Saturday, April 3, 2010

Review - Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley

Sucks to be Me by Kimberly Pauley
Published by Mirrorstone, 2008
Hardcover, 293 pages
Rating:  4 Bookcases

Summary from GoodreadsMina Hamilton's parents want her dead. (Or undead to be precise.) They're vampires, and like it or not, Mina must decide whether to become a vampire herself. But Mina's more interested in hanging out with best friend Serena and trying to catch the eye of the too-hot-for-high-school Nathan Able than in the vampire training classes she's being forced to take. How's a girl supposed to find the perfect prom date and pass third-year French when her mom and dad are breathing down her neck--literally?


Sucks To Be Me is a clever, fun novel with great characters. From the first page the reader knows that this won’t be a typical vampire tale. Mina Hamilton has a big decision to make and only a couple of weeks to make it. Her parents are vampires and have kept Mina a secret from the Vampire Council. Now that the Council knows about Mina, she has to decide whether or not she wants to become a vampire too. Not only does she have to keep all of this a secret from her best friend, Serena, she has to take Vampire Information classes and be mentored by her odd Uncle Mortie. Really, all she wants is to be a typical teenager, to hang out with Serena, try to snag a date to prom with her crush, Nathan, and make it through the end of the school year.

Sucks To Be Me was a fun book to read. I usually don’t think of vampire books as funny, light reads, but that is exactly what this book was. I was hooked from the first chapter and found that I really cared about Mina and the decision she would have to make. Even though the main premise was about vampires, there was also an underlying thread throughout the book about Mina finding herself and figuring out who she really is.  She was a great protagonist; fun, smart, sarcastic and she stood up to the mean girl. Not only does Mina have to navigate Vampire Information classes and learning about what her new life could look like, she also goes through typical teen things as well. The side plot involving her crush Nathan and trying to get a date to prom added a bit of normal teenage drama.  Ms. Pauley struck a balance between the two parts of Mina’s life, giving the reader insight into what she would be giving up based on her decision.

In addition to wonderful characters and a great plot, the small details including Mina’s lists and vampire myth versus truth commentary at the start of each chapter really made this a great book to read and added to the humor. I found the ending to be perfect, but it did leave room for the story to continue. And it will, when the sequel (Still Sucks to be Me) is published in May. Overall, this was a fun, witty book. I would recommend Sucks To Be Me to lovers and non lovers of vampire books alike.

2 comments:

  1. The book seems a lot of fun. I am totally into paranormal. Also,your recommendation has piqued my interest for the book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ohh I'm so glad you liked it! It was such a fun read. I did an interview with her not to long ago.

    ReplyDelete

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