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Talli McAlister #1
The Principal
Gangs rule Westerberg High . . . until the new principal arrives. Soon trouble is disappearing--but so are the students. The first book in a terrifying trilogy where the principal is a vampire, and school will never be quite the same again.
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First published January 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 1, 2024
Fortunate enough to have found a first edition paperback edition in such good shape and I have been wanting to read it for quite awhile.
It is the first book in a trilogy so I will try not to spoil it for anyone, like myself, who has never read this before. I'm hoping to eventually find the other two in physical copies but they are in eBook/Kindle form so...
We get a prologue introduction to an old man walking into a high school and observing the students for a minute before heading to the office of the school principal, Oliver Shay. Seems a little ordinary until the questions the man asks, ignoring Shay asking for his name, creep the principal out into almost calling the police.
All niceness is dropped and the old man grabs him around the throat and well...we never see Oliver Shay again.
Opening chapter we are introduced to Tallibeth "Talli" McAlister, our main character. She is a girl with curly red hair and obsessed with horror novels and movies. Her father is a police officer and he has at least half a dozen of his men working at the school.
At Westerberg High (such a great Heathers reference BTW) it is like a zoo or a madhouse with all of the students thanks to the only other high school, Cushing High (oh Sumner...) having to close down. There are almost sixty students crammed in each classroom, vandalization and graffiti about the lockers.
Female students have had their purses stolen and Talli knows that there is drug dealing going on at the school too. For a small town, it seems to be worse than a metropolitan city.
Homeroom has an announcement come over the loudspeaker that Principal Oliver Shay has resigned. A new principal named Henry Volker is taking his place along with an assistant principal/ vice principal named Avram Lynch.
Talli tells her best friend Lisa Taylor that she has met Volker who is renting a house a few down from her own and that he is an old man. Both girls are stage mangers for the school play and head to the gym to do some scenery painting and need a few setting props from storage but Talli and Lisa have an encounter with some undesirables...
Three boys are in the room in the middle of a drug deal going on with baggies filled with white powder and bills changing hands. Two of the boys manhandle Talli and Lisa thinking they are going to narc on them and a knife is involved when a voice breaks into the conversation.
Soon, the two guys are on the ground and the girls have found themselves saved by the new principal, Henry Volker. He is tall with silver hair and a clipped sort of accent, charming enough but Talli can't help but be creeped out by his smile and the way it feels to shake his hand.
The third guy has been too busy tweaking out on his own supply so Volker calls in his assistant, Mr. Lynch to help with the more violent thugs. Lynch is built like a linebacker and with a face and voice that one of the guys moves before being told out of clear intimidation and fear. Volker helps the junkie stand and they all leave for his office.
Lisa is impressed by Volker and a little taken with Lynch but Talli just can't shake her weird feeling even though the new principal saved herself and her best friend. As they are getting ready to head home, Talli is found by Samantha Devereaux.
Even though Sam is the student council president who sits in on school board meetings, she tells Talli to take her place for the sudden one happening tonight because of the new principal. Talli is only an alternate but she has taken Samantha's place for every meeting all year because Sam is blonde and leggy and always making excuses for probably very obvious reasons.
Talli and Lisa can't stand her.
They also get flagged down by Talli's boyfriend, Alex Cole. Apparently, he blew off a date with Talli over the weekend to go to a basketball game with his buds instead and he is seeking forgiveness.
Talli doesn't stay mad at Alex for very long since they have been dating since middle school and Lisa even called it earlier. It is pouring down rain so they share a quick kiss before Talli drives Lisa to her house and then heads to her own home to get ready for the meeting with a change of clothes and some dinner.
Talli's father is going to a policeman's conference along with the sheriff and won't be back until the following weekend. He heads out of town as Talli leaves for the school board meeting and there it is shared that she was one of the girls attacked by Volker earlier that day which is why the meeting was called.
Volker states that the miscreants have been handled by the police but there seems to be no mention that there were three young men present...only two. Talli is confused and somewhat angry at the subtle hint that she may have been on drugs and imagined another person but it is clearly some old fashioned gaslighting if the smile on Lynch's face is to be believed...
The following day, Talli and Lisa look at a yearbook from Cushing High to see if they can find the picture of the other boy Volker failed to mention to the school board members. Lisa finds the face but it is almost that of a completely different person, former handsome class president Morris South.
Now he's all strung out on drugs with limp yellow hair that is almost white.
Suddenly, Lynch is behind the girls and he takes the yearbook from them with menacing tones.
Later that evening, Talli goes out with Alex to see a horror movie instead of studying like her mother believes a little ways out of town to another theater. They head out to get some food after the movie before Talli has to be home and she sees Volker's car at the school late at night when the usually small town starts shutting down.
Talli has Alex park his car to spy on the building to his confusion and there is a weird light inside the building before three figures emerge: Volker, Lynch and South. They leave in the car and Talli shares with Alex everything that has been going on.
Alex doesn't think Talli is crazy but his theory is that the new principal is supplying drugs to the students...much more grounded. With the town sheriff conveniently gone, it makes plausible sense but the two of them need more evidence that they plan to present to Talli's dad as soon as he gets back before going to any of the higher-ups.
The following school day, a new rule is announced to the students by the teachers of Westerberg High from their new principal. Volker will see anyone who shows disciplinary disrespect in his office for anything and everything.
Talli witnesses students being sent to the principal's office throughout the day. Most of them seem either extremely tired, extremely wired or subdued effectively but not drastically which only Talli seems to notice. Lisa doesn't notice anything but both girls are present when a girl named Ashley is sent to Volker's office and returns with terrifying results.
Ashley starts having seizures and Talli is convinced that she has to find out what is going on so she tells Lisa that she has a plan to sneak into Volker's house while he is at school administering his two-hour detentions to all of the students sent to his office.
Soon, students start to go missing at school.
Talli and Lisa find their mothers now singing the praises of Principal Volker protecting the kids at school, indulging in obsessive housecleaning and manic pancake making episodes developing flu-like symptoms...and aversion to any kind of bright lighting after some PTO meeting.
Morris South starts looking to Talli (and smelling) like a rotting zombie.
Talli with all of her horror knowledge begins to figure out just what Volker is but nothing could ever prepare her for the reality of true horror in her own small town.
Now it is up to Talli and Lisa and Alex to fend off their vampiric, new principal...
There is so much going on in this book and the way this first parts ends left me shook and chomping at the bit for more!
I'm liking Sumner's writing style and his way of throwing back to other horror tropes and can see why he made his main character a horror geek like the rest of us...bravo.
Bravo indeed.
It is the first book in a trilogy so I will try not to spoil it for anyone, like myself, who has never read this before. I'm hoping to eventually find the other two in physical copies but they are in eBook/Kindle form so...
We get a prologue introduction to an old man walking into a high school and observing the students for a minute before heading to the office of the school principal, Oliver Shay. Seems a little ordinary until the questions the man asks, ignoring Shay asking for his name, creep the principal out into almost calling the police.
All niceness is dropped and the old man grabs him around the throat and well...we never see Oliver Shay again.
Opening chapter we are introduced to Tallibeth "Talli" McAlister, our main character. She is a girl with curly red hair and obsessed with horror novels and movies. Her father is a police officer and he has at least half a dozen of his men working at the school.
At Westerberg High (such a great Heathers reference BTW) it is like a zoo or a madhouse with all of the students thanks to the only other high school, Cushing High (oh Sumner...) having to close down. There are almost sixty students crammed in each classroom, vandalization and graffiti about the lockers.
Female students have had their purses stolen and Talli knows that there is drug dealing going on at the school too. For a small town, it seems to be worse than a metropolitan city.
Homeroom has an announcement come over the loudspeaker that Principal Oliver Shay has resigned. A new principal named Henry Volker is taking his place along with an assistant principal/ vice principal named Avram Lynch.
Talli tells her best friend Lisa Taylor that she has met Volker who is renting a house a few down from her own and that he is an old man. Both girls are stage mangers for the school play and head to the gym to do some scenery painting and need a few setting props from storage but Talli and Lisa have an encounter with some undesirables...
Three boys are in the room in the middle of a drug deal going on with baggies filled with white powder and bills changing hands. Two of the boys manhandle Talli and Lisa thinking they are going to narc on them and a knife is involved when a voice breaks into the conversation.
Soon, the two guys are on the ground and the girls have found themselves saved by the new principal, Henry Volker. He is tall with silver hair and a clipped sort of accent, charming enough but Talli can't help but be creeped out by his smile and the way it feels to shake his hand.
The third guy has been too busy tweaking out on his own supply so Volker calls in his assistant, Mr. Lynch to help with the more violent thugs. Lynch is built like a linebacker and with a face and voice that one of the guys moves before being told out of clear intimidation and fear. Volker helps the junkie stand and they all leave for his office.
Lisa is impressed by Volker and a little taken with Lynch but Talli just can't shake her weird feeling even though the new principal saved herself and her best friend. As they are getting ready to head home, Talli is found by Samantha Devereaux.
Even though Sam is the student council president who sits in on school board meetings, she tells Talli to take her place for the sudden one happening tonight because of the new principal. Talli is only an alternate but she has taken Samantha's place for every meeting all year because Sam is blonde and leggy and always making excuses for probably very obvious reasons.
Talli and Lisa can't stand her.
They also get flagged down by Talli's boyfriend, Alex Cole. Apparently, he blew off a date with Talli over the weekend to go to a basketball game with his buds instead and he is seeking forgiveness.
Talli doesn't stay mad at Alex for very long since they have been dating since middle school and Lisa even called it earlier. It is pouring down rain so they share a quick kiss before Talli drives Lisa to her house and then heads to her own home to get ready for the meeting with a change of clothes and some dinner.
Talli's father is going to a policeman's conference along with the sheriff and won't be back until the following weekend. He heads out of town as Talli leaves for the school board meeting and there it is shared that she was one of the girls attacked by Volker earlier that day which is why the meeting was called.
Volker states that the miscreants have been handled by the police but there seems to be no mention that there were three young men present...only two. Talli is confused and somewhat angry at the subtle hint that she may have been on drugs and imagined another person but it is clearly some old fashioned gaslighting if the smile on Lynch's face is to be believed...
The following day, Talli and Lisa look at a yearbook from Cushing High to see if they can find the picture of the other boy Volker failed to mention to the school board members. Lisa finds the face but it is almost that of a completely different person, former handsome class president Morris South.
Now he's all strung out on drugs with limp yellow hair that is almost white.
Suddenly, Lynch is behind the girls and he takes the yearbook from them with menacing tones.
Later that evening, Talli goes out with Alex to see a horror movie instead of studying like her mother believes a little ways out of town to another theater. They head out to get some food after the movie before Talli has to be home and she sees Volker's car at the school late at night when the usually small town starts shutting down.
Talli has Alex park his car to spy on the building to his confusion and there is a weird light inside the building before three figures emerge: Volker, Lynch and South. They leave in the car and Talli shares with Alex everything that has been going on.
Alex doesn't think Talli is crazy but his theory is that the new principal is supplying drugs to the students...much more grounded. With the town sheriff conveniently gone, it makes plausible sense but the two of them need more evidence that they plan to present to Talli's dad as soon as he gets back before going to any of the higher-ups.
The following school day, a new rule is announced to the students by the teachers of Westerberg High from their new principal. Volker will see anyone who shows disciplinary disrespect in his office for anything and everything.
Talli witnesses students being sent to the principal's office throughout the day. Most of them seem either extremely tired, extremely wired or subdued effectively but not drastically which only Talli seems to notice. Lisa doesn't notice anything but both girls are present when a girl named Ashley is sent to Volker's office and returns with terrifying results.
Ashley starts having seizures and Talli is convinced that she has to find out what is going on so she tells Lisa that she has a plan to sneak into Volker's house while he is at school administering his two-hour detentions to all of the students sent to his office.
Soon, students start to go missing at school.
Talli and Lisa find their mothers now singing the praises of Principal Volker protecting the kids at school, indulging in obsessive housecleaning and manic pancake making episodes developing flu-like symptoms...and aversion to any kind of bright lighting after some PTO meeting.
Morris South starts looking to Talli (and smelling) like a rotting zombie.
Talli with all of her horror knowledge begins to figure out just what Volker is but nothing could ever prepare her for the reality of true horror in her own small town.
Now it is up to Talli and Lisa and Alex to fend off their vampiric, new principal...
There is so much going on in this book and the way this first parts ends left me shook and chomping at the bit for more!
I'm liking Sumner's writing style and his way of throwing back to other horror tropes and can see why he made his main character a horror geek like the rest of us...bravo.
Bravo indeed.
January 16, 2024
I read this book in my teens, loved it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews