October 8, 2024 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley
After their adventures in The Vanquishers and The Secret of the Reaping, Boog and the Wrecking Crew are back, faced with an even greater problem than before. Nathalia, aka Nightshade, is still intent on causing chaos, and the situation in San Antonio is so dire that the schools have pivoted to virtual learning because of vampire sightings. The Vanquishers head out of town, and Boog is surprised that her parents and their comrades in vampire fighting have a secret lair in the side of a mountain. It's been abandoned for years, so Miss Kim, Mr. Rupert, and the others have to check equipment and clean up a bit, but before long there are supplies and the group is trying to figure out their next step, especially since Mr. Alex and Aaron are vampires and add to the general sense of chaotic urgency. Boog confronts her mother when she finds out that there were samples in the lab, and that the holding cells look like they were designed for children, but her mother reassures her that the samples were donated, and she was trying to figure out how to help the children, who were sent to safety in a vampire hive. Mr. Rupert shows the group the historical archives, which include all manner of artifacts, including Dracula's teeth. A sample of Dracula's blood, however, is missing, and this is particularly bad. Because it is so powerful, if a vampire like Nathalia were to ingest it, it would give them super powers. Even though not all vampires are bad, they are all dangerous, so when an ancient vampire appears in the command center, the parents are very worried. After an attack by the Department of Vampire Affairs (DOVA) that also includes vampires, some of which the group kills, it's evident that the group really needs to go back to the city and find Nathalia and her hive. They're holed up in the kids middle school, and Boog in particular is determined to do her part to fight them. Will the Vanquishers, and the Wrecking Crew, be able to finally neutralize Nathalia and her particularly bad version of vampire-dom?
Strengths: Even though this is billed as the conclusion to the series, it seems like there is room for another book, so we'll see! There's plenty of vampire lore, and even some new things, like the fact that vampires can be stopped in their tracks by rhymes! The Vanquishers' headquarters is a nice change from the family homes on the cul de sac, and is stocked with plenty of cool technology and history. This was a nice blend of planning and fighting, and I loved that Boog and the other Wrecking Crew kids finally stand up for themselves and tell the parents they want to fight. It is a little strange that this depicts a world where there are always different levels of vampires around, in the way that the characters in Weinberger's Zombie Season always have to deal with zombies; there are a lot of similarities in these two series, including the involvement of the parents!
Weaknesses: Even though I love having parents involved with adventures, this means that there were a lot of people, and since it's been a while since I read the other books, I had some trouble remembering who was who. Also, there are a lot of shades of gray when it comes to how evil vampires are, which might confuse some younger readers.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like more complex and nuanced vampire tales with more fighting and less romance, like Brown's Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting or Birchall's How Not to Be a Vampire Slayer.
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