starrysteph's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Don’t Want to be Your Monster spins vampire lore on its head through a playful murder mystery for young readers.
We follow Adam, a 10-year-old vampire who is desperate to learn more about the world … and figure out why his big brother Victor has been acting so weird. Adam and his siblings have been raised in isolation by their two loving, eclectic, immortal moms. When a murderer strikes in town, Adam is terrified of vampire hunters and decides to solve the case (alongside two new mortal friends).
It’s a sweet story that investigates some of the antisemitic origins of vampire legends & challenges how we frame ‘others’ as monsters. The educational elements are very direct.
I enjoyed the growing friendship between a very different trio of 10-year-olds, and the themes of compassion & standing up for your fellow humans (or … non-humans).
The writing was structurally clumsy at times, and the dialogue felt a bit stilted – the biggest stumble for me overall was Victor’s POV. He did not read like a 14-year-old & in my opinion was not given enough complexity of thought or emotional depth. His chapters were a smaller portion of the book, and I think it would have been more effective storytelling to only use Adam’s perspective – and unravel Victor’s behavior through his little brother’s eyes. In general, I would recommend this book for readers around fourth or fifth grade (I’m not sure older kids would be as engaged).
I do love a queer found family & also really appreciated the scope of casual representation & the various cultures and languages depicted on the page.
CW: murder, death & mass death, hate crime, antisemitism, blood, cancer, genocide, xenophobia, poisoning, abandonment, child abuse, kidnapping
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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Antisemitism, Cancer, Abandonment, Child abuse, Murder, Blood, and Kidnapping
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