Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Funny, creepy sequel takes twins to Transylvania.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Following their terrifying waterpark-gone-awry adventures in Book 1, Alexander and Theodora Sinister-Winterbottom, age 12, are off on a VAMPIRIC VACATION. Weird Aunt Saffronia dispatches them on a hunt for another mystery object in a spooky castle that proves to have many perils. Also a lot of red fluids and a resident count. Luckily the twins and big sister Will are resourceful: Alexander's culinary genius, Theo's rappelling skills, and Wil's computer-hacking wizardry come in handy and help them avert many dangers -- which doesn't seem to keep new ones from cropping up. Or solve the problem of where the kids' parents are, and why they left them in the middle of the night with an aunt they didn't know they had.
Is It Any Good?
Kiersten White's creepy, funny tale puts 12-year-old twins Theo and Alexander in many perils as their spooky aunt drops them at a luxurious but peculiar spa with some definite Dracula overtones. Red fluids, comically creepy villains, locked rooms, cavernous cliffs, twisty passages and other dire dangers await on Theo and Alexander's Vampiric Vacation. So does a lot of wry, understated humor:
"'People don't understand that a scary name doesn't necessarily mean a scary thing,' said Mina Blood to Alexander and Theo Sinister-Winterbottom."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about vampire stories, which come up a lot in Vampiric Vacation. Do you like them yourself? Why do you think they're so popular? Do you prefer the funny ones, the romantic ones, or the really scary ones?
Both Theo and Alexander have their own ways of getting mentally overwhelmed -- for Theo it's like buzzing bees, for Alexander it's worry and obsession with order. Do you ever find yourself feeling that way? Have you figured out any good ways to cope -- as the twins do with their mom's help?
Do you have a particular skill that you think might come in handy on an adventure, like Theo's rappelling expertise does here?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Fantasy , STEM
- Character Strengths : Courage , Perseverance , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Delacorte Press
- Publication date : September 27, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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