeming paradise for a kid like him. Cody refuses to abide by this system, however, wanting to prove himself by completing the impossibly advanced homework assignments and earning at least his own self-respect. When he willingly donates his blood to a suffering jenti friend, he is called a hero, undercutting the school's attempts to maintain separation between jenti and non-jenti students. With the help of Justin and Ileana, two jentis who befriend him, he learns and helps teach others acceptance and trust. Cody's wry tone and perceptive observations lend incredible humor to the tale. Rees is keenly aware of the hypocrisy that inhabits teenage life. Although far-fetched, the idea of vampires works especially well as an alternate setting for teen (and human) woes that plague us all. With well-crafted details that answersuch questions as to why the school exists, where the vampires get their blood, etc., Rees creates a story that is believable despite the unusual premise. Fun and imaginative. 2003, Delacorte, Ages 12 to 16.— Wendy Glenn