Brenda B. (ealaindraoi) reviewed Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) on
Helpful Score: 5
There are a LOT of Teen Vampire novels on the market now and I think I've read about 3/4 of them. This one is a worthy addition to the genre. Mina's voice is so clearly just a normal teen girl with loving parents (who happen to be vampires) and a best friend (who she can't confide in regarding the whole vampire thing) and a crush on a boy or two (one of whom is totally into the vampire thing, and one of whom isn't).
Mina is a 17-year-old girl who has known since she was 10 that her parents were vampires, but it hasn't really affected her average suburban life. True, they don't exactly love sunbathing, and they don't sleep, and they forget to eat, but Mina has adjusted to all that. But the Vampire Council didn't know that Mina existed, and now that they know, she has to attend Vampire Sessions and her weird Uncle Mortimer is her sponsor.
Worst of all, she has just 4 weeks to decide if she wants to become a vampire or not. She slowly learns all the things about the vampire life that her parents never told her, in order to give her a normal upbringing. On top of all that, there's a trio of cute to gorgeous boys that seem to suddenly be interested in her. This book is Mina's journal, and Mina never met a situation that couldn't use a good pro and con list along with little chapter header stickers of vampires myths and the truth as Mina sees it.
The most difficult thing about book about alternative worlds is getting the "rules of the world" in there without having a big boring chapter about how the world works. This is a clever way of doing that, we learn what the vampire rules are right along with Mina. The chapter headers of myths and truths with little drawings of bats and other pictures that illustrate the myths are really cute. All the characters are fully drawn, but Mina's voice is what really made me love this book. She's so typically a teen, who thinks a lot of this vampire stuff is TOO GROSS FOR WORDS. I laughed out loud at several places because of Mina's observations.
Light and funny - a GREAT beach read for teens and anyone who likes vampires in any guise!
Mina is a 17-year-old girl who has known since she was 10 that her parents were vampires, but it hasn't really affected her average suburban life. True, they don't exactly love sunbathing, and they don't sleep, and they forget to eat, but Mina has adjusted to all that. But the Vampire Council didn't know that Mina existed, and now that they know, she has to attend Vampire Sessions and her weird Uncle Mortimer is her sponsor.
Worst of all, she has just 4 weeks to decide if she wants to become a vampire or not. She slowly learns all the things about the vampire life that her parents never told her, in order to give her a normal upbringing. On top of all that, there's a trio of cute to gorgeous boys that seem to suddenly be interested in her. This book is Mina's journal, and Mina never met a situation that couldn't use a good pro and con list along with little chapter header stickers of vampires myths and the truth as Mina sees it.
The most difficult thing about book about alternative worlds is getting the "rules of the world" in there without having a big boring chapter about how the world works. This is a clever way of doing that, we learn what the vampire rules are right along with Mina. The chapter headers of myths and truths with little drawings of bats and other pictures that illustrate the myths are really cute. All the characters are fully drawn, but Mina's voice is what really made me love this book. She's so typically a teen, who thinks a lot of this vampire stuff is TOO GROSS FOR WORDS. I laughed out loud at several places because of Mina's observations.
Light and funny - a GREAT beach read for teens and anyone who likes vampires in any guise!
Stephanie S. (skywriter319) -
Helpful Score: 2
I don't know what I was expecting when I started SUCKS TO BE ME, but it sure wasn't something this funny and fresh! SUCKS TO BE ME revives the admittedly somewhat tired vampire subgenre with a lot of humor, spunk, and plain-old teen girl heart.
Kimberly Pauley's vampires are unlike any any others I've read. Forget about the perfect, model-gorgeous, graceful undead: the ones in Mina's life can be bumbling, overprotective, silly...and just plain normal. The vampires give a cute spin to this book, but SUCKS TO BE ME is really more about typical problems that a high school girl might face: fear of losing her best friend, anxiety over talking to her crushes, worry over her future relationship with her parents. It's vampire lit with a large dose of what the cold and calculating species often misses: heart.
Mina is a teen chick lit star, constantly running around and on the verge of freaking out, but still endearing. Supporting characters, too, are winners, particularly the way Mina's various potential crushes get developed.
SUCKS TO BE ME doesn't take its vampirism too seriously, which is something that I never thought I'd need but found I actually greatly appreciate. I can't wait to dive into the sequel, STILL SUCKS TO BE ME, the next time I need a lighthearted paranormal laugh and read!
Kimberly Pauley's vampires are unlike any any others I've read. Forget about the perfect, model-gorgeous, graceful undead: the ones in Mina's life can be bumbling, overprotective, silly...and just plain normal. The vampires give a cute spin to this book, but SUCKS TO BE ME is really more about typical problems that a high school girl might face: fear of losing her best friend, anxiety over talking to her crushes, worry over her future relationship with her parents. It's vampire lit with a large dose of what the cold and calculating species often misses: heart.
Mina is a teen chick lit star, constantly running around and on the verge of freaking out, but still endearing. Supporting characters, too, are winners, particularly the way Mina's various potential crushes get developed.
SUCKS TO BE ME doesn't take its vampirism too seriously, which is something that I never thought I'd need but found I actually greatly appreciate. I can't wait to dive into the sequel, STILL SUCKS TO BE ME, the next time I need a lighthearted paranormal laugh and read!
Jennifer W. (GeniusJen) reviewed Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (maybe) on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Reviewed by Julie M. Prince for TeensReadToo.com
Mina Hamilton has a major life (or death) decision to make, and only a few weeks in which to decide. Should she, or should she not, become a vampire? It seems like a no-brainer. I mean, Buffy would know in, like, a split second. But, having vampire parents sort of complicates matters.
This highly humorous novel puts a new spin on the teen vampire tale. Mina is a typical high school student whose extra-curricular activities are no more exciting than hanging at the mall or pizza place, until her undead parents break the news that she has to start attending vampire information classes twice a week. Apparently, they never told the Regional Vampire Council that they had a child, and the situation has caused major drama. Now, Mina must make a decision about her future (and exactly how long that future will last) pronto!
This light read is worth five stars just because it literally made me snort lemonade through my nose. Pauley dares to go there again and again, with topical references and jabs at modern-day vampire lore. Her main character is a self-described closet girly-girl who has kick-butt tendencies and an attitude that readers will love.
Totally entertaining, with a top-of-the-line teen voice!
Mina Hamilton has a major life (or death) decision to make, and only a few weeks in which to decide. Should she, or should she not, become a vampire? It seems like a no-brainer. I mean, Buffy would know in, like, a split second. But, having vampire parents sort of complicates matters.
This highly humorous novel puts a new spin on the teen vampire tale. Mina is a typical high school student whose extra-curricular activities are no more exciting than hanging at the mall or pizza place, until her undead parents break the news that she has to start attending vampire information classes twice a week. Apparently, they never told the Regional Vampire Council that they had a child, and the situation has caused major drama. Now, Mina must make a decision about her future (and exactly how long that future will last) pronto!
This light read is worth five stars just because it literally made me snort lemonade through my nose. Pauley dares to go there again and again, with topical references and jabs at modern-day vampire lore. Her main character is a self-described closet girly-girl who has kick-butt tendencies and an attitude that readers will love.
Totally entertaining, with a top-of-the-line teen voice!
