How Not to Be A Vampire Slayer

Birchall, Katy. How Not to Be A Vampire Slayer
October 3, 2023 by Scholastic Inc.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

When Maggie Helsby's Great Uncle Bram leaves his run down house to her dentist parents, they decide to move to the small town of Goreway to take over the practice there. The house is right next to Skeleton Woods, a shadowy and dangerous looking place that now one in town enters. Luckily, she is befriended at school by Ari and Miles, who share her fascination with the woods. Mayor Collyfleur, however, thinks that the woods should be razed and a golf course built there. He had even had his eyes on the Helsby's house. Ari and Miles are up for exploring, but when the three enter the woods, Maggie is oddly drawn further and further in, where she finds Skeleton Castle and meets Sharptooth Shadow, a young vampire who manages to save her from the evil head of the school there, Count Bloodthirst. Sharptooth is the first vegetarian vampire, and she subsists on beet juice instead of blood. Maggie warms to her, shares human books and music with her, and even invites her to have dinner at her house on Halloween. Of course, her mother uses the plentiful garlic that Uncle Bram has planted around the house, but Sharptooth remains calm. Sharptooth is the Chosen Leader of the group, but thinks that the vampires need to change with the times a bit. Maggie, on the other hand, learns some interesting facts about her own family background. When the future of Skeleton Woods is in question, the girls work together to save the vampires' environment, creating a new culture of collaboration along the way. 

Strengths: Maggie wasn't thrilled to be moving, but took to her new environment, and Air and Miles were welcoming right away. She does some research in the school library, and goes about her exploration of the woods in a fairly mindful way. I was tickled by the fact that there Skeleton Castle was a home for vampires in the woods, and that the townspeople just... stayed away for all those years. I loved the family secrets that Maggie uncovered, although they were hinted at pretty broadly. (All those mirrors Uncle Bram had were NOT coincidental!) Sharptooth was an intriguing character, and the way that the two very different girls bonded and then extended that cooperation to all of the residents just made me happy. I would have adored this when I was in middle school even though I didn't really read any paranormal or horror books. Oh! This author also wrote the It Girl series. 
Weaknesses: I know that even young adult books are using the more cartoon style of cover illustrations, but it's just not my favorite. This could have had a much more serious cover, especially if the role of Mayor Collyfleur had been downplayed. (He was okay, but a bit Scooby-doo-ish.)
What I really think: There are some middle grade novels that are just pleasantly easy to read. They are well developed but not confusing stories, characters who try to do good but run into surmountable challenges, and both make sense and are fun. This is one of those. Perfect for fans of Scholastic's Poison Apple Series or the P.J. Night Creepover series, and a bit reminiscent of the underappreciated Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon. Order extra copies of this if you are hosting a Scholastic bookfair. 

There are apparently four million middle grade fantasy novels coming out in October, and reading through them in June has been a challenge. Since a lot of these have been sequels, I have to admit to reading them but phoning in reviews. I will probably purchase this sequel if vampire interest remains strong. 

Bayron, Kalynn. The Vanquishers: Secret of the Reaping (#2)
October 10, 2023 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

After finding out about their parents' past in The Vanquishers, Boog, Cedric, and Jules are back. They spend a lot of time learning about the past, dealing with their friend Aaron, who has been turned into a vampire. It's a difficult situation, but Aaron's mom protects him, and while some of the adult Vanquishers think he should be taken care of, he's allowed to keep on being undead because there are bigger problems to deal with, like more widespread appearances of vampires. Everyone thought the situation had been taken care of, but it apparently was not. This feels like it could use one more book in the series. I like the cover a little better than the first one. 

From the publisher:

The Vanquishers are back and ready to defend their town against the undead in this spooky middle grade from New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron.

Boog and her best friends, Cedrick, Jules, and Aaron--aka the Squad--stick together, no matter what. Now that vampires have returned, they'll need to take their Vanquisher lessons more seriously than ever. But who is behind this return of the undead?

When strange disappearances begin across their community and the Department of Vampire Affairs not-so-subtly warns Boog's mom to keep quiet about vampires returning, it looks like uncovering the truth won't be so easy. The Squad is eager to kick some undead butt, but will they be able to convince their parents they are ready to fight alongside the Vanquishers?