Night School by Mari Mancusi

Night School, Mari Mancusi. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group/ Penguin Group Inc., 2011. trade paperback, 244 pps.

     Vampires have become popular in fiction. Mari Mancusi has a series of books involving teen sanguine vampires who also may be fae or vampire slayers or both. She also has a site for those who wish to role-play vampires in her fictional "Blood Coven." 

     Night School started out with promise. The McDonald twins-- Rayne and Sunshine-- were hastily relocated to their absentee dad's condo in Las Vegas. Dad had re-married. Mom and her boyfriend came from Massachusetts the following week with dire tidings. It appears that everything about the McDonald family history was made up (with the use of actors, a bit which I found particularly unbelievable). Dad wasn't such a cheating skunk after all. He had to leave because of a bit of nasty fae business. Mom, Dad, and respective partners are buddies of a surprising sort.

     It gets worse. Fairyland wants the McDonalds to come back. Instead, the twins-- who had become vampires-- are ushered into hiding at a vampire slayer school. The school itself is not friendly about any sort of immortal or otherworldly beings. The top student vampire slayers are composed of a nasty but sexy boy and his cronies. Their ambition is to be accepted into "Night School."

     Rayne finds a library book and she releases her fae heritage along with budding feathered wings. Not necessarily a smart move, considering that she is supposed to be keeping a low profile. Things turn nasty, people get zombified or imprisoned and then released, or not. Fairyland has turned into a refuge for storybook characters. And so on.

sapphoq reviews says: I was willing to forgive the bit about actors playing a granny and an aunt for the twins. But classic fairytale creatures showing up in Fairyland was a bit much. [Shrek did that well, Mari Mancusi's attempt turned out silly and annoying]. A few curses and a brief description of fairy infidelity may cause some parents hesitation in allowing their tweens to read this book. The descent into silliness caused me to chuck it across the room. Verdict: Skip this. There are other books about fictional teen vampires which do much better.

Born at Midnight by c.c. hunter

Born at Midnight, C.C. Hunter.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 2011.  e-book, 288 pps.

@CCHunterBooks on Twitter;  http://www.cchunterbooks.com/

Born at Midnight is first in a series written by c.c. hunter.  In the tradition of Rick Riordan, c.c. hunter's novel focuses on the journey of one teen, Kylie Galen, to find her true self in the midst of so many lies.  Kylie, much to her horror, finds herself on a bus being sent to a camp for troubled teens.  Only the camp and the campers are not what they appear to be.

The "trouble" is not of the typical adolescent variety.  The campers are different.  They are vampires, witches, werewolves, fae.  And unknown.  Kylie is the Unknown one.  As such, she initially feels left out by even the teens at the camp.  There is a director who counsels Kylie through her difficulties, some fine cute teen boys, a bit of danger, ghosts, distant relations, a really pissed off lion, and a cute kitten.  The end leaves the reader hankering for more.

I could not help myself.  When at the bookstore this past Saturday, I read all of the other books in this series too. 

sapphoq reviews says:  Good:  Born at Midnight was the correct length to tell the story it told.  [So were the other books].  Bad: Holiday's counseling sessions with Kylie had too much of a feel of therapy for my liking.  Good: Kylie's two friends and all of the campers in the books each had a distinct personality.  Bad:  I thought Holiday's co-leader should have been a lesbian and Holiday her bisexual lover.  An opportunity not to cater to assumed heterosexuality was lost.  The teens at the camp by definition a non-mainstream bunch surely must have had a few non-straight kids within.  There seemed to be a bit of time devoted to the idea that teens should wait until marriage before going all the way.  It came off as propaganda rather than a value sincerely held by Kylie.  Good:  The story in Born at Midnight [and in the sequels] kept moving.  The plot and sub-plots were interesting.  The crises were well-thought out and plausible.  The ghosts were believe-able.  The resolution made sense.  Teens and young adults who were bored with all of the Greek gods and goddesses in the Riordan series will like this series better.  Recommended for the teen and young adult reader.