Review: Bloodthirsty by Flynn Meaney

Bloodthirsty
Written by Flynn Meaney
Release Date: October 5, 2010
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ARC Provided by Publisher for Review -- Thank You!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars


Synopsis (Courtesy of Barnes and Noble):

Some vampires are good. Some are evil. Some are faking it to get girls. Awkward and allergic to the sun, sixteen-year-old Finbar Frame never gets the girl. But when he notices that all the female students at his school are obsessed with a vampire romance novel called Bloodthirsty, Finbar decides to boldly go where no sane guy has gone before-he becomes a vampire, minus the whole blood sucking part. With his brooding nature and weirdly pale skin, it's surprisingly easy for Finbar to pretend to be paranormal. But, when he meets the one girl who just might like him for who he really is, he discovers that his life as a pseudo-vampire is more complicated than he expected. This hilarious debut novel is for anyone who believes that sometimes even nice guys-without sharp teeth or sparkly skin-- can get the girl.

A surprisingly great read that I will definitely read again! Interesting, funny, well-written and entertaining, Bloodthirsty is definitely a must-read for anyone, especially vampire fans with a sense of humor. Full review after the jump. WARNING: SPOILERS!!!

I went into reading Bloodthirsty with admittedly low expectations. I didn't expect a fanpire mockery to be so solidly entertaining. As a fan of the vampire stories the protagonist uses as inspiration, I thought maybe I'd get a couple of laughs out of the story and leave it with an average impression of everything else. I was proven wrong within the first few pages. Meaney's writing is really enjoyable. He's witty, charming, and surprisingly in touch with the subject matter of high school awkwardness. Many writers that explore high school don't really remember what it was like to actually be in high school, so it was refreshing to see that someone still remembers what it was like to be there. I was thoroughly entertained throughout then entire story.

Finbar was a really likable kind of guy. Honest and funny, I really enjoyed seeing things from his perspective. The only thing I was curious about was why he didn't model his false vampirism more after Edward Cullen, who would have been more fitting for a high school vamp than the romance novel vampire he chose to emulate. Cullen was mentioned a few times, but not really chosen as the template for Finbar to build his vampire persona. I'm sure it had something to do with copyrights. Not really a complaint, though.

I really really liked this book, and I'm definitely going to be reading it again. I recommend that you all go pick it up and read it. It's a really fun read.