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Vampire Boy
When Alex Vambarey attends his first year at the Carpathian Academy, he has no idea that there are other creatures besides vampires. He's never met a gargoyle, or a pixie for that matter. Of course he's read about them -- in the Vampedia -- but in real life? No way. But now everyone's trying to figure out the Magus riddle and win the school prize. Even the Brownies are all befuddled! (new paragraph) Well, maybe it's natural. It's his first term, and there are all sorts of things that don't make any sense. Like all the janitors collecting dirt. That's just plain weird. No, there was definitely something bigger going on. Way bigger. And if he was right, the secret was somewhere in the Night Gallery. The secret about Carpathia, and the secret about himself!
218 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2016
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17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 29, 2017
Vampire Boy is the first book in the Chronicles of Carpathia by Aric Cushing. Alex Vambarey is a young vampire from Hillock Green who is heading off for his first year at the Carpathian Academy. He joins other young creatures such as a gargoyles, pixies, elementals, etc. As Alex and his dorm wing friends get settled and commence their studies with all of the other "Beginners," they receive the Magus riddle. Being a coveted honor to solve the riddle, each wing actively seek to unravel the clues as the school year progresses.
I found myself thoroughly immersed with Alex and his friends. Described by The Serial Reader Blog as "Harry Potter has fangs!" Vampire Boy truly is the creature equivalent to the Harry et. al. The characters are engaging and enjoyable to follow the halls of Carpathian Academy. Many elements that culminate into a fantastic novel are contained in Vampire Boy. As a children's novel, Cushing balances character development with adventure and weaves in riveting suspense to put young readers on the edge of their seats. Cushing fleshes out descriptions of the school with the right amount of detail, leaving enough of the canvas free for imaginations to fill in the gaps. Additionally, Cushing expertly lays out the overarching narrative - Alex is destined for a world changing adventure set up in the opening chapters - and then focuses in and develops Alex's journey as the main protagonist and hero in this and subsequent books. If anything, I wish the story had been longer, but Cushing ends whetting the reader's appetite for more.
With short chapters, cute chapter opening drawings, and a little bit larger font, Vampire Boy would be excellent for children to read on their own with a little assistance from an adult on the bigger words. Or, this would be a good book to read children at night before bed. Really, this novel is for anyone who enjoys fantasy and folklore creatures.
Lastly, not surprising, Vampire Boy has been acknowledged with multiple honors: Reader View Literary Awards, Purple Dragonfly Awards, Pinnacle Awards, and the Silver Medal for Reader's Favorite Awards.
I found myself thoroughly immersed with Alex and his friends. Described by The Serial Reader Blog as "Harry Potter has fangs!" Vampire Boy truly is the creature equivalent to the Harry et. al. The characters are engaging and enjoyable to follow the halls of Carpathian Academy. Many elements that culminate into a fantastic novel are contained in Vampire Boy. As a children's novel, Cushing balances character development with adventure and weaves in riveting suspense to put young readers on the edge of their seats. Cushing fleshes out descriptions of the school with the right amount of detail, leaving enough of the canvas free for imaginations to fill in the gaps. Additionally, Cushing expertly lays out the overarching narrative - Alex is destined for a world changing adventure set up in the opening chapters - and then focuses in and develops Alex's journey as the main protagonist and hero in this and subsequent books. If anything, I wish the story had been longer, but Cushing ends whetting the reader's appetite for more.
With short chapters, cute chapter opening drawings, and a little bit larger font, Vampire Boy would be excellent for children to read on their own with a little assistance from an adult on the bigger words. Or, this would be a good book to read children at night before bed. Really, this novel is for anyone who enjoys fantasy and folklore creatures.
Lastly, not surprising, Vampire Boy has been acknowledged with multiple honors: Reader View Literary Awards, Purple Dragonfly Awards, Pinnacle Awards, and the Silver Medal for Reader's Favorite Awards.
October 27, 2016
I really enjoyed Vampire Boy, such a funny and pleasurable reading!
Alex Vambarey is a young vampire attending his first yeat at the Carpathian Academy, where he meets for the first time with other magic creatures. Together they will try to figure out the Magus riddle and win the school prize, but there's much more hiding behind the walls at Carpathian Academy... will Alex and his friends be able to find out the secret about Carpathia and Alex's own destiny?
So glad this is going to become a series! Can't wait to see where Aric Cushing and the Walachia crew will take us for the next adventure!
Alex Vambarey is a young vampire attending his first yeat at the Carpathian Academy, where he meets for the first time with other magic creatures. Together they will try to figure out the Magus riddle and win the school prize, but there's much more hiding behind the walls at Carpathian Academy... will Alex and his friends be able to find out the secret about Carpathia and Alex's own destiny?
So glad this is going to become a series! Can't wait to see where Aric Cushing and the Walachia crew will take us for the next adventure!
December 3, 2016
What an excellent and fun look at life at the Carpathian Academy! Follow vampire boy, Alex Vambarey, as he meets up with other creatures of the night at his special school and searches for clues to solve a mysterious riddle. There are "blood breakfasts," brownie antics, and classes on "Human History." Characters such as a gargoyle, a leprechaun and a goblin add a touch of spooky humor to the story--with their constant squabbling and teenage rebelliousness. Young readers will thoroughly enjoy this journey into a magical world. Well conceived and a totally enjoyable read--I am looking forward to Book 2!
December 15, 2016
Young vampire Alex Vambarey is destined from birth to be different. For one thing, he is a vampire with white hair. For another thing, there is a very evil being after him. However, when he is sent off to school at the Carpathian Academy, all he wants is to be normal just like everyone else. Well, as normal as the druids, gargoyles, pixies, elementals, and other magical beings who are his classmates.
In Aric Cushing’s Vampire Boy: Book 1 in his forthcoming Chronicles of Carpathia series, Alex must team up with his housemates in order to solve a riddle posed by the Magus, Professor David Whitlock, and win the school prize.
The quest for the answer turns up many more questions. Why do the janitors collect dirt? Why does the evil Deleter look so familiar, and why is his picture hanging in the Eventide Hall? What is the secret he overhears his parents talking about the night before he is to leave for school, and when will he be “old enough” to hear it? What is the pugenstein guarding, and how can they get past it? These first-year students forge friendships, make enemies, and learn that although they come from various backgrounds, they are more alike than different.
Comparisons are bound to be made between this series and JK Rowlings’ books, and rightly so. They are basically the same premise, and Cushing is completely aware of that and plays on it in his novel. However, The Chronicles of Carpathia series by Aric Cushing is sure to be a hit with those who are just a little too young for the Harry Potter books. The characters are likable, and the plot is easy enough to follow yet interesting enough to keep the reader’s attention. I look forward to more adventures with Alex and more appearances by the adorable pugenstein!
In Aric Cushing’s Vampire Boy: Book 1 in his forthcoming Chronicles of Carpathia series, Alex must team up with his housemates in order to solve a riddle posed by the Magus, Professor David Whitlock, and win the school prize.
The quest for the answer turns up many more questions. Why do the janitors collect dirt? Why does the evil Deleter look so familiar, and why is his picture hanging in the Eventide Hall? What is the secret he overhears his parents talking about the night before he is to leave for school, and when will he be “old enough” to hear it? What is the pugenstein guarding, and how can they get past it? These first-year students forge friendships, make enemies, and learn that although they come from various backgrounds, they are more alike than different.
Comparisons are bound to be made between this series and JK Rowlings’ books, and rightly so. They are basically the same premise, and Cushing is completely aware of that and plays on it in his novel. However, The Chronicles of Carpathia series by Aric Cushing is sure to be a hit with those who are just a little too young for the Harry Potter books. The characters are likable, and the plot is easy enough to follow yet interesting enough to keep the reader’s attention. I look forward to more adventures with Alex and more appearances by the adorable pugenstein!
November 28, 2016
[NOTE: I reviewed an Advance Reader Copy (ARC). The publisher has since informed me that some of my concerns have been addressed in the market version.]
I'm always sorry to give a low rating and corresponding review, but this book needed a lot more work before being published. It gets two stars instead of one because I think the author does have some potentially interesting concepts, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
[NOTE: I have hidden the following paragraph based on the publisher's assertion that some of these have been corrected in the market version.]
Turning to world-building: The author's concept of a dark world populated exclusively by monsters who consider humans half-mythological and scary has potential. It's not new, but it's also not so hackneyed that there isn't room for good storytelling in such a world. In this case, however, the monster world doesn't seem fully imagined. There's magic--and some of it is creative (I quite enjoyed the whining tree!)--but other than that the world seems pretty much like ours except with different names: days and nights are "darkdays" and "darknights," and vampires eat "blood soup" and "blood cake" and plant "blood trees."
The monsters' relationship to the human world is also inconsistent. These monsters have heard of Facebook, Hogwarts, and human inventions such as neon, but they don't know common words like "sun." They don't know about the book "Frankenstein" but there's a dog-creature called a pugenstein. I still like the author's concept of monsters having an imperfect understanding of the human world and think it has potential, but so far the author hasn't really explored that potential.
Voice is a problem. Most of the book is told from the point of view of the title Vampire Boy, Alex. But sometimes we jump into the head another character for a couple of paragraphs for no particular reason, which is jarring. Often the book leaps to the omnipotent voice, sometimes making pronouncements of things to come, while other times casually addressing the reader directly. Such rapid changes of point of view can be confusing--especially for younger readers trying to imagine themselves in Alex's place--and they unnecessarily break up the narrative. Again, I am struck by the book's lack of consistency.
To the story itself: The first chapter takes place several years before the rest of the book. Alex is an infant. He is the subject of a prophecy. His parents are attempting to protect him from a powerful, evil being. The strongest ally on his side--the only one that can chase off the evil being--is the powerful magician who is also the kindly and approachable headmaster of the monster school. If this all sounds a little familiar, it's probably because you (like the young monsters in this book) are familiar with the human wizard school with a name that has something to do with a pig and a wart. Other parallels to the world of Harry Potter appear throughout the book, including that most of it takes place at the aforementioned monster school and that most adults can do magic. No, J.K. Rowling wasn't the first to imagine such a world, and she won't be the last, but in my view this author has borrowed far too much directly from her works.
Finally, I have serious issues with the plot. This is meant to be the first book in a series, and as I've mentioned it is replete with hints of a great adventure yet to come: not just the prophecy involving the vampire boy with white hair, but also mysterious interactions with other characters, and direct statements to the reader like "Alex didn't know that [name] would one day save his life!" But none of this adventure happens in this book. In fact, after the confrontation with the evil being in the first chapter, there is almost no meaningful conflict in the entire book.
Alex encounters difficulties, to be sure, but there is no overriding threat or danger or risk or anything that might be called the plot of this book. The great challenge Alex and his fellow students face is to try to solve the riddle the headmaster gives out at the opening feast... and they don't even progress very far in that quest during this book. Even his supposed "enemy" is just another student who decides, for literally no reason at all, that she will be his enemy (and then doesn't do anything enemy-like for the rest of the book). This is just the story of a vampire boy named Alex making his way to a school, meeting others, and exploring. That's all. And that is not enough plot to form the basis of a good book. More may be planned for future volumes, but why would anyone buy them when the first one is so flawed?
I've gone into a lot of detail because I don't like giving low ratings, and I want it to be clear why I felt I had to do so here. I don't think the author should give up writing, by any means; as I mentioned, I think some of his ideas are promising. I do think, however, that the author needs to put a great deal more work into the craft of writing.
I'm always sorry to give a low rating and corresponding review, but this book needed a lot more work before being published. It gets two stars instead of one because I think the author does have some potentially interesting concepts, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
[NOTE: I have hidden the following paragraph based on the publisher's assertion that some of these have been corrected in the market version.]
Turning to world-building: The author's concept of a dark world populated exclusively by monsters who consider humans half-mythological and scary has potential. It's not new, but it's also not so hackneyed that there isn't room for good storytelling in such a world. In this case, however, the monster world doesn't seem fully imagined. There's magic--and some of it is creative (I quite enjoyed the whining tree!)--but other than that the world seems pretty much like ours except with different names: days and nights are "darkdays" and "darknights," and vampires eat "blood soup" and "blood cake" and plant "blood trees."
The monsters' relationship to the human world is also inconsistent. These monsters have heard of Facebook, Hogwarts, and human inventions such as neon, but they don't know common words like "sun." They don't know about the book "Frankenstein" but there's a dog-creature called a pugenstein. I still like the author's concept of monsters having an imperfect understanding of the human world and think it has potential, but so far the author hasn't really explored that potential.
Voice is a problem. Most of the book is told from the point of view of the title Vampire Boy, Alex. But sometimes we jump into the head another character for a couple of paragraphs for no particular reason, which is jarring. Often the book leaps to the omnipotent voice, sometimes making pronouncements of things to come, while other times casually addressing the reader directly. Such rapid changes of point of view can be confusing--especially for younger readers trying to imagine themselves in Alex's place--and they unnecessarily break up the narrative. Again, I am struck by the book's lack of consistency.
To the story itself: The first chapter takes place several years before the rest of the book. Alex is an infant. He is the subject of a prophecy. His parents are attempting to protect him from a powerful, evil being. The strongest ally on his side--the only one that can chase off the evil being--is the powerful magician who is also the kindly and approachable headmaster of the monster school. If this all sounds a little familiar, it's probably because you (like the young monsters in this book) are familiar with the human wizard school with a name that has something to do with a pig and a wart. Other parallels to the world of Harry Potter appear throughout the book, including that most of it takes place at the aforementioned monster school and that most adults can do magic. No, J.K. Rowling wasn't the first to imagine such a world, and she won't be the last, but in my view this author has borrowed far too much directly from her works.
Finally, I have serious issues with the plot. This is meant to be the first book in a series, and as I've mentioned it is replete with hints of a great adventure yet to come: not just the prophecy involving the vampire boy with white hair, but also mysterious interactions with other characters, and direct statements to the reader like "Alex didn't know that [name] would one day save his life!" But none of this adventure happens in this book. In fact, after the confrontation with the evil being in the first chapter, there is almost no meaningful conflict in the entire book.
Alex encounters difficulties, to be sure, but there is no overriding threat or danger or risk or anything that might be called the plot of this book. The great challenge Alex and his fellow students face is to try to solve the riddle the headmaster gives out at the opening feast... and they don't even progress very far in that quest during this book. Even his supposed "enemy" is just another student who decides, for literally no reason at all, that she will be his enemy (and then doesn't do anything enemy-like for the rest of the book). This is just the story of a vampire boy named Alex making his way to a school, meeting others, and exploring. That's all. And that is not enough plot to form the basis of a good book. More may be planned for future volumes, but why would anyone buy them when the first one is so flawed?
I've gone into a lot of detail because I don't like giving low ratings, and I want it to be clear why I felt I had to do so here. I don't think the author should give up writing, by any means; as I mentioned, I think some of his ideas are promising. I do think, however, that the author needs to put a great deal more work into the craft of writing.
September 13, 2016
Vampire Boy is a book about Alex Vambarey. Alex is a vampire living with his parents in a place called Hillock Green. Although he loves his home, he must now go to a school far away called Carpathian Academy. Attending Carpathian Academy will be his first experience with creatures who are not vampires.
The road to the academy is long, and during the boat trip he makes some new friends. Finally, he and the other students of his year arrive at the school. The students gather in the courtyard to be introduced to the Magus (the headmaster of the school). They learn that every year the Magus makes up a riddle for the students in each wing of the school to solve. Whichever wing figures out the riddle will get a magical prize, which is why everyone wants to win. The school year will be filled with many trials for young Alex and his friends. Who will figure out the riddle and claim the prize?
Opinion:
I thought Vampire Boy was a great book. It was full of adventure, magic, and mystery. The characters were well developed; Alex is a vampire that tries to be friendly to everyone and is brave, too! By using a lot of conversation between the characters, the author, Aric Cushing, kept the book interesting.
I was disappointed that this book ended very abruptly. This story will be part of a series, but I would have liked to see the school year completed.
I would recommend it to readers ages 10 and up. This book strongly resembled Harry Potter (it even had a reference to it), so if you like Harry Potter, this book might be for you.
Reviewed by a LitPick student book reviewer Age: 14
The road to the academy is long, and during the boat trip he makes some new friends. Finally, he and the other students of his year arrive at the school. The students gather in the courtyard to be introduced to the Magus (the headmaster of the school). They learn that every year the Magus makes up a riddle for the students in each wing of the school to solve. Whichever wing figures out the riddle will get a magical prize, which is why everyone wants to win. The school year will be filled with many trials for young Alex and his friends. Who will figure out the riddle and claim the prize?
Opinion:
I thought Vampire Boy was a great book. It was full of adventure, magic, and mystery. The characters were well developed; Alex is a vampire that tries to be friendly to everyone and is brave, too! By using a lot of conversation between the characters, the author, Aric Cushing, kept the book interesting.
I was disappointed that this book ended very abruptly. This story will be part of a series, but I would have liked to see the school year completed.
I would recommend it to readers ages 10 and up. This book strongly resembled Harry Potter (it even had a reference to it), so if you like Harry Potter, this book might be for you.
Reviewed by a LitPick student book reviewer Age: 14
October 27, 2016
Reviewed by Evan (age 14) for Reader Views (10/16)
“Vampire Boy” by Aric Cushing is about a vampire named Alex living in a world of magic and monsters, separate from the world of humans. Alex, from the moment of his birth, is surrounded by a prophecy that states that he will one day be the only hope for saving both the world of men and monsters. In the meantime, Alex is sent to a school for mythical creatures where he will learn everything he can about the Dark World that he inhabits. At this school, he will meet and befriend many other creatures with whom he will have incredible adventures.
My favorite character is a gargoyle named Otis. Otis is strong and loyal throughout the book and one of Alex’s best friends. Otis is always eager and willing to help Alex during their adventures while also being an easy character to connect with. Each of the characters was distinct with unique personalities that made the book fun to read.
I would recommend “Vampire Boy” by Aric Cushing to all people who like fantasy and monsters. It was sometimes hard to keep track of all characters in the book but I still felt a certain connection with them. Overall, it was a fantastic read and I finished it in one very enjoyable session. I definitely look forward to reading the future books in this series!
“Vampire Boy” by Aric Cushing is about a vampire named Alex living in a world of magic and monsters, separate from the world of humans. Alex, from the moment of his birth, is surrounded by a prophecy that states that he will one day be the only hope for saving both the world of men and monsters. In the meantime, Alex is sent to a school for mythical creatures where he will learn everything he can about the Dark World that he inhabits. At this school, he will meet and befriend many other creatures with whom he will have incredible adventures.
My favorite character is a gargoyle named Otis. Otis is strong and loyal throughout the book and one of Alex’s best friends. Otis is always eager and willing to help Alex during their adventures while also being an easy character to connect with. Each of the characters was distinct with unique personalities that made the book fun to read.
I would recommend “Vampire Boy” by Aric Cushing to all people who like fantasy and monsters. It was sometimes hard to keep track of all characters in the book but I still felt a certain connection with them. Overall, it was a fantastic read and I finished it in one very enjoyable session. I definitely look forward to reading the future books in this series!
December 29, 2016
I thought this was cute and well-written--certainly different from the books I normally read, but it was still enjoyable. Not many people can pull off the "long short story" but Cushing does it well. If you like books with a bit of a Harry Potter vibe, you'll enjoy this.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews