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Reviewed by:
  • Team Human
  • Claire Gross
Larbalestier, Justine . Team Human; by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan. Harper/HarperCollins, 2012. [352p]. Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-208964-9 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-208966-3 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9-12.

In this authorial dream duo's alternative world, vampires' existence is common but not welcome knowledge. When Mel's best friend Cathy falls for Francis, a gentlemanly but rather self-important vamp teen new to their school, Mel's determined to stop the ill-fated romance. Larbalestier (Liar, BCCB 11/09) and Brennan (The Demon's Surrender, BCCB 9/11) gleefully skewer the contemporary vampire romance with everything from a "Say Not Tonight to a Bite" PSA campaign to a never-ending flow of zingy one-liners, balancing the zany satire with some heartfelt friendship drama and an awkward romance between Mel and Kit, a human boy who was raised by Francis' family and who challenges Mel's stereotypes of vampires. The world-building here is first-rate, feeding seamlessly into the plot, and Mel's a brash, hilarious, and believably flawed narrator who isn't afraid to rush in and get her hands dirty when she thinks something is wrong. Add in a mystery involving the school principal's missing husband and some light thematic touches surrounding the complexities of prejudice and the existential nature of undeath, plus zombies (of course), and you have the perfect blend of humor, heart, brains (braaaaaaaainssss?) and thrills. This will be equally loved by readers who swoon for vampires and readers [End Page 568] who, like Mel, can only shake their heads and say, "A vampire who wants to go to high school? That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

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