brunomella

3.5/5 (C+) I've been quite curious about The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series because the books have been prominently displayed in my bookstores in the past year, but I've never really come across it on blogland. So when the YA books were on sale, I decided to give it a chance. I also liked the idea of a male being the protagonist. Overall, I thought that Eighth Grade Bites was pretty okay. Hmmm, it introduces Vladimir, a young vampire that is still getting over his parents' deaths, whose powers seem to be getting stronger and who has to deal with everyday's life as a teenager. Vlad was a nice protagonist and I didn't mind reading from his POV. I really enjoyed his relationships with Nelly and his best friend, Henry. I think that really made the book for me, because it felt so real. I mean, despite being a vampire, Vlad was also an everyday boy who enjoyed hanging out with his best friend and eating junk food :) I also liked Mr Otis, Vlad's new teacher. Unfortunately, the book wasn't perfect. First, I thought it was a big too short, probably because of the young audience Eighth Grade Bites aims for. It made for a really awkward pacing in my opinion, because 3/4 of the book was used to set up Vladimir's world and life, the ground work for the rest of the series... and then, in the last 1/4 of the book, Ms Brewer dealt with the book's storyline, the action and mystery. Blink and you're going to miss it ^_^; So that aspect was weak... and I also thought Ms Brewer was trying too hard at misleading the readers, trying to infuse mystery into the book. It felt a bit forced or perhaps again, it's because the book is aimed at younger readers. So not a bad book, but not one that made me rush to devour the next installment.

2023-07-26 12:19