Review - Fat Vampire by Adam Rex

Fat Vampire: Adam Rex

Page count: 336

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: July 27, 2010

product description from goodreads.com

Both fans and foes of the ever-expanding genre of vampire novels will get sucked into this hysterical send-up of those angst-filled, vampire-meets-girl high school dramas. Doug "Meatball" Lee is no Edward, he's just a 15-year-old dork trying to land a date with a real live girl, any girl. But when you're a weight-challenged, newbie vampire, finding a Bella to call your very own presents some real challenges. The multi-talented author Adam Rex uses offbeat humor and outrageous scenarios to position this underdog for paranormal greatness.

My review:

Fat Vampire was a surprise to me. First off, I fell in love with the cover (I mean, look at it...it's awesome). That alone made me pick up the book, and luckily the guts inside mirrored the humorous outside. Adam Rex created a uniquely funny spin on the vampire genre with Doug, a forever-fifteen, out-of-shape vampire who just wants to be a normal kid.

Along with his best pal Jay, Doug traverses the tricky path of being a teenager (girls, awkwardness, girls) while dealing with the pitfalls of being a vampire (blood thirst, sunlight, blood thirst). As if that isn't hard enough, Doug also has to deal with his lust for the new girl at school and the host of a failing reality show about vampires who's hoping to expose Doug to save his own career.

Overall, Fat Vampire is a humorous take on teenage life, and the fact Doug is a vampire only makes it funnier. Rex's story is filled with hilarious one-liners that actually made me laugh out loud while reading. Some parts are a bit slow and tend to pull down the plot, but in no way did that deter me from continuing on and enjoying a really good book.

Rating:

Adam Rex created a comical character in Doug Lee that kept me laughing until the surprise ending. I give Fat Vampire 3.5 stars.