Secret Vampire

Book: Secret Vampire

Author : L.J. Smith

Review: In the first book of the NightWorld Series, Poppy is about to die from cancer and we soon learn that her best friend James who shares music with her and grew up with her as a young child is a vampire. Interested in her disease, James finds out about it and decides that he will make her a vampire but as soon as he tells Poppy she begins to think that he is insane. In a flurry of an almost-disaster, Poppy strays away from him by distancing herself from him as she is about to die. James comes into her room in the middle of the night and eventually bites her knowing that their bond is rare and that she could possibly die in the process in which her younger brother Phil helps James in order to keep her corpse safe. The Gothic novel is composed of monstrosities in which such things as darkness, vampires, phantoms and unexplained instances happen to the protagnist whether he is attacked by madness or insanity or the fear of the unknown. I’d call this specifically an American gothic novel because we are romanticizing monstrosity instead of condemning it like the ordinary gothic novella.

Star Rating : 5 of 5

Spice rating : 0 of 5

Book Recommendation : Yes/To those who like the vampire trope..

Thoughts:

• Smith makes a spectacular move in the horror/romance genre.
• A depiction of an American vampire novella for teens.
• Makes the reader imagine the impossible for an American Gothic novel to include romance for teens.
• A sweet escape from the throes of death.