Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there are a lot of sexual references, but nothing graphic, and nothing described. The plot hinges on the 19-year-old main character's loss of virginity and a sexually transmitted disease.
Families who read this book could discuss the whole concept of secret government agencies that exist to protect us. What are their rights, and ours? Is it OK for the government to have secrets if it protects us? Should we know all the dangers we face, or be kept in ignorance for our own good?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Hilariously gruesome, wittily revolting, this book is a sheer delight for anyone who isn't completely creeped out by it.
Cal explains how he became infected with the virus that causes vampirism -- and becomes a vampire, or peep, hunter. In alternating chapters, he gives the reader a crash course in real-life parasitology, much like Melville did with whaling, but a lot more entertainingly.
In fact these real, scientific chapters (there's even an author's note and bibliography) are, in many ways, more horrifying than the story. Together they provide an action-packed thrill ride that's highly educational, deeply creepy, and drolly disgusting.
What's even better, author Westerfeld has found something utterly new and original to do with an old genre. He even has Cal explain how those old legends got started. And, oddly enough for a book about sexually-transmitted vampirism, the author keeps a light touch on the gore and sex -- there's quite a bit less than in most teen horror novels. He simply doesn't need them to keep the pages turning -- he's got a sardonic teen narrator who's a biology geek and an action hero. It's a potent combination: hormones, humor, horror, science, superheroes, education, and romance.
From The Book
The Shrink always warned me that carriers stay wracked with lifelong guilt. It's not an uplifting thing having lovers turned into monsters. We feel bad that we haven't turned into monsters ourselves -- survivor's guilt, that's called. And we feel a bit stupid that we didn't notice our own symptoms earlier. I mean, I'd been sort of wondering why the Atkins diet was giving me night vision. But that hadn't seemed like something to worry about.
Plot Summary:
Two days after arriving in New York for college, Cal loses his virginity to a girl who picks him up. From this encounter Cal picks up an STD, but this is an unusual one: it turns its victims into "peeps" -- parasite positives -- raving cannibalistic monsters with unusual strength, night vision, heightened senses, and an affinity with rats (you may know them as vampires). Cal himself turns out to be immune, but he's a carrier -- he gets the strength and senses without the nasty side effects. But before he knows it he has infected others.
Cal is recruited by the Night Watch, a secret government organization that has existed for centuries to contain the disease and its victims. His first assignment is to capture all the girls he's infected. But soon Cal realizes that there is more going on than he has been told: the disease is changing in response to mysterious forces from under the earth that are waking up after centuries of slumber.
Related Books:
Also by Scott Westerfeld
So Yesterday
The Midnighters Trilogy
Uglies Trilogy
More Humorous Horror
Thirsty by M. T. Anderson
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Curses, Inc. and Other Stories by Vivian Vande Velde
Never Trust a Dead Man by Vivian Vande Velde
A Living Nightmare (Cirque Du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan, Book 1) by Darren Shan
Related Web site
Author's site
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Sexual ContentLots referred to, though none described beyond kissing. The story hinges on Cal's loss of virginity and a sexually transmitted disease, which causes arousal as a side effect, a gay bar. |
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ViolenceSome fights, hitting, scratching. Chases with rats, a battle with a giant worm, references to cannibalism. |
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LanguageA few uses of s---. |
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Social Behavior |
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CommercialismFoods, fast-food restaurants, sodas, electronics. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoSome drinking and drunkenness. Crack vials mentioned. |
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