Review: 'Eighth Grade Bites: A Graphic Novel' by Heather Brewer

Vladimir Tod is just trying to get by as a normal teenager who doesn't suffer from any vampiric inclinations.  He keeps his head down, eats peanut butter and blood jelly sandwiches and hangs with his best (and only) friend, Henry.  But there's a problem - Vlad actually does have Nosferatu-like tendencies; he inherited them from his father who really was a vampire.  When a new teacher who seems more than passingly familiar with the supernatural comes to town, Vlad's very existence is threatened.

This graphic novel is based on Brewer's best selling The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod novels which spawned a companion series, The Slayer Chronicles. As with most graphic novel adaptations of full-length novels, I was disappointed by Eighth Grade Bites: A Graphic Novel; it felt shallow and rather empty and lacked the introspection and individuality of the text novel.  Tony Lee, who adapted the text to graphic novel format, has stripped the characters and story-lines down to bare bones while the illustrator, Julia Land, seems to have phoned in her drawings.

The entire graphic novel is flat and somewhat confusing since many of the characters are drawn in such a similar way.  The plot, what's left of it, is jumbled and I suspect that people who have not read the novel will be very confused at the end of the graphic novel.  While I highly recommend Heather Brewer's novels, I cannot say the same for the graphic adaptation.

Book Source: Local Library
Reviewer: Rebecca

Recommended Ages: 12+
Recommended for Readers of:

Pinocchio...Vampire Slayer?

Everyone knows the story of the Pinocchio the wooden puppet that wanted to be a “real boy”.  But Disney never got his hands on this part of the tale.  Vampires roam Italy haunting small villages and causing strings of “mysterious disappearances”.  Geppetto has been murdered by these vampires leaving Pinocchio to protect the disbelieving villagers.  The wooden boy is aided by Master Cherry, an aged (and somewhat arthritic) Blue Fairy and the ghost of a well-intentioned but very annoying cricket Pinocchio stomped upon long ago. 

Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer uses limited color to convey the dark nature of the story as well as highlight action, bad guys and important plot points.  The overall effect is of a dark, monochromatic Italy shot through with bursts of violence. Though the general tone of the novel is rather Grimm, there are certain moments of hilarity throughout this graphic novel such as when Pinocchio tells outrageous lies to make his nose grow only to break of the end of his nose, employing it as a stake to kill vampires.  (At which point I burst out laughing while reading.)
Pinocchio returns to his roots in this much darker and more interesting than is typically recounted fairy-tale revamp. Readers be prepared for action, humor, vampire slaying galore and an unexpected twist that will leave you shocked and desperately awaiting the second installation.

THIS AUTHOR WILL BE AT TEENBOOKCON 2012!  Check out http://www.teenbookcon.org/ for details.

Recommended for Readers of: