Vamped by Lucienne Diver
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Flux; 1 edition
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738714747
ISBN-13: 978-0738714745
Source: Bought at Borders (It was signed!)
Cover: I'm not in love with this cover. I like it and it works well with the novel but it didn't make me have to buy it. I do like that she's holding lipstick with her fangs extended but the nails don't look like Gina's to me. The cover color works well and though you can't see it from this photo, I love that the picture continues to the back to see her hair. However, Gina was described as having dark hair and the model is blonde. This could be a photo of another character but if so, she needs to have long fingernails as described in the book.
First Sentence: "I'm here to tell you, rising from the dead just purely sucks."
The mini-review: Overall, this novel is a quick read with a great lead. The biggest problem I had with it is our wonderful lead didn't have much of a plot to shine in.
Book Summary:
The Review:
You know that old phrase "all dressed up and no where to go"? For me, this describes Vamped perfectly. Told in first person, we meet Gina, an interesting, savvy, hilarious narrator (with a killer fashion sense) who gets turned into a vamp. I loved her voice, I loved the way she saw the world and her new predicament, I loved her spontaneity and her knack for always speaking what was on her mind. The problem is she was put in drop dead gorgeous heels and then had no where to walk around in them.
The plot was less than stellar for me. For the most part, we are trapped in a large doom-like room, trying to figure out what's going on before it's too late. Gina has her chances to go kick some butt (and does willingly (and stylishly!)) but there is so much downtime where we are forced to watch her kick around her feet that it seems a little boring. Gina's voice kept me going to the end but without that amazing voice and a great cast of supporting characters, I probably would have been less than enthusiastic.
I say all the time that I am a character writer but this novel is really a case where awesome characters still weren't enough. They needed something to do. There were two fight scenes that were interesting and fun to read and a bad guy that made my toes curl but there wasn't enough of either to give me any sense of urgency. Because of this, it made the book really easy to set down... and set down again. Also, I felt the novel didn't stand on it's own and ended in that sort of cheesy "stay tuned for next time" way making it overly obvious that there was going to be a sequel and you had to buy that to get your questions answered. I wanted to feel more closure than I did.
All that plot stuff being said, I did really enjoy the wide range of characters and Bobby (her new boy toy) was an amazingly great distraction when he was in the novel. I know I was meant to really hate Rick but he ended up being one of the most interesting characters for me and I did really enjoy Alistaire (a.k.a. Psycho-physic) who was creepy behind the max.
Like I mentioned before Gina's voice is so authetic and what I loved the most about this novel is she didn't really have to change. She was selfish on the outside but really did care for people on the inside and the author rejoiced in the fact that Gina spoke her mind. She didn't have to "learn" anything. She just discovered that she was kick-ass and a natural leader who also happened to have nice hair.
I am, by no means, saying not to meet Gina. She's worth the read, at least for this first book. I am saying not to expect a killer plot to go along with her killer attitude and tight black jeans.
Rating:
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Flux; 1 edition
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738714747
ISBN-13: 978-0738714745
Source: Bought at Borders (It was signed!)
Cover: I'm not in love with this cover. I like it and it works well with the novel but it didn't make me have to buy it. I do like that she's holding lipstick with her fangs extended but the nails don't look like Gina's to me. The cover color works well and though you can't see it from this photo, I love that the picture continues to the back to see her hair. However, Gina was described as having dark hair and the model is blonde. This could be a photo of another character but if so, she needs to have long fingernails as described in the book.
First Sentence: "I'm here to tell you, rising from the dead just purely sucks."
The mini-review: Overall, this novel is a quick read with a great lead. The biggest problem I had with it is our wonderful lead didn't have much of a plot to shine in.
Book Summary:
Gina Covello's Perks and Pitfalls of Vamp Life
1. Hello?! Eternal youth and beauty!
2. Free. Designer. Clothes.
3. My hot new boyfriend Bobby went from chess dud to vamp stud.
4. No reflection! First order of business: turn my own stylist to stop the downward spiral from chic to eek.
5. Vampire vixen Mellisande has taken an interest in my boyfriend, and is now transforming the entire high school into her own personal vampire army. If anyone's going to start their own undead entourage it should be me.
I guess I'll just have to save everyone from fashion disasters and other fates worse than death.
The Review:
You know that old phrase "all dressed up and no where to go"? For me, this describes Vamped perfectly. Told in first person, we meet Gina, an interesting, savvy, hilarious narrator (with a killer fashion sense) who gets turned into a vamp. I loved her voice, I loved the way she saw the world and her new predicament, I loved her spontaneity and her knack for always speaking what was on her mind. The problem is she was put in drop dead gorgeous heels and then had no where to walk around in them.
The plot was less than stellar for me. For the most part, we are trapped in a large doom-like room, trying to figure out what's going on before it's too late. Gina has her chances to go kick some butt (and does willingly (and stylishly!)) but there is so much downtime where we are forced to watch her kick around her feet that it seems a little boring. Gina's voice kept me going to the end but without that amazing voice and a great cast of supporting characters, I probably would have been less than enthusiastic.
I say all the time that I am a character writer but this novel is really a case where awesome characters still weren't enough. They needed something to do. There were two fight scenes that were interesting and fun to read and a bad guy that made my toes curl but there wasn't enough of either to give me any sense of urgency. Because of this, it made the book really easy to set down... and set down again. Also, I felt the novel didn't stand on it's own and ended in that sort of cheesy "stay tuned for next time" way making it overly obvious that there was going to be a sequel and you had to buy that to get your questions answered. I wanted to feel more closure than I did.
All that plot stuff being said, I did really enjoy the wide range of characters and Bobby (her new boy toy) was an amazingly great distraction when he was in the novel. I know I was meant to really hate Rick but he ended up being one of the most interesting characters for me and I did really enjoy Alistaire (a.k.a. Psycho-physic) who was creepy behind the max.
Like I mentioned before Gina's voice is so authetic and what I loved the most about this novel is she didn't really have to change. She was selfish on the outside but really did care for people on the inside and the author rejoiced in the fact that Gina spoke her mind. She didn't have to "learn" anything. She just discovered that she was kick-ass and a natural leader who also happened to have nice hair.
I am, by no means, saying not to meet Gina. She's worth the read, at least for this first book. I am saying not to expect a killer plot to go along with her killer attitude and tight black jeans.
I totally get what you said in my comments about this book- the lack of a plot.
ReplyDeleteI think this book was the type you were forced to focus on the moments of hilarity and the charcters strong and confident narration.
I also think this book seemd to mock a certain 'type' of teenagers. That group of teenagers which at times I look like I belong to- but really don't- tickled my funny spot helping outweight the moments that seemed to drag on.
Great review!
Love the review - the book sounds like a book perfect for Twilight lovers.
ReplyDeleteI have an award for you over at my blog, because yours is absolutely wonderful:
One Lovely Blog Award
I hope you accept it, and have a wondeful day!
●▬▬▬๑۩ Tina @ Book Couture ۩๑▬▬▬▬●
It's funny, because I almost bought this the other day... I'm glad I did not. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I know Tina already passed along the award to you as well, but I couldn't resist. So you're on my list, too: http://thegrammariansreviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/one-lovely-blog-award-grammar-bit-3.html.