Double Click for Trouble

Woodworth, Chris. 2008. Double-Click for Trouble.

From the flap:

Eddie McCall is a good kid. He does his homework, picks up around the house, and cooks dinner for his mom when she has to work late at a Chicago hotel. Then Eddie's best friend, Whip, shows him a printout from the Internet--a picture of a full-grown, honest-to-gosh buck-naked woman--and suddenly Eddie can't seem to think about anything else. If only there were a man around he could talk to--but for all of Eddie's thirteen years, his father has been a mystery, absent and unknown.

Try as he might, Eddie can't stay away from the computer. He knows his mom will be upset if she sees the sites he's visiting. Still, he sure doesn't expect her to ship him off to her hometown of Sheldon, Indiana, to live with his great-uncle Peavey for an entire month. Peavey isn't exactly the father figure Eddie's been looking for. He spits tobacco juice into a can, calls a toilet a "commode," and certainly doesn't own a computer. He's never even been on a date!

As it turns out, however, both Peavey McCall and Sheldon, Indiana, hold some very surprising secrets...

There were parts of Double Click for Trouble that I loved, just really really loved. Then there were a few elements that didn't quite work for me. Slight irritants in the plot that just kept me from falling deeply in love with the book. Still, I must say that I'm rather fond of this book. It may not be L-O-V-E with fireworks, but I still liked it plenty. And I loved, loved, loved the ending.

The characters. Loved them for the most part. Loved Eddie. Loved Uncle Peavey. Loved Della. Loved Ronnie (Veronica). There were some other characters that I liked but would need to know more in order to love. I never really got to know the Mom enough or Whip enough for that matter. I was intrigued by Whip's story, however. His deep-and-sensitive and vulnerable side that readers get just a few glimpses of now and then. In my opinion, the novel's top strength is in the characters. The developing relationship between Eddie and his great-uncle. His friction-filled relationship with Ronnie. His whole coming-of-age story, it just works. It might not work completely evenly, but it works.

The setting. I loved the book once he got to Indiana. Everything just seemed better after that. The first setting, the urban setting of Chicago, it isn't that it doesn't work at all. It's just that it doesn't work as well. I'll try to explain it. This Chicago-setting was like climbing the first hill of a roller coaster. It's a bit slow, a bit jerky, and there is just a lot of waiting for everything to really begin. After he goes to Indiana, that is when it gets started, that is where the heart and soul of the novel is. It is here that the energy and focus reside.

The plot. The plot didn't work for me all the time. Parts of it worked--and worked well--other parts not so much. But here's the thing, I cared--really cared--about the characters. So I could be almost completely forgiving of the teeny-tiny didn't-quite-work-for-me bits in the plot. I'll be honest. I think the parts that irritated me slightly still ring with authenticity if that makes sense. Eddie, I believe is 12 or 13--somewhere around there, and there are just a few things about him that while authentic make him slightly irritating. There is a reason that it takes a special calling to work--as a teacher or volunteer--with kids in this age group both girls and guys. It's a difficult age to live through, and it's a difficult age group--in a way--to interact with. Not all the time, not every kid, but there are just rough patches that must be endured. It's not fun for the parent, the child, the teacher, or the sibling.

At its core, Double Click for Trouble is a coming-of-age story. It illustrates in just one of many ways this wonderful quote by Brent Runyon:

"The second hardest thing to do in life is to change from a child into an adult. There are so many ways to mess up. So many ways to get lost. It's like crossing the ocean in a rowboat."--Brent Runyon

http://www.chriswoodworth.com/main.swf

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Generation Dead

Waters, Daniel. 2008. Generation Dead.

I read Leila's review of this yesterday--I was already a good ways through it--and I echo her sentiments in part. I wanted to really like this one. When you get the first part of the premise--zombies in high school--you think it would be a really fun novel. A novel where perhaps just maybe a girl (or guy) will fall in love with someone a bit unusual--a bit dead. Like Bella falling for Edward, maybe. Or one of those countless other books where teens are falling in love with vampires, werewolves, and such. But that's not what this novel is about. It's not romance exactly. And it's not horror either--zombies attacking. It's social propaganda 101. Sort've. Mostly.

Here's the basic premise--teens all over America are rising from their graves. For whatever reason--still unexplained by scientists--some (but not all) teens are coming back from the dead. Some zombies--aka living impaired aka differently biotic--are accepted by their families. Others are not so lucky. Some are rejected by family, friends, and former significant others. There isn't a lot of love going around for the undead among us. Far from it, hate and disgust reign supreme. And since their rights as human beings, as American citizens, died with them, the zombies are left to fend for themselves and make do best they can. There isn't really much support--so far--private or public for the zombies' cause and interests.

There is one school--I believe the novel is set in Connecticut--that has more living impaired students than most of the others. In fact, some living impaired are moving there just so they won't be so alone, so isolated. This is a good and bad thing. The more living impaired students there are, the more ticked off the living become. While the principal promotes loving acceptance and inclusion, the student body is far from treating their fellow classmates with respect and courtesy and dignity.

Meet Phoebe. Phoebe isn't quite like the others. She is a goth chick, for one, but she's different for another reason as well. She's not blind to the zombies. She notices them. She's drawn to one in particular, a boy named Tommy Williams. She feels the need, the desire, to become his friend.

Tommy. Tommy isn't like most zombies. He's the best of the best, you might say. He's more articulate, more graceful (less clumsy and awkward) than his peers. At one point in the novel, someone says he could almost pass as living. Almost. He "represents" the best of what a zombie can be. He does try out for the football team.

But his friendship with Phoebe will have consequences. Adam, Phoebe's best friend, learns to deal with it respectfully for the most part. He still wants her for himself. But he comes to like Tommy. They become friendly with one another. But Adam is almost the only one on the football team that treats Tommy as a human. The others are set to destroy. Most would kill him if they could. After all, killing the undead isn't a crime. Most would say Tommy doesn't have any right to be "alive" at all.

Here's the thing, you can support the message--really be more than fine with the message--and not want to read a 392 page novel that pimps that message in such a didactic way. It accelerates from subtle to didactic (preachy) very very quickly. You won't necessarily think this in the first few chapters, I know I didn't, but towards the middle it gets very bogged down with THE MESSAGE. The message here is on prejudice and discrimination and human rights. The zombies represent any and every minority group ever scorned and mistreated by society. This novel is the battle between tolerance and intolerance of love and hate. It's not quite a full parable, but it borders one so nearly with its in-your-face hitting you with a hammer style that it's hard not to feel it tries a bit too hard. Why be subtle when you can be IN YOUR FACE. Why say something once or twice when you can say it a hundred times in all caps?

I guess this is what it comes down to. I wanted more from this one, so I'm disappointed. However, that's not strictly fair to the book. It does offer something to readers. It does offer food for thought. It does offer a mix of dark sarcasm and wit with some rather serious overtones--bullying, hate, murder, etc. There were moments I smiled. There were moments I enjoyed it. There were places when I connected with the story. But it wasn't a completely satisfying experience either. It wasn't an I-loved-every-page kind of book. I liked it in parts and bits. Tommy is by far my favorite thing about the novel. Read his blog here.

The ending left me a little unsatisfied. It could have done more perhaps, and if there is a sequel, perhaps we'll see more resolution. By the way, most reviews seem to be positive and gushing praise. So I'm in the minority in being only "meh" about it.

Other reviews: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Just to name a few.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Each Little Bird

Wiles, Deborah. 2005. Each Little Bird That Sings.

Comfort Snowberger is a young girl who has seen a lot of death and life in her time. Her parents own the town’s funeral home. And in her ten years, Comfort has attended almost 250 funerals so far. But when the deaths become those of two beloved family members instead of strangers or acquaintances, Comfort begins a different journey. She thinks she knows everything there is to know about grief, but when she loses her great-uncle, her great-great aunt, and her dog all in the course of six months...things become chaotic. Emotionally turbulent. Comfort doesn’t know how to deal with what life is throwing at her. First she loses people that are close to her, and then her best friend Declaration begins changing--acting strange--hanging around with different kids--even teasing and tormenting her. This is a novel about how to cope with all of life’s difficulties.

2005 National Book Award finalist
Golden Kite Honor Book
Bank Street Fiction Award
E.B. White Read-Aloud Award
Booksense Top-Ten Pick
Borders Bookstores "Original Voice"
Junior Library Guild selection
IRA-CBC Children's Choice
Arizona Young Reader Award Master List
Indiana Young Hoosiers Master List
Iowa Choice Master List
Virginia Readers' Choice List
Texas Bluebonnet Master List
Vermont Dorothy Canfield Fisher Master List
Tennessee Volunteer Master List
Maine Student Book Award Master List
Rhode Island Student Book Award Master List
Kansas -- William Allen White Student Book Award Master List
Alabama Emphasis on Reading Student Book Award Master List
Delaware Blue Hen Book Award Master List
New Hampshire Cochecho Reader's Award Nominee
New Hampshire Great Stone Face Award Master List
Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominee
Kentucky Rebecca Caudill Award Nominee
Hawaii Nene Award Master List
California Young Reader Medal Master List



http://www.deborahwiles.com/littlebird.htm
http://www.deborahwiles.com/tips.htm

Storm Thief

Wooding, Chris. 2006. Storm Thief.

Orokos is a chaotic place to live--but it’s also the only place to live--at least that is what everyone young and old has always been told. But is that just one of the many secrets or lies that is being told to the public by the Protectorate? Rail and Moa are our young hero and heroine whose lives depend on what they don’t know. In this futuristic society there are three kinds of people: the wealthy citizens who live in fine houses, the so-called ‘worthless’ contained in the ghettoes, and the Taken. Rail and Moa are from the ghettoes. Forced into a criminal lifestyle to survive--everyone from the ghettoes has to make hard choices--Rail and Moa are thieves on a mission. But when they decide to deceive their boss--the crime lord in this ring of thieves--they have more trouble than they ever could have imagined. STORM THIEF is an action-packed book full of surprises. Facing a wide range of enemies and dangers--both natural and supernatural--the two have only one another to rely on...at least until they find a community offering a different hope for the future.

http://www.chriswooding.com/
http://www.chriswooding.com/about.html

Poison

Wooding, Chris. 2005. POISON.

Once upon a time there was a young lady who lived in a marsh, and her name was Poison. Life in the marsh--or the Black Marshes--isn’t exactly exciting. Sure, it’s full of dangers...swamp fever, poisonous creatures of every shape and size, etc...but what Poison longs for is real adventure. She wants to venture outside her community in the marsh. She wants to see the world outside. What’s left of it anyway. Set perhaps centuries after a disastrous war--the Many-Sided War--humans have become divided, weak, and fearful. They’ve gone to hiding in the mountains and living in marshes. Poison knows what is expected of her: to marry and have children year after year the rest of her life. But Poison wants more...needs more. But even with this dream for more, Poison never actually expected to leave her life in the village and go on a quest like in a storybook. When her younger sister, Azalea, is kidnapped by the Phaerie Lord she sets out on a mission to bring her back. Along the way she meets some friends and makes some enemies. One thing is certain: Poison’s life will never be the same once she ventures outside the Realm of man and into the Realm of Phaerie.

Black Mirror

Werlin, Nancy. 2001. Black Mirror.

As Black Mirror begins, the reader meets Frances, a teen girl who is struggling with accepting her brother’s tragic death from a drug overdose. Both were attending the prestigious private school--on scholarship--Pettengill. Unity. Patrick Leyden. The man whose ‘generous’ nature has led him to not only start such ‘excellent’ educational endeavors as Pettengill School, but whose other charities involve feeding and clothing the poor and homeless. Who could not love such a man? A young man. An attractive man? Frances, that’s who! Frances from the young age of fourteen has distrusted Mr. Leyden. Distrusted Unity. Watching her brother worship Mr. Leyden is almost more than she could stand. Seeing him hang on his every word while at the same time living a dangerous drug-filled lifestyle. Is there a connection that most cannot grasp? How could such an ‘involved’ young man become addicted to drugs? As Frances tries to track down the ‘why’ of her brother’s death...an exciting and dangerous adventure begins.

Double Helix

Werlin, Nancy. 2004. Double Helix.

Enter a world full of secrets. Eli Samuels is a young teen--recent high school graduate--who almost out of the blue gets a dream job offer. Spend a year working at Wyatt Transgenics, a job offer typically reserved for those with a master’s degree at least. But Eli isn’t your typical teen. And Dr. Quincy Wyatt is not your typical employer. Eli’s father knows that some things are too good to be true--particularly in the case of Dr. Wyatt...a name from his past he’d rather forget. But some lessons you’ve got to learn for yourself. As Eli begins his new job, he begins to get suspicious when his new employer wants to be his friend and start hanging out with him...just what does Dr. Wyatt want with him?

Rules of Survival

Werlin, Nancy. 2006. The Rules Of Survival.

Okay, I admit it. This is the first Nancy Werlin book I’ve ever read. But it won’t be my last. Since reading The Rules of Survival a week or so ago, I’ve read Double Helix and Black Mirror.

The Rules of Survival is a powerful first person narrative of a young boy’s troubling life in an abusive home. As the oldest child, as the ‘man’ of the house, he felt responsible from an early age for the well being of his two younger sisters Callie and Emmy. Their mother was wild, unpredictable, emotionally unstable, verbally abusive, and sometimes physically abusive as well. Fear is something he knows inside and out. His life is ruled by fear.

Matthew’s Rules of Survival:
1) Sometimes, the people who mean you harm are the ones that say they love you.
2) Fear is your friend. When you feel it, act.
3) Protect the little ones.
4) If you coped before, you can cope now.
5) Always remember: In the end, the survivor gets to tell the story.

It is a story told retrospectively. Our narrator, Matthew, has aged from twelve or thirteen to the age of 18. As he’s preparing for college, he’s trying to sort out the last few years and make sense of everything that has happened. It’s a chronicle of his healing process.

Powerful. Emotional. Great writing.

A Way With Words

Wolfson, Jill. 2006. Home and Other Big, Fat Lies

Whitney is a narrator with a way for words. A foster kid all her life--from two months of age--she is as prepared as she'll ever be for her new foster home in the country.

Let's say you're a kid who's small for her age and some other kids who are way overgrown decide it would be the most hilarious thing in the world to shove the new kid in the house into the clothes dryer and slam it closed. I can tell you how to get out of that dryer by kicking and screaming bloody murder so that the foster mom with the bald spot on the top of her head rescues you in front of the entire snickering ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha house full of kids. I can also give you the complete rundown on the most common varieties of foster parents you're likely to run into. Like the look-on-the-bright side ones who go on and on until your head is ready to explode like a potato in a microwave about how lucky you are that you weren't born a foster kid in 1846. Or the one... (3).

Full of advice on how to survive the worst, she is unprepared to give advice on how to expect the best. Hope is a dangerous thing when you're a foster kid and Whitney doesn't want to take any chances on getting hurt.

When she arrives in her new home, in her new town, Forest Glen, she's more than a little restless. And when she throws up in front of her new family right off (minutes after getting out of the car) she's not off to the greatest of starts...

In case you ever need to know, here's what you do when you arrive at a new foster home and the foster mother is rude and you don't know the rules and you're laughing because you don't know what you're feeling and a psycho dog is waiting to attack and there's a kid there who hopes that you drop off the face of the planet: You don't knock. You open the door. And even though you know you don't belong here any more than you've ever belonged anywhere, you walk in like you own the place. (24)

Starting sixth grade in October isn't the easiest way for a new kid to transition, but Whitney does her best and doles out more advice:

Number one: Aim for immediate high noticeability. It doesn't matter what kind. Just get noticed. Be a soldier parachuting into the middle of a battlefield, landing in the muck with a big, fat smack of your shoes. Ta-da! I'm here! That's my style. Don't wait for them to sneak up and ambush you. They're going to call you a weirdo anyway, so be THE weirdo. Be it proudly...Like I said, you can get noticed or--strategy number two--you can let yourself be one of those faceless, gutless, voiceless kids and cross your fingers that you're off to your next foster home before anyone even notices you exist. By the way, I don't recommend the second choice. You will bore yourself to death. Besides, you might think that you're safe. But watch out. They'll find you. And then, you're dead meat. (50-51)

But Whitney's luck may have just changed. Suddenly, in this new school she finds out she's not alone. There are other kids in her class--five or six at least--who are all foster kids. It seems the whole school is full of foster kids. Kids who understand her. Who know the rules of how to survive. Who welcome her. Life has never seemed so good...but can it last???

I mentioned that Whitney has a way with words. I wanted to pull together some examples:

From her conversation with Honeysuckle and Josh--two of the foster kids in her sixth grade class--
Honeysuckle explained, "The social worker said that if Josh sets his mind to it, he can get into Stanford. Stanford's a big college. It's hard to get into." I drummed my fingers on the box [the box Josh is hiding in and has been hiding in since the beginning of the school year] "Must be one of those optometrist social workers." "Optimistic," Honeysuckle tried to correct. "No, optometrist. That social worker needs to get her vision checked." I turned back to Josh. "No offense, kid. This thing about getting into Stanford? It looks like you're having trouble getting through sixth grade." (90)

From her conversation with Striker, her foster brother
I told Striker that of all the members of the Nature and Ecology Club, I was the only one who hadn't been incriminated by him. "Intimidated," he said. "Incriminated means there's evidence that you're guilty of a crime." "I mean incriminated. You made everyone feel guilty just for being alive. (156)

http://jillhwolfson.blogspot.com/
http://www.jillwolfson.com/index.html

The Night of the Burning

Wulf, Linda Press. 2006. The Night of the Burning: Devorah's Story.

Linda Press Wulf's first novel is inspired by the childhood of her mother-in-law, Devorah Lehrman. Beautifully written, it is a story about the anguish of losing family and home and the importance of remembering. The novel won the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award and first prize for a juvenile fiction manuscript from the California Writers Club.

Based on a true story, The Night of the Burning, tells the story of two sisters, orphans who at the ages of twelve and nine have witnessed too much already: the death of their uncle, father, mother, aunt, and the destruction of the entire Jewish community where they lived. As their community's sole survivors, the girls are rescued and sent to an orphanage in Pinsk. There the girls are chosen to be part of two hundred children sent to the Jewish community in South Africa. Their leader, a philanthropist, Isaac Ochberg, whom the children call "Daddy Ochberg."

The man patted the bench next to him, and I sat down warily. "I'll explain why I am here," he began. "I've come a long way, from a country called South Africa, down at the tip of Africa. There are Jewish people there, and they're worried about all the children in Europe who have no fathers and mothers because of the Great War. Ant that craziness they call the Russian Revolution." I knew about the Great War and the Russian Revolution, but they meant nothing to me. I only thought about the morning when we tucked Papa's blankets in to try to keep him warm, when he was already dead. And I thought about Mama before she died, calling for more water, more water, as the typhoid burned her from inside. I thought about the flames galloping through our village, the synagogue glowing red against the night. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I needed to concentrate on the strange things Mr. Ochberg was saying. "So they sent me to find two hundred children and bring them back to South Africa. It's a beautiful country and a safe place for Jews. I'll take you and your little sister. But only if you really want to go with me." (7-8)

The story is communicated through a series of flashbacks, juxtaposing her journey to South Africa with her memories of home both pleasant and frightening. Our narrator is Devorah who ages from twelve to fourteen throughout the telling of this story. It is an amazing story of hope and despair, fear and joy, tears and laughter. It is the journey of how two sisters learned to laugh, love, and hope once more.

http://www.lindapresswulf.com/
Isaac Ochberg

Twilight Child

Warner, Sally. 2006. Twilight Child.

I could honestly say that I've never read a historical fiction book set in Finland and Scotland in the mid-eighteenth century until I picked up a copy of Twilight Child. It has long been said that when a baby is born at twilight, the precise moment that hangs between day and night, that child is given a special gift. She is able to sense other in-between things. Eleni, our heroine, is a twilight child. She is able to see and therefore communicate with both Finnish and Scottish 'mythological' creatures: the tonttu of the sauna, the blue men of the Minch, and the brounies of the Scottish highlands. But her life while full of magic is also full of sorrow.

Prologue: Eleni and her best friend Matias are out walking in the forest discussing the war between Sweden and Russia. Their fathers are being called upon to join the army, though neither are too fond of Sweden. (Sweden apparently was in control of Finland much like England was in control of Scotland). It is only a few pages long, but it serves to present the idea of a peaceful childhood and a best friend she could trust.

The First Few Chapters: Taking place at least five to six years later, Eleni's life is radically different. Her father is an outlaw after leading an unsuccessful rebellion. Her mother is sick and dying. And Eleni is a maid in a lady's household. Mattias has been 'missing' for years on end. She has no idea what happened to him or his family or if they're even still in Finland.

The book takes a while to get into the 'main' part of the story. After the death of Eleni's mother, she is 'kidnapped' by her father and his friends. He is a captain of a small vessel, a vessel barely sea worthy. They are on their way to Spain where he will leave his teenage daughter with his new lady-friend. Eleni is far from pleased. Her father's friends turn out to be brutes, well, all except for one who gets killed tragically in a storm. So when Eleni is out on deck and sees the blue men of the Minch, she is told that everyone on board will die at sea but she'll be allowed to live because she is 'one of them' (aka a Twilight Child). She is told to escape from the ship at the next port which happens to be in Scotland--near the town of Tobermory. She is weak but she manages with the help of some creatures to make it away. And sure enough the rest of the crew are lost at sea a bit later on. She is rescued by a wonderful family and taken into the first real home she's had in a long time. There she meets another child touched by magic.

As Eleni gets used to her new life: meeting new people, regaining strength, learning a new language, making friends, etc. she has to decide where she belongs and who she really is. Is 'home' a place in Finland, a place in Scotland, or a place with her future-husband wherever that may be. As different men pay court to her, she must rely on her heart to lead her to a place she can truly call home.

http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-warner-sally.asp

Superstition

Wallace, Karen. 2006. THE UNRIVALLED SPANGLES.

Meet the Spangles. A highly dysfunctional spirited circus family living in London's East End in the nineteenth century. Ellen, Lucy, Sam Spangle are used to performing in front of large crowds, but do they have the strength and courage it takes to persevere when they're hit with a long run of bad luck?

Ellen is the oldest child in the family. Practically a young woman who could be ready for love and marriage when the right man comes along, she is tired of performing in the spotlight and dreams of life away from the circus. Lucy, the middle child is spoiled rotten--too rotten as it turns out. She majors in selfishness and minors in manipulation. Sam is the baby of the family. A good-natured sort of boy who gives Ellen hope that maybe the family isn't as crazy as it seems. The parents? One is controlling, domineering, and has a temper. The other has a more calming effect on everyone and balances out the pair.

When one of Ellen's suitors sends her a mirror as a present, the selfish Lucy grabs it out of her hands and accidentally drops it. Though no one wants to say that they're 'cursed' with seven years bad luck, everyone is thinking it. And it turns out they're not wrong to be concerned. As one thing after another goes wrong....can Ellen hold her fragile family together? And will she ever live the life she wants? Or is she doomed to live in her sister's shadow?

http://www.karenwallace.co.uk/

Surviving Antarctica

White, Andrea. 2005. Surviving Antarctica: Reality TV 2083.

Surviving Antarctica is an imaginative combination of genres blending futuristic themes and new sciences often reserved strictly for science fiction with historical content and the feel of 'realistic' fiction. Andrea White's novel envisions the world--particularly America in the latter part of the twenty-first century as a shadow of its former self. Having cut all scientific research for economic reasons AND having stopped all public education systems for the same reason. Every household is required to have their children until the age of fourteen watch a certain number of 'educational' programs on tv per week. At the age of 14, each child is given a chance to win a chance at further education (high school, college, etc.) in a roll of the dice type situation. Money is scarce, and society is literally divided into the haves and have-nots.

One example of educational programming is a series called HISTORICAL SURVIVOR. The producers pick and choose dangerous, significant events from history and applicants desperate for money win their coveted slots on the program only to face the brutality and violence that recreating history can bring in an entertainment-hungry society where REAL drama--including death, blood, pain, etc--only increases ratings.

Historical Survivor Antarctica will recreate the fatal mission of Robert Scott's exploration team led in 1912 in a race to the South Pole. The difference this time? Instead of adults taking on risks and dangers, the game will now be played by five fourteen-year-olds. Told from each teen's perspective and the perspective of one of the editors who chooses to break all the rules, the book is an exciting adventure exploring the ethics and morality of the entertainment industry, society, and the government itself.

http://www.survivingantarctica.com/index_aw.html

Elvis, Garth, Ashlee...

Westerfeld, Scott. 2005. Peeps.

Cal Thompson might seem like your average nineteen-year-old college freshman who is always ‘hungry for sex’ but looks can be deceiving. Cal’s secret, he’s parasite positive. A peep. Well, a carrier peep anyway. What’s a peep you ask? Well, they might commonly be called the ever-so-offensive “v-word”: vampire. Cal has superhuman enhancements: sight, smell, metabolism, speed, etc. But he has none of the bad side effects--cannibalism or anathema. (You see, the parasite controls your mind and one of the parasite's survival techniques is to make the host reject everything they once loved and treasured.) The only down side, Cal can never be with another woman again...it’s too painful seeing ex-lovers become monsters he has to hunt down and lock up. Life is never boring though for a ‘hunter’ tracking down peeps and further outbreaks of vampirism. But one of his investigations leads him into great temption...

Peeps is an exciting book offering a little bit of everything to the reader...danger, adventure, romance, humor, and the truth. The truth? Yes, every other chapter describes the life cycle of an actual parasite and its positive and negative effects on its enviroment. The sequel, Last Days, was released on September 7, 2006.

http://scottwesterfeld.com/
http://www.scottwesterfeld.com/blog/
Interview with Scott Westerfeld