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First Kiss with Fangs
Thirteen-year-old Ivan is a tender-hearted vampire who prefers a plant-based diet. In his daydreams, he rejects his destiny and hangs out in the human world forever! But would it be worth it if it means hiding his truest self?
Born into a family of vampires, cheerful Ivan is a black sheep: he loves sunshine, his best friends are human, and he can’t stomach the thought of eating meat.
So when Ivan’s vampire fangs come in on his first day of eighth grade, he’s determined to keep them a secret. He wants to stay in day school, with his sweet group of human BFFs, rather than transfer to night school with the rest of the teenage vampire crowd. Sure, that means he’ll have to lie to everyone, but how hard can it be? He will just act normal.
Keeping his secret gets much harder when Ivan is assigned a new lab partner: transfer student Damien. Around him, Ivan acts anything but normal. He’s fainting and fumbling and far from blending in. Ivan even finds himself thinking about blood and heartbeats and vampire kisses . . . All. Day. Long.
Is it safe to spend time with humans, or is Ivan turning into a bloodthirsty vampire against his wishes? He always thought he would do anything to stay in the human world, but maybe it’s too dangerous to keep pretending. . . .
Fans of Fake Blood will sink their teeth into this graphic novel that’s perfect for readers navigating first crushes, unpredictable emotions, and the perils of middle school. Featuring LBGTQ+ characters and a unique, homespun art style, Snyder’s debut is fang-tastic.
Born into a family of vampires, cheerful Ivan is a black sheep: he loves sunshine, his best friends are human, and he can’t stomach the thought of eating meat.
So when Ivan’s vampire fangs come in on his first day of eighth grade, he’s determined to keep them a secret. He wants to stay in day school, with his sweet group of human BFFs, rather than transfer to night school with the rest of the teenage vampire crowd. Sure, that means he’ll have to lie to everyone, but how hard can it be? He will just act normal.
Keeping his secret gets much harder when Ivan is assigned a new lab partner: transfer student Damien. Around him, Ivan acts anything but normal. He’s fainting and fumbling and far from blending in. Ivan even finds himself thinking about blood and heartbeats and vampire kisses . . . All. Day. Long.
Is it safe to spend time with humans, or is Ivan turning into a bloodthirsty vampire against his wishes? He always thought he would do anything to stay in the human world, but maybe it’s too dangerous to keep pretending. . . .
Fans of Fake Blood will sink their teeth into this graphic novel that’s perfect for readers navigating first crushes, unpredictable emotions, and the perils of middle school. Featuring LBGTQ+ characters and a unique, homespun art style, Snyder’s debut is fang-tastic.
304 pages, Paperback
Published September 2, 2025
1 person is currently reading
2684 people want to read
About the author
Marker Snyder
1 book15 followersHI! I’M MARKER!
I’m an illustrator, storyteller, and professional messmaker.
Through my art, I encourage kids of all ages to dive into their imaginations and emotions, to embrace their mistakes, and to fearlessly share the best versions of themselves with the world.
I LIVE AND WORK IN A RAINBOW HOUSE IN KINGSTON, NY …WITH MY HUSBAND, 2 CATS, AND A VERY FRIENDLY TURTLE.
I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO MAKE A MESS.
I PASSIONATELY BELIEVE ANYONE CAN DRAW.
(Yes, anyone.)
I’VE NEVER MET AN ANIMAL I DIDN’T LIKE.
(Actually, I’m a sucker for just about ANYTHING with eyes.)
MY FAVORITE ARTISTIC TOOL IS IMAGINATION.
(Markers are a close second.)
I THINK OUR WORLD CAN BE MADE BETTER THROUGH KINDNESS TOWARDS OTHERS.
…AND, IF YOU CAN’T FIND ME, I’M PROBABLY DRAWING.
I’m an illustrator, storyteller, and professional messmaker.
Through my art, I encourage kids of all ages to dive into their imaginations and emotions, to embrace their mistakes, and to fearlessly share the best versions of themselves with the world.
I LIVE AND WORK IN A RAINBOW HOUSE IN KINGSTON, NY …WITH MY HUSBAND, 2 CATS, AND A VERY FRIENDLY TURTLE.
I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO MAKE A MESS.
I PASSIONATELY BELIEVE ANYONE CAN DRAW.
(Yes, anyone.)
I’VE NEVER MET AN ANIMAL I DIDN’T LIKE.
(Actually, I’m a sucker for just about ANYTHING with eyes.)
MY FAVORITE ARTISTIC TOOL IS IMAGINATION.
(Markers are a close second.)
I THINK OUR WORLD CAN BE MADE BETTER THROUGH KINDNESS TOWARDS OTHERS.
…AND, IF YOU CAN’T FIND ME, I’M PROBABLY DRAWING.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 7, 2025
SO FREAKING CUTE 😭
This was absolutely fun and wholesome! The art style was cute and funky, it was interesting to see it play around with colors associated with humans vs vampires. I love that this seems so simple, but it also touches on some interesting points (having first crushes, identity crisis, monster as a label, friendship). It was just such a fun read. You could easily read it one sitting!
I think I would just love some more lore and backstory. I think there was some more that could have been explored there. The climax/resolution could have also been explained a bit more? Doesn't mean I'm not satisfied though 😆
Overall, such a good read! Please read this or read to your kids, nieces, nephews, whatever 🥹
Thank you so much to Holiday House for sending a copy my way! (This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.)
This was absolutely fun and wholesome! The art style was cute and funky, it was interesting to see it play around with colors associated with humans vs vampires. I love that this seems so simple, but it also touches on some interesting points (having first crushes, identity crisis, monster as a label, friendship). It was just such a fun read. You could easily read it one sitting!
I think I would just love some more lore and backstory. I think there was some more that could have been explored there. The climax/resolution could have also been explained a bit more? Doesn't mean I'm not satisfied though 😆
Overall, such a good read! Please read this or read to your kids, nieces, nephews, whatever 🥹
Thank you so much to Holiday House for sending a copy my way! (This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.)
[ Marking this book as part of my reading challenge: Read Queerly 2025.
Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Storygraph | Fable | Blog ]
November 26, 2025
I'm a sucker for any story where the protag is accepted, supported and even celebrated for who they are, who breaks barriers through the sheer power of their love and bleeding heart.
This is a coming of age graphic novel with a vampire/queer allegory about hiding your identity to fit in, with a blessedly happy ending.
The art style is simple in a way that feels accessible, and is cleverly color-coded with vampire things in blue, human things in yellow and blood things in red. Which also just makes for a visually pleasing palette on top of the lovely story.
This is a coming of age graphic novel with a vampire/queer allegory about hiding your identity to fit in, with a blessedly happy ending.
The art style is simple in a way that feels accessible, and is cleverly color-coded with vampire things in blue, human things in yellow and blood things in red. Which also just makes for a visually pleasing palette on top of the lovely story.
August 13, 2025
very cute middle grade queer vampire graphic novel. essentially a vampire who longs to live with the humans and he can, until his fangs come in. so when his fangs do finally drop, he tried to hide it and stay at day school with the humans and everything he knows.
I really enjoyed this and it's very cute. I loved the idea of a sunshine vampire kid in a family of goth dark vampires. it's also super casually queer and we love that.
I really enjoyed this and it's very cute. I loved the idea of a sunshine vampire kid in a family of goth dark vampires. it's also super casually queer and we love that.
September 29, 2025
This was great! It was all about identity and being YOU loudly so that those around you can accept you as you are. It had such good representation and was such a sweet story about friendship and those first butterflies you get when you start to fall in love.
October 25, 2025
Did not like this one at all.
I think it was OK. The art style really bothered me. It just looked like every single character was like 1000% pissed off all the time or constipated.
But I’m not really here to review the art so onto the story. I really struggled with the beginning part where the main character Ivan just hates himself for being a vampire and hates everything to do with vampires… I just really do not like stories where someone hates themselves almost the entire time. Although I will make concessions that this is probably inaccurate way that people who are growing up queer will feel, as the story is a queer analogy.
I thought the idea that the human “day school” and the vampire“night school” were both happening in the same school building - but then I just thought about the fact that there is such a giant vampire community in this town that somehow the humans are completely unaware exists… like literally, there are so many vampires that they live in their own subdivision and attending the same exact school at different times, and yet no human in the town is aware of that vampires exist. It was just way too much of a suspension of belief for me. Like there is absolutely no way that no human is aware that there is at least like 500 vampires living in their own subdivision in this town.
And like apparently when the vampires are kids, they all go to the “day school“ together with human kids. Like does no one in this town wonder why kids that live in one subdivision always drop out of school before attending middle school? The world building just made me ask way too many questions that took me out of the story. Just simple questions on how the world worked. Why would they not just have their own entire town? But then, of course, the entire premise of the story would fail so confusing world building it is because the premise of the story centers around Ivan, a vampire who convinces his parents to let him continue going to day school, because he secretly absolutely hates himself and hates his entire vampire, family and wants to be a human for reasons that are never really explained at all. Like the only explanation is that he hates vampires, but there’s never really any strong emphasis on the things he likes about humans.
But what really ruined it for me was the “blood transfusion scene“ at the end. When Ivan’s human crush Damien’s mom (that’s such a mouthful) is in the ICU for some sort of vague blood disease. They say that she is in the ICU, but they are moving her and no shit Literally, the doctors wheel the Mom through the waiting room… just right through the waiting room. For an ICU patient. (apparently at this hospital waiting room also doubles as a hallway that connects to vital important parts of the hospital)
And like I am not a doctor, but I at least understand that no ICU patient would be wheeled in a stretcher with an actual blood transfusion going on? Because as she is wheeled into the waiting room, in route to another part of the hospital, there is a bag of blood attached to her like she is having an active blood transfusion while being wheeled through a waiting room while going to a different part of the hospital while being in the ICU apparently. Just walking through the waiting room?
Like, has the author never been into emergency room before? It was so ridiculous. I immediately was taken out out of the story.
And earlier in the narrative it is discovered that the human son apparently is willing to give blood that is somehow “the right kind that will save the mom” but the doctor say it is too dangerous… (everything is so extremely vague) so our vampire homeboy, the moment he sees the Mom being wheeled past him while he is in the waiting room trying to support his human crush, worried that his mom is about to die , decides to be the hero by literally biting Damien in the arm, runs over to the mom being wheeled past in a stretcher and… Bites the bag of blood? And I guess somehow injects human sons blood into the moms blood bag? And this apparently saves the day.
But like… fangs are not straws. At least animals in the animal kingdom that have fangs are not straws. They literally do not have a tube that goes from the tooth enamel up through the top of the roof of the mouth down into the throat so that the animal can swallow the blood. It’s to inject venom into other things. You wouldn’t suck up blood through fangs. So did this vampire bite the human and just had a mouthful of blood and just like spit it into a blood transfusion bag?? Because that would certainly be a great thing to introduce into the circulatory system of a patient with the blood-borne illness in the ICU.
And then- does biting a human cause him to turn into a vampire? Throughout the story, I’ve been continuously as warned about performing “the vampires kiss” and being so close to humans he poses a danger to them or later in the story other vampires think he is trying to get close to humans to perform “the vampire’s kiss.” Throughout part of the story it is a huge point of fear for Ivan and leads to a lot of conflict about whether or not he should stay around his human friends.
But lo and behold, after he bites Damien, and he casually asks if he is a vampire now Ivan just literally goes pffft that’s not how that works. And just leaves it at that.
So what is the point of even having the previous 100 pages being a nonstop stressor of accidentally performing “the vampire’s kiss” if it’s literally just like a toddler biting someone. There’s no venom in these vampires I guess, it’s literally just biting someone? Like talk about an unsatisfying way to wrap up what was situated to be a really huge fear.
The story was OK, but kind of underwhelming and nothing really special, but certain things, like the world building and certainly the scene in the hospital just positively needed so much suspension of belief that it was hard for me to enjoy the story at all.
I think it was OK. The art style really bothered me. It just looked like every single character was like 1000% pissed off all the time or constipated.
But I’m not really here to review the art so onto the story. I really struggled with the beginning part where the main character Ivan just hates himself for being a vampire and hates everything to do with vampires… I just really do not like stories where someone hates themselves almost the entire time. Although I will make concessions that this is probably inaccurate way that people who are growing up queer will feel, as the story is a queer analogy.
I thought the idea that the human “day school” and the vampire“night school” were both happening in the same school building - but then I just thought about the fact that there is such a giant vampire community in this town that somehow the humans are completely unaware exists… like literally, there are so many vampires that they live in their own subdivision and attending the same exact school at different times, and yet no human in the town is aware of that vampires exist. It was just way too much of a suspension of belief for me. Like there is absolutely no way that no human is aware that there is at least like 500 vampires living in their own subdivision in this town.
And like apparently when the vampires are kids, they all go to the “day school“ together with human kids. Like does no one in this town wonder why kids that live in one subdivision always drop out of school before attending middle school? The world building just made me ask way too many questions that took me out of the story. Just simple questions on how the world worked. Why would they not just have their own entire town? But then, of course, the entire premise of the story would fail so confusing world building it is because the premise of the story centers around Ivan, a vampire who convinces his parents to let him continue going to day school, because he secretly absolutely hates himself and hates his entire vampire, family and wants to be a human for reasons that are never really explained at all. Like the only explanation is that he hates vampires, but there’s never really any strong emphasis on the things he likes about humans.
But what really ruined it for me was the “blood transfusion scene“ at the end. When Ivan’s human crush Damien’s mom (that’s such a mouthful) is in the ICU for some sort of vague blood disease. They say that she is in the ICU, but they are moving her and no shit Literally, the doctors wheel the Mom through the waiting room… just right through the waiting room. For an ICU patient. (apparently at this hospital waiting room also doubles as a hallway that connects to vital important parts of the hospital)
And like I am not a doctor, but I at least understand that no ICU patient would be wheeled in a stretcher with an actual blood transfusion going on? Because as she is wheeled into the waiting room, in route to another part of the hospital, there is a bag of blood attached to her like she is having an active blood transfusion while being wheeled through a waiting room while going to a different part of the hospital while being in the ICU apparently. Just walking through the waiting room?
Like, has the author never been into emergency room before? It was so ridiculous. I immediately was taken out out of the story.
And earlier in the narrative it is discovered that the human son apparently is willing to give blood that is somehow “the right kind that will save the mom” but the doctor say it is too dangerous… (everything is so extremely vague) so our vampire homeboy, the moment he sees the Mom being wheeled past him while he is in the waiting room trying to support his human crush, worried that his mom is about to die , decides to be the hero by literally biting Damien in the arm, runs over to the mom being wheeled past in a stretcher and… Bites the bag of blood? And I guess somehow injects human sons blood into the moms blood bag? And this apparently saves the day.
But like… fangs are not straws. At least animals in the animal kingdom that have fangs are not straws. They literally do not have a tube that goes from the tooth enamel up through the top of the roof of the mouth down into the throat so that the animal can swallow the blood. It’s to inject venom into other things. You wouldn’t suck up blood through fangs. So did this vampire bite the human and just had a mouthful of blood and just like spit it into a blood transfusion bag?? Because that would certainly be a great thing to introduce into the circulatory system of a patient with the blood-borne illness in the ICU.
And then- does biting a human cause him to turn into a vampire? Throughout the story, I’ve been continuously as warned about performing “the vampires kiss” and being so close to humans he poses a danger to them or later in the story other vampires think he is trying to get close to humans to perform “the vampire’s kiss.” Throughout part of the story it is a huge point of fear for Ivan and leads to a lot of conflict about whether or not he should stay around his human friends.
But lo and behold, after he bites Damien, and he casually asks if he is a vampire now Ivan just literally goes pffft that’s not how that works. And just leaves it at that.
So what is the point of even having the previous 100 pages being a nonstop stressor of accidentally performing “the vampire’s kiss” if it’s literally just like a toddler biting someone. There’s no venom in these vampires I guess, it’s literally just biting someone? Like talk about an unsatisfying way to wrap up what was situated to be a really huge fear.
The story was OK, but kind of underwhelming and nothing really special, but certain things, like the world building and certainly the scene in the hospital just positively needed so much suspension of belief that it was hard for me to enjoy the story at all.
September 4, 2025
this is a book for middle grade weirdos, and twelve year old me's friend group would have been absolutely insufferable about this.
i love the whimsically-weird, tim burton meets nickelodeon's doug art style this is drawn in. it has such a relatable story about reaching an age where your body is changing and doing weird things that you don't necessarily want it to be doing, new schools, families being families, first crushes! all of the things ivan finds himself dealing with are things middle grade readers face and they were presented in such a fun way- he's a vampire, come on, how cool is that?
i just really love a soft hearted character that is meant to be a cold hearted monster, and ivan the vegetarian vampire is exactly that. i loved this and can't wait to recommend it this spooky season!
i love the whimsically-weird, tim burton meets nickelodeon's doug art style this is drawn in. it has such a relatable story about reaching an age where your body is changing and doing weird things that you don't necessarily want it to be doing, new schools, families being families, first crushes! all of the things ivan finds himself dealing with are things middle grade readers face and they were presented in such a fun way- he's a vampire, come on, how cool is that?
i just really love a soft hearted character that is meant to be a cold hearted monster, and ivan the vegetarian vampire is exactly that. i loved this and can't wait to recommend it this spooky season!
January 18, 2026
Ivan is a black sheep in his family of vampires. He has baby fangs and has to go to "Day School" aka with Humans.
As his development progresses, so too do his emotions, his social circle, and feelings for a special human boy, Damien.
From sneaking out, to avoiding his human friends, to problems of human-vampire history and relationships, everything seems to be unavoidable and a concern.
What will happen to Damien and Damien's mom? Will Ivan ever make his family proud? What about his feelings? What about his fangs?
If you've ever been through middle school or high school (vampire or human), Queer or straight, you need this delightful graphic novel.
Full of sweet sentimental moments, a great support system, and being your most authentic self (vampire or human), just know that you are never alone and your life (or afterlife) is what you make of it.
As his development progresses, so too do his emotions, his social circle, and feelings for a special human boy, Damien.
From sneaking out, to avoiding his human friends, to problems of human-vampire history and relationships, everything seems to be unavoidable and a concern.
What will happen to Damien and Damien's mom? Will Ivan ever make his family proud? What about his feelings? What about his fangs?
If you've ever been through middle school or high school (vampire or human), Queer or straight, you need this delightful graphic novel.
Full of sweet sentimental moments, a great support system, and being your most authentic self (vampire or human), just know that you are never alone and your life (or afterlife) is what you make of it.
August 28, 2025
Ivan is a bit of a late-bloomer. He still has his baby fangs. But, while everyone else seems impatient for his adult fangs to come in, he couldn't be happier. Without them, he can still attend "dayschool" with all his human friends. So when, to his horror, his fangs do come in--he does everything he can to control them. He doesn't want to leave his friends behind--especially the new boy who has started school and who he seems to have a special connection with. I was on board with this one right up to the...unconventional blood transfusion. But, it will probably be popular with the intended audience.
September 14, 2025
I just watched my 11-year-old goddaughter devour this book during her first week at a new school.
Ivan, the vegetarian vampire, is an adorably innocent “late bloomer”.
Like my goddaughter, he’s not quite ready to leave childhood behind and dive into this new world of confusing feelings and physical changes.
The characters have a depth and the storytelling unfolds at a pace that had her saying “one more chapter” from before dinner til bedtime.
I was worried it might be too “scary” for her, but the aspects of being a vampire felt totally relatable and sometimes even funny.
Highly recommend this sincere graphic novel for any kids going through big or small life changes.
Ivan, the vegetarian vampire, is an adorably innocent “late bloomer”.
Like my goddaughter, he’s not quite ready to leave childhood behind and dive into this new world of confusing feelings and physical changes.
The characters have a depth and the storytelling unfolds at a pace that had her saying “one more chapter” from before dinner til bedtime.
I was worried it might be too “scary” for her, but the aspects of being a vampire felt totally relatable and sometimes even funny.
Highly recommend this sincere graphic novel for any kids going through big or small life changes.
December 21, 2025
I was really excited to get my hands on a copy of this book after reading the synopsis; however, it fell a little short of my expectations. While I liked Ivan as a character, I found the metaphors of this story to be a bit muddled. Maybe it's the outline of Ivan's hair on the cover that gave me the impression that the illustration style would be cuter (say Steven Universe style), but it's not that. The facial expressions made everyone look distraught all the time and I found Sven's expressions to be particularly distracting. Maybe this book will go over better with its target demographic though.
September 1, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.
This was a charming middle-grade queer vampire story. I believe there should be more of this genre written for middle-grade readers. It took me about 30% of the story to adjust to the art style, which is different from what you typically find in graphic novels. Because of this, it might not appeal to many middle graders. The characters were fine, and while the story didn't offer anything new compared to what other authors have written in the past, it was still enjoyable to read.
This was a charming middle-grade queer vampire story. I believe there should be more of this genre written for middle-grade readers. It took me about 30% of the story to adjust to the art style, which is different from what you typically find in graphic novels. Because of this, it might not appeal to many middle graders. The characters were fine, and while the story didn't offer anything new compared to what other authors have written in the past, it was still enjoyable to read.
August 14, 2025
*2.5 stars
Everything about this book was okay for me. The storyline, the characters, the art, the queer representation...it's an alright middle grade graphic with gay representation (though it's of note that I don't remember any of the characters actually saying gay, queer, etc.).
Everything about this book was okay for me. The storyline, the characters, the art, the queer representation...it's an alright middle grade graphic with gay representation (though it's of note that I don't remember any of the characters actually saying gay, queer, etc.).
September 6, 2025
From my 13 year-old: it had a cute storyline and a satisfying ending. It was a good example of acceptance despite differences. The art style wasn't consistent and could have been better (speaking as an artist).
November 7, 2025
Oh my god this is beautiful and so touching. This is the spooky heartstopper. I had so much empathy and could really feel myself in Ivan’s situation. I was rooting for him the whole time and waiting for him to get his happy ending. Lovely, truly it is
September 19, 2025
(DNF - pg 56)
October 2, 2025
Fun and cute graphic novel.
November 4, 2025
Vampire themed coming of age graphic novel. I didn't love the art style here, and the world building felt kind of foggy. But there's a cute story in here anyways.
Read
December 19, 2025Very cute and fun. Can't say I consume a lot of vampire lit, but in particular I really enjoyed the whole world of the vampires that's presented here. interested to see what the sequel will bring...
January 7, 2026
Such a cute read. I loved the color contrast between humans and vampires.
October 13, 2025
3/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for an ARC. All opinions are my own.
This was a very sweet graphic novel! The art style wasn’t to my personal tastes, but it works for a children’s graphic novel since it's very expressive. The romance was cute, and I found the protagonist’s total obliviousness endearing. Overall, a nice story, but pretty surface level which I think is totally fine for a children’s graphic novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for an ARC. All opinions are my own.
This was a very sweet graphic novel! The art style wasn’t to my personal tastes, but it works for a children’s graphic novel since it's very expressive. The romance was cute, and I found the protagonist’s total obliviousness endearing. Overall, a nice story, but pretty surface level which I think is totally fine for a children’s graphic novel.
December 16, 2025
It’s cute. The art style is kind of old comic book vampires and a bit ugly but for a kids book that’s probably fine. The story is kind of oddly paced and a bit hard to follow towards the end with the whole grandma human thing kind of being left unanswered (almost like it’s missing a chunk). It was just kind of okay. Cute at times but nothing overly special.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews