Prisoner of Vampires

by Nancy Garden

While writing a term paper on vampires, twelve-year-old Alexander finds himself falling under the spell of Dracula and his family of vampires who are operating a funeral parlor in Massachusetts.

Genres: Vampires, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Childrens, Young Adult

213 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

A versatile writer, Nancy Garden has published books for children as well as for teens, nonfiction as well as fiction. But her novel Annie on My Mind, the story of two high school girls who fall in love with each other, has brought her more attention than she wanted when it was burned in front of the Kansas City School Board building in 1993 and banned from school library shelves in Olathe, Kansas, as well as other school districts. A group of high school students and their parents in Olathe had to sue the school board in federal district court in order to get the book back on the library shelves. Today the book is as controversial as ever, in spite of its being viewed by many as one of the most important books written for teens in the past forty years. In 2003 the American Library Association gave the Margaret A. Edwards Award to Nancy Garden for lifetime achievement.

In Remembrance: Nancy Garden

Reviews

[Sasha]

Mir says this YA novel stars both Dracula and Carmilla. "It definitely had that Gothic vampire tradition sense of temptation as well as threat." I'll probably never get around to reading this...but what a great idea for a book, jeez.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a child, this book SCARED me. This is probably one of the books that got me interested in the Horror genre looking back. This book didn't go for easy shock value or cheap gimmicks and its vampires were classic and scary because they were classic.

The book is aimed perfectly at the age group Nancy Garden is writing for, scary enough, not pornographic or exploitative (I'm looking at you modern vampire romance), and still writing at a level the is accessible and yet respects the reader.

This is not vampire fiction as easy wish fulfillment (I'm AGAIN looking at the vampire romance genre), but the temptations of immortality. All in all, a very good read for a young person wanting a good scare.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Garden's book is perfect for the reader who is sick of how Twilight forever screwed up vampires for an entire generation and would rather experience something along the lines of Dracula-lite. It's a fun, well-plotted excursion into horror for young adults--scary enough to read under the covers with just a flashlight, but not likely to cause nightmares once you put it down. That said, there's still a bit of violence in both the text and the illustrations but it's no worse than what you'd get at your standard PG-rated film.

Protagonist Alexander Darlington is a self-proclaimed horror nut, and when his teacher lets him pick his own topic for a research paper he jumps at the opportunity and sets out to write his definitive work on vampires. But since it's a RESEARCH paper, he can't just rely on his old Boris Karloff films; he needs primary sources, and that means a trip to the local library (man, remember life without the Internet?).

Down in the basement, where the lighting's not so great, Alex finds the perfect assistant for his project in the curator of the rare books archive, a man named Radu who points him in the right direction and fills his head with all manner of stories about vampires--REAL vampires, not those silly ones written about in mythology and folklore. The tales Radu spins are so incredible that Alexander would swear he's right there, watching them unfold before his eyes. But that's impossible, right?

Radu's not the only thing strange about the town though. A beautiful young woman from eastern Europe has just joined Alex's class. Her family has re-opened the old funeral home under the name "Vlad's." And several of Alex's classmates have come down with a strange sort of wasting disease, like something is sapping not just their strength but their very will to live. Alex doesn't realize it, but he's learning more about vampires than anyone should ever know, and the knowledge may cost him dearly before his research paper is due.

Garden weaves threads and drops hints about characters that pull from literary vampire tales of the past, and it's fun playing "spot the reference." Far from just name-dropping and game-playing though, "Prisoner" is a tight, well-constructed story that even adults can enjoy--especially if they're reading it to tender, impressionable younglings by the light of a flickering fireplace. One of my absolute favorites from childhood, it still holds up today.

And there's nary a sparkle, werewolf or mopey teenage girl in sight. Thank God.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was one of my favorites as a kid, and absolutely terrified me. As it turns out, it's not nearly as scary now as it seemed at the time. That is, of course, not at all surprising. Still, it's a fun read with a legitimately creepy atmosphere to it, and a great early horror novel for younger readers who are looking for something on the darker and more serious side than what is usually offered for readers their age. Yes, there's some camp and silliness there, as you expect from books for younger readers, but not much of either. Overall, it was the perfect book for the young me, fascinated by horror but not old enough to be ready for the really major stuff, and it still holds up quite well for what it is.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, preteen novel about scary vampires, although the ending is a bit silly. The writing is good and all of the most famous early Vampire tales are namedropped. I found this at a library sale and will be passing it to my eight year old son.

[Bobby Keniston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this five stars in part because of the nostalgia appeal and the memories I associate of this book, recommended to me by my best friend in middle school. We were both vampire nuts.

But I also give it five stars because Nancy Garden sets herself an ambition of task of combining all the famous classic vampires and vampire stories--- from Dracula to Carmilla, to "The Vampyre'--- and give them a single thread, one big story of their history. And then she brings them all to New England, and we find our hero, Alexander, a kid who gets in a lot of trouble but who means well, getting mixed up with them. Why? Because he's doing a school project on vampires, of course!

Nancy Garden cares about her story and cares about her characters. And she doesn't just try to stay true to classic, gothic vampire tales, but to package it in a book that is suitable for middle grade readers.

And I say she succeeds.

I couldn't believe this book was out of print. It is a real gem--- and that is not just the nostalgia talking.

[Uxar Azul · Rating 5 out of 5]

despite the ending, i loved the characters, both MC and villains. i like the details on emotions for particular scenes, many years have passed and i would read it again and again if i didn't already have a pile of books waiting, heck, i'll still read it again :P

[P.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. It was another one that has been waiting to be read for a long time.

[P.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. It was another one that has been waiting to be read for a long time.

[Elke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um fuer die Schule ein Referat ueber sein Lieblingsthema Vampire schreiben zu koennen, muss Alexander in der Bibliothek recherchieren. Im Keller des Gebaeudes, in der hintersten dunkelsten Ecke, findet er die noetigen Buecher ueber Vampire. Dort begegnet er Radu, der immer wieder auf geheimnisvolle Weise aus dem Dunkel auftaucht. Die theoretischen Daten ueber Vampire, die Alexander aus den Buechern entnimmt, werden von Radu zum Leben erweckt. Alexander hat merkwuerdige Traeume und es wird ihm langsam klar, dass Radu ein Vampir sein muss. Doch da hat Radu Alexander bereits in seine Falle gelockt, und nur noch sein bester Freund kann ihm da heraushelfen.

Die Geschichte ist spannend und gruselig, enthaelt jedoch auch witzige Elemente. Nicht nur jungen Vampirfans bietet Prisoner of Vampires gute Unterhaltung.

[Bryan Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am giving this four stars based on memories from childhood. I found a copy of this book at the library for a dollar not too long ago, and it's on my list to revisit sometime in the future. I had forgotten about this until I saw it in a library discard/sale bin, and remember loving this and flying through this, totally enthralled in the experience.

[Ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was about thirteen when I read this book. At the time, I really liked it. Fortunately, my tastes in books have come a long way since then; and I realize how cheesy it was. Even so, it brings back some good memories

[Cynthia Frazer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this as I was told it was the inspiration for the really cute film "The Littlest Vampire". ONLY thing they have in common is two of the vampire's names.
It was work to read, but I am not in the focus age group. Would that make a difference?

[Sierrah · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have nothing to say about this book because it wasn't very gook either.