Time Humanos

by Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan, Paula Moreira (Translator)

Mel nunca gostou de vampiros. A ideia de se transformar em alguém que não está nem vivo, nem morto lhe dá calafrios. Vampiros perdem a capacidade de sorrir, param de ter sentimentos... Isso sem falar que durante a transformação, se as coisas derem errado, você se torna um zumbi. E aí eles matam você. É um risco grande demais! Quando a melhor amiga de Mel, Cathy, e Francis Duvaney se apaixonam, a garota fica apavorada. Francis é arrogante, formal, metido a esperto e esplêndido demais. Ora, vivo aquele vampiro não está. E quando começa a suspeitar de que Francis está usando Cathy num plano que não tem nada a ver com amor, Mel passa a dedicar seus dias a desvendar a verdade por trás do vampiro, a fazer sua amiga enxergar que aquele é um amor sem futuro, sem jeito, abominável... Mas talvez, quem sabe, ela esteja sendo um pouco preconceituosa.

Genres: Young Adult, Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2012

About the author

Justine Larbalestier is an Australian young-adult fiction author. She is best known for the Magic or Madness trilogy: Magic or Madness, Magic Lessons and the newly released Magic's Child. She also wrote one adult non-fiction book, the Hugo-nominated The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction (Best Related Book, 2003), and edited another, Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century.

Her surname has been pronounced in several different ways, but the FAQ on her website says that Lar-bal-est-ee-air is correct:

Q: How do you pronounce your surname? A: Lar-bal-est-ee-air. It can also be pronounced Lar-bal-est-ee-ay or Lar-bal-est-ee-er. Those are all fine by me. Friends at school used to pronounce it: Lavaworm. I have to really like you to let you get away with that one, but.

Larbalestier was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. She now alternates living between Sydney and New York City.

In 2001, Justine married fellow author Scott Westerfeld.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel bad about giving this two stars, but about halfway through it really lost some steam. Larablestier and Brennan wrote this story as a satirical take on young adult vampire romance and it was funny and biting (haha) in the beginning, but many of the elements that I enjoyed when I first started reading became increasingly annoying.

I liked the main character, Mel, throughout most of the book, though at times she was unnecessarily violent, prejudiced, and rude. There was one scene where she punched her guy friend so hard he reared back to retaliate (though thankfully he controlled himself) and she thinks nothing of it. She's angry and lashes out and nobody calls her on it. She does the same thing when returning a volleyball to some random people playing nearby; she throws the ball so hard that it knocks the breath out of the guy she launches it at. Then they ask her to play with them. If a guy pulled these stunts he'd get his ass kicked.

Mel also hates vampires, though she claims she has no problem with them, and I can't help but think that if her friend's new boyfriend was African American instead of a vampire everyone would think she was incredibly racist. She calls vampires "them" and pretty much says to everyone that they should be segregated and kept away from humans. Obviously, vampires drink human blood so it's a different type of fear and prejudice, but I couldn't help think that if this wasn't a paranormal story the reactions to this book would be very different.

Let me make something clear: I don't agree with the nutters who want to kill all vampires. My parents voted yes on Proposition Four, and if I had the vote I would have too: Unlawfully killing vampires should be punished as harshly as killing people. Murder is murder. I don't want vampires dead. I just wanted Francis to go to a different school.

Swap out "vampire" for any race and that sounds pretty awful, right? It's definitely an interesting observation when you consider that Mel is Chinese-American too. What if someone said, "I don't want to kill Chinese people, I just don't want to go to school with them." Perhaps this was the authors point though, because the bulk of the story is spent trying to convince Mel that vampires are people too and they're not all murderous villains. I think her hatred of vampires was laid on super thick though, so much that it makes it difficult to believe that she could ever turn over a new leaf. I thought this conversation that Mel and her sister had was telling:

"I know how you feel about vampires."
"What?" I asked. "Why does everyone keep acting as if I have a problem with vampires? I don't have a problem with vampires. You said Cathy shouldn't be dating a vampire. You agreed with me!"
"Well, sure," said Kristin. "I think vampire groupies are dumb. And I know Cathy gets way too intense and serious about things, and getting intense and serious about a vampire seems like a terrible idea. But I'm not saying I'd never date a vampire. You, though, Mel. You love to laugh. Not to mention you're always fierce about your friends, and the way you saw it, a vampire hurt Anna. None of those things are bad! It just means you are less likely than anyone I know to be Team Vampire."

Racists will be more upset about being called a racist than the possibility that they might be racist. Mel definitely shows those signs here.

Mel's sister brings up laughter in that quote I pulled, and that's one of the reasons I dropped this book to two stars; the words "laugh" and "smile" or some derivative thereof were used over 150 times, and most of them were in the last half of the book.

What if they said it was an honor, a privilege, and a blessing for Cathy to get all her blood sucked out and to never laugh again?
She'd never laugh again if she became a vampire. And she'd never laugh, or smile, or speak if the transition didn't work.

So many of Mel's thoughts and her conversations with her friends are about laughter, jokes, and making people smile. Or trying to make people laugh with a joke, or one of her friends smiling at her and Mel thinking that she couldn't bear the thought of never laughing again if she was a vampire who didn't smile at jokes and laugh ... It gets old, quickly.

Random praise: I like that neither Mel nor any of her close circle of friends has a car. She walks and rides her bike for the majority of the book. She also has two parents who take an interest in her life and she does her homework and goes to a public school. She and her friends hang out at a coffee shop and share a brownie because they only have enough money for one. These little realistic touches were nice and unexpected when you think about all of the other YA books with rich kids whose parents have no idea what they're doing (if they're even in the country) and go to boarding schools in the woods. I liked the fact that these teens felt like real people and that I could identify with them more than normal.

I enjoyed most of the humor in this book, though the prose is nothing to write home about, and for the most part I liked the story even though the mystery and romance got a bit frustrating as they both went around in circles at times. Two stars is "just ok" and that's how I feel about this one; I don't regret reading it but I'm glad it's not a series. I have a feeling this isn't these authors' greatest work since the ratings and reviews aren't overwhelmingly positive, so I'll probably check out another book they've written (by themselves) sometime in the future, (I'm excited for Unspoken in particular.) Parody and satire can be a lot of fun, but unfortunately this book doesn't outshine any of the original material, though I'm sure it's still a better love story than Twilight.

[Kristalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Final rating: 4.75/5 stars



I am totally team vampire oops, i mean, team human . This was so hilarious. I really mean that. I laughed a lot, and it was highly entertaining book. I love Sarah R. Brennan, and i had to read this book as well, since i love all of her books. I think i might also check out Justine Larbalestier now, because she really is good writer :D (and i think the collab between the two was high amount of epic win :D). I actually didn't know that this was a parody of Twilight, nor did i care, i found the book a jewel for itself. It had its own story, and as much as i thought that it won't be serious book, it actually was. I just loved it so much that i am sticking with 4.5 stars, and giving it 5 on goodreads.

So what would happen if your best friend fell in love with blood sucking creature? Would you try to sabotage it or would you support the love?
____________________________________________
Taken from livejournal:

JUSTINE: So what was your favorite part?
SARAH: When Bella's friend yells at her.
JUSTINE: When the heroine's friend yells at our depressed heroine? Sarah, I thought you were Team Bella!
SARAH: I am! Of course I am! Go Bella's agency and having whichever dude she pleases! But that scene just really reminded me of school, when your friend gets all wrapped up in this guy-
JUSTINE: Yes, and you don't think the guy is that great-
SARAH: Exactly, but he's suddenly always the topic of conversation, and you have all this friend jealousy-
JUSTINE: It's all part of the difficult untwining time of friendships when you're having first romances and you're like 'Hey, my friend and I aren't the same person. TURNS OUT.'
SARAH: Different needs! Who'd have thought.
JUSTINE: Someone should write that book. There need to be more friendship books.
SARAH: Yes! All about the girl whose best friend starts dating a vampire.
JUSTINE: We should write that book.
SARAH: We totally should.

also this (from the same source):

"I had so much fun writing this book, and I'm having fun now writing the sequel. (It's a duology! Never written one of those before.)"

Wait...WHAT? it's going to have a sequel???? AKLSJDLAKSDLJALSKJDASJKD ASDJ ASD WHY DOESN'T GOODREADS HAVE ANYTHING ABOUT THAT? I NEED MORE KIT <3
____________________________________________

Characters :
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As for characters , i loved them all <3, the main ones, and secondary ones as well. In main ones i would include Mel (team human) , Cathy (team vampire) , Kit (team vampire) , Francis (team vampire) , Anna (team human) and Ty (team human) . I was so delighted when i saw that one of the characters, actually Mel's sister was named Kristin, and my name being Kristina ^_^... Oh and she did throw some advices here and there. Me gusta. Oh, and Christopher (aka Kit), and also Chris..I love mentions of Chris/Kris in names mwahahahaa >:D.. I also loved the parents in this book, i don't have much to say, but i loved them all <3. Oh and Lottie Lancelot (Mel's younger brother) was fun as well :P

♦ Mel :

Was super awesome. I just freaking loved her, and her ways of sabotaging her best friend. Mwahahahha. Though, through whole book, you know how she feels, and she just doesn't want to loose her best friend forever because of someone like Francis. She doesn't have anything against vampires, but she doesn't want to have anything with them either. She cares a lot, and she thinks that the love between those two will be passing one, and that he will dump her or worse. She truly cares, but sometimes i felt that her caring had gone overboard.

"“How many days do you give it until someone accidentally on purpose cuts themselves to get his attention?”
“Ah, spilled blood, the vampire lover’s low-cut top,” I said. Personally, I’d prefer a guy who wants to see my boobs.”

Other than that, i kind of guessed that she would have a crush on Kit. I loved that romance, it wasn't the type: "hey, listen, I'm dating you now", but sweet type of romance. She tried to show him what it means to be human, since he is one, except he was raised by vampires all of his life. I love them as a couple, and they are so cute to me <3


I think this was the one of the cutest scenes ever <3.... Click the image to see the full scene fan art with the two by awesome StreetAngel!!!

♦ Cathy :

She is all the innocent type of person, cheerful, all of people like her type. But then, she fall for a Vampire. She rushed into things to soon, but after some time, i actually begun to ship the two. She knew what she was going into, and that romance with vampires is not as simple as it sounds. But she has resolve to be with Francis and nothing is going to stop her.


Click to see the full scene fan art with the two by awesome StreetAngel!!!

♦ Francis :

I was supporting Mel about Francis. I didn't like him, and he was too fishy. Other than that, he just misses sparkles, but he actually wears an astronaut suit to protect himself from sun....and yes, he goes to school.
But after all, i don't think he was bad person. He cares truly about Cathy, and after a while, i started supporting them.
His relationship with Kit and Camille was amusing though. Especially with Kit calling him Uncle Francis and always making fun of him, mwahahahaa.

♦ Kit :

I think i am in love. He was just that cute. He is innocent bystander in this whole story. He is a human raised by the Vamps his whole life, and the sad thing is, because he knows his place with them, he still loves them all no matter what he says and how he reacts to some things. He considers that the right thing to do now, that the only way to show his Shade(Vamp family) a gratitude will be to become one of them when he is 18.
But then Mel appears in his life, and deep inside himself, he knows what he is missing and that he was learning to become a vampire before even meeting his true human side.
His romance with Mel was sooooooooooooo cute <3 Oh, and i love how he makes fun of Francis too :D

“Sorry,” said Kit, already sounding out of breath as he ran. “Except for my Uncle Francis, who wishes to inform us both that he would never dream of displaying unseemly curiosity or eavesdrop on any
conversation, personal or otherwise.”
“Oh, Francis,” I said, sighing dramatically. “What a man. If only Cathy hadn’t got there first.”

Oh and his name has a sad story behind it: Since he was left on the door of the Vamp house because his original human family abandoned him, all of the vamps except Francis and Camille started calling him Kitten, because he was so different than them that they thought of him as a pet. But they still love him.



♦ Anna & Ty :

Anna's story was totally what the whole book is about. The fact that her father ran off with his vampire patient and left her and her mom wondering what/where and how is he doing. They are both depressed, but Anna tries to hide it. And then, she asks for Mel to help her find out why her mother is acting weird and unravel the mystery going on in school. And why is her mother, also a principal of their school, afraid of Francis.

Ty was interesting, but he didn't have much point in the whole story,except being Mel's best friend and also ex boyfriend. But he is always there to support all of them, and he is originally part of the group Mel-Cathy-Anna-Ty.



____________________________________________

OVERALL:
____________________________________________

This was very very fun book to read, and i loved every chapter, every sentence, and i am so sad that it is over :((( It had sweet romance couples, mystery, break in the school, crazy friendships and even zombies, what could you ask more? <3


Oh, and check out street-angel's gallery, she has awesome fanart of everything <3 (all the images here used were made by her awesomeness (and also used with permission, thank you Street Angel!)♥)


This review can be found on my blog: infinity-of-time.blogspot.com also known as...

[Serenity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hate vampires. Hate love triangles. Hate teen paranormal romances. Hate this cover.

But you know what? I absofuckinglutely cannot WAIT to read this book because if SRB wants to remake twilight, you can bet your ass it will be better than anything you ever imagined a vampire story could be.

Edit - THOUGHTS AFTER READING:
It was as fun and cleverly written as I hoped. Somewhat more thought-provoking than I expected. And I am happy to report that there are no love triangles or annoying teen angst! But there are zombies, which is a happy bonus :)

The book does, however, fail to address one of the most controversial and quintessential questions in vampire lore. That question being: how do vampires conduct sexual intercourse? I can only hope that the authors will rectify this omission and address this significant philosophical (and practical) question in the sequel.

[shady boots · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is also available over at my blog.

____________________

Picture Twilight, but imagine that the Bella character has a best friend—who just so happens to be a badass bitch—and the book being told from her point of view instead of Bella's.

That's what you'll get with Team Human.

New Whitby, Maine, is a city founded by vampires, with the humans and vampires living separately. Mel is perfectly fine with that, until a vampire enrolls in her school, and immediately sweeps her best friend Cathy off her feet. Mel finds it very difficult to trust Francis, the new vampire in her school, and she's going to do whatever it takes to keep Cathy away from him before she makes the biggest mistake of her life.

On top of all of that, her other friend Anna has been struggling with the loss of her father, who had ran off with his vampire patient. But as Mel discovers more mysteries and secrets—with the help of the charming human boy who was raised by vampires, Kit—she realizes that maybe there's something else going on behind the scenes, something entirely different than what Anna's mother, the school Principal, has been claiming.

I'd definitely say this book counts as one of the more character-based paranormals, because it has little to no action. Usually, with books like that, if I don't like the characters then I'd get bored really fast. But that was so not the case with this book because I loved all the characters! And on top of all that the humor was awesome, and made me have numerous giggling fits.

Let's start with Mel. I love this bitch, I really do. Not only was she hilarious, but I related to her so much. Her reactions to the things that happen in the book would be exactly the way I myself would react if I were her. I also loved that she's probably the most unselfish heroine I've ever read about, because she cares so much about her friends and the people around her. I understood her overprotective-ness with Cathy, because Cathy did keep making stupid, selfish decisions.

Speaking of which, Cathy is the exact opposite of Mel. She was like every Mary Sue heroine in all of YA combined. Yet despite all of that, I still loved her too. Because her Mary Sue-ness was so bad that it was ridiculously funny. The only thing she and Mel have in common is that they're both stubborn, in that Cathy is so determined to be with Francis, her "true love", while Mel just wants to protect her and stop her from rushing into things and making decisions that she might regret, because some of the decisions that Cathy makes will be permanent. I loved their friendship overall and I loved that this book's main focus is friendship. Not a lot of YA does that, especially paranormal YA. Especially paranormal vampire YA, at that. Kudos to both the authors!

But despite the fact that the main focus is friendship, Mel does have a love interest—Kit. Kit is a human guy who was raised by vampires. He also happens to be a character that I'm extremely crushing on right now. <3 He was adorable, and I just wanted to snuggle him the whole book. He was so sweet, and funny, which is important for any love interest in books to me, because most of them are funny in an assholish and cocky way. There's nothing wrong with being funny in a likable and cute way, like Kit is. Kit was just awesome and him and Mel's romance was so fluffy I could've died.

In New Whitby, there's a way where humans can transition into vampires. There's a formal and monitored way to do it, but it could have very dangerous complications if things were to go wrong. The consequences of a failed transition could cause death, or even worse—zombification, and then death. This concept was explored in the book, especially nearing the end, and I thought it was a very interesting twist. That part near the end even made me tear up a bit.

All in all, this book was awesome. It was very light and humorous, but I loved that there was also a lot of heart in it, and that its main focus was friendship rather than romance. It was a very fun and refreshing read with lovable characters, and the authors did an amazing job. :D I recommend this book for everyone.

[TheBookSmugglers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

Team Human surprised the hell out of me. I was expecting it to be a good satire but it manages to be much more.

Mel is not a huge vampire fan. I mean, it’s not like she goes out of her way in her dislike but neither does she think a lot about them. In her town – New Whitby – vampires stay in their part of town, she stays in hers. But then worlds collide when a vampire enrols at her high school and her best friend Cathy (who would have been a vampirologist if that was an actual career) starts to fall in love. Mel is duly horrified at the prospect of losing her best friend to the undead and starts a campaign to save Cathy from Francis’ attentions. Whatever it takes.

In the meantime, her other friend Anna is having problems of her own: her father left her family for a vampire and her mother is behaving oddly. Since Mel has taken upon herself to always help her friends in time of need, she starts an investigation of her own. An investigation that will lead her to cross paths with a vampire cop, her human son not to mention, zombies.

From the start it becomes patently clear that Team Human is a satire. It is there in the blurb, it is there in its tagline and it is there as the story begins. It is a book that pokes fun at many of the most recent, post-Twilight Vampire novel tropes in a way that criticises their most obvious problematic facets. And just like in any good satire its main weapon is its wit – and the authors found in Mel, the main character and narrator, the perfect weapon of mass satire. She is witty, clever, determined and awesomely developed. Mel’s is the voice of every single one of us on Team Human, who have ever questioned the allure of Team Vampire. She voices all of those applicable concerns when her best friend starts to fall in love with a vampire: the question of their age different for starters (as Francis is over 100 years old), the question of immortality vs mortality and everything that Cathy would miss if she became a vampire (more on that in a bit). She also raises the questions of some of the most funny-inducing aspects of Teen Vampire tropes. Life for example:

”A vampire who wants to go to high school?” I said. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

But to say that Team Human is simply a tirade against vampires would be doing the book a disservice. Yes, it satirises a lot of Team Vampire’s most common shortcomings but without losing sight of the fact that Vampires can be extremely allure. Mel might sit firmly on Team Human (and this never changes) but part of her arc is to realise not only some of her prejudices but also to learn to sympathise and understand other people’s choices. Not to mention the fact that the setting of the novel (and there is one) is one where Vampires exist in the world and humans have known about them since forever. There is also the development of rules to a very specific worldbuilding for this world (I loved how the authors combined Zombie and Vampire lore in a way that made perfect sense). Vampires here supposedly lose all of their human emotions when they become vampires and are incapable for example, of laughing. And since Mel is one of those people who love to laugh, becoming a vampire is unthinkable to her. In that sense, the authors managed the improbable: Team Human is a book for both vampire haters and lovers. As a firm member of Team Human, I loved it.

But that’s because the book is not only a satire – and that’s where it really surprised me. Knowing the authors’ sense of humour, I was expecting it to be laugh-out-loud funny. And it was, but it was also extremely charming and poignant. Because you see, at its core this is a book that lovingly portrays all kinds of relationships between people (human or not). Its main focus is Mel and her love for her girlfriends, a love that is so fierce and deep that she would do anything to help them. I absolutely, completely loved Mel and her friends.

More than that, Team Human features great sleuthing shenanigans, awesome kisses, girls who are capable of making their own informed decisions, girls who make earnest mistakes and learn from them and a world that is diverse in terms of race and sexual identity.

I just realised I managed to write the driest EVER review for a book that is not only extremely funny but also full of remarkable warmth. In the end, I laughed. A lot. What I didn’t expect was that I would also cry – a lot (good tears). I obviously FAIL at reviewing Team Human.I shall then resort to borrow the correct words from Maureen Johnson, who says it best: Team Human is in fact, TEAM AWESOME.

[Sherwood Smith]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which obviously began as a satire of Twilight but then seems to have taken on some gravitas, with its look at prejudice and gender expectations. Mel. who rather bulldozes her best friends in 'taking care of them' is horrified when her besty Cathy falls for a vampire who begins attending their high school. Francis the vamp may look seventeen, but he's over a century old, so why is he at high school? Mel quite reasonably figures he can't be up to any good.

As Mel unravels the mystery, she meets Kit, a human boy raised by vampires, and the pace steadily accelerates toward a dramatic, funny, and touching ending. I would have adored this book as a teen. I loved it now, especially the humor, though I would have appreciated it more if it had had more of a sense of history: Francis did not speak with any of the distinctive Etonian idiom of his day (and there's lots of it faithfully depicted in school stories of the time) and there was a funny moment when Kit and Mel have a misunderstanding over the real meaning of "I'll call you." But I couldn't help think that Kit's vampire mom, who was French, had an aristocratic name, and who'd been around in the 1700s, would have at least taught Kit the concept, as the "We'll have dinner" social putdown was alive and well during the 1700s--if not earlier.

But those are the quibbles of an oldie but moldy. A fun book.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was not what I thought it would be. Rather than just a snarky look at the current vampire mania, this book explored not just the pros and cons of dating/becoming undead, but also explored the idea of friendship and of family. I loved Mel, with her shouting and her need to fix things, and the dialogue was quotably hilarious. But I also loved the various plotlines, one of which was a moral dilemma, while another was a mystery worthy of the Scooby Gang. (The original or Joss Whedon's.)

[These Violent Delights (Robin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please Visit My Blog For My Full Review Of This Book http://wherebooksleadus.blogspot.com

[Ana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This past year has been a rocky year for me when it comes to young adult and I've come to separate all of YA into two categories: the one that teenage Ana could enjoy and the ones adult Ana likes. This book was not the later.

There is nothing wrong with the book, Sarah Rees Brennan's humor shines, the concept was really interesting and the plot was engaging. It's just that I can't see any difference between her characters in this book and those in Unspoken, especially when it comes to the heroine. Also, for a book that pokes fun at Twilight and how quickly and without much thought life altering decisions are made, this book does the same it's just that most of them are in the later part of the book.

[jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

everything is fine and dandy for mel. she has good grades, a supportive family and two best friends to share everything with. that is, until a vampire --the first ever-- decides to attend their school. everything changes and there is nothing mel can do about, or is there?

where vampires and mel are, disaster follows and hilarity ensues thereafter. as a rule the sidekick character most commonly fills out the goofy and/or supportive role for the main lead. in team human the american born chinese (!!yay!!) sidekick already is the main lead and oh, what a treat! not only is she witty and loyal, she's sensible to boot too. one of her best friends strongly believes herself to be in love with the aforementioned vampire (francis) after only a few days and is ready to be transitioned into one herself at the age of 17, mel is understandably upset about this revelation and fights tooth and nail to prevent this from happening. because even though as a vampire one is granted immortality and eternal youth, sunlight will be an aspect you will never again be able to enjoy and also .. vampires cannot laugh o.0 (yes, therefore they can only brood and meet the criteria of the "brooding" vampire).

a world were humans and vampires more or less peacefully cohabit a planet, but still prejudiced against another, might as well be a placeholder for lgbt or non-caucasian people. poking fun at familiar ya tropes, team human is a delightful combination with food for thought and a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, keeping the reader entertained from the first to the last page.

p.s. also, am i the only to draw character similarities between pride & prejudice and team human?
p.p.s. my first book ever to read on a (sadly only borrowed) kindle touch!

------------------------------------------
 team human | pride & prejudice
------------------------------------------
 cathy <----> jane
 francis <----> darcy

****** ******** ********* *********** ********
"look, mel. can you admit that you might be a tiny bit biased against vampires? don't you feel that you might have judged them a little quickly? what if i asked you to learn more about them?"
"we could read a book about them together if you wanted," i said, with visions of highlighting all the bits that said POTENTIALLY FATAL.
cathy smiled. "you know how i love books. but i was thinking about a more hands-on experience."
"you want me to put my hands on francis?" i made a face. "isn't that kind of a best friend no-no, cath?"

(45%)

****** ******** ********* *********** ********

"no problem," i said, patting him below the knee. he shot me a strange look. "um, no," i told him. "my touching your knee does not mean i want to have sex with you."
kit blushed. "i didn't--"
"you know, when you're a vampire, you won't be able to blush anymore."
he went even redder.

(50%)

****** ******** ********* *********** ********

"your family's not that into soccer?"
"well, no," kit said. "not that we don't do activities together. francis taught me how to waltz."
i burst out laughing. "i'm sorry -- what?"
his voice warmed. i could imagine him being delighted he'd made someone laugh, even over the phone.
maybe not just someone. maybe delighted he'd made me laugh.
"yes, well. at first he tried to instruct me and mom together, but mom said she'd never liked waltzing much herself [..] and in the end francis said that we were all impossible and nobody was properly dedicated to the child's education or ever thought about how i would conduct myself in society and how it would reflect on them all. so francis ended up waltzing with me himself."
"are you a credit to francis?" i asked, solemnly.
"oh, i'm an excellent waltzer. sadly, i don't actually know how to lead ..."
i thought of several excellent jokes about kit's first ball gown and also his dance card, but i pulled myself back.

(54%)

[Calembour]

This book sounds almost as hilarious as the reviewers who haven't figured out that it's supposed to be a parody of all the other vampire books out right now.

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Interesting enough to finish but overall just "okay"

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can one resist a book with the tagline, "Friends don't let friends date vampires"?

Larbalestier and Rees-Brennan's seriocomic treatment of the vampire love story is refreshingly original, spoofing vampire romance while paying homage to it at the same time.

These writers must have read just about every vampire story produced since the 1840's. They did leave out John Polidori's 1819 short story "The Vampyr,"and an 1870's novel called Carmilla (featuring girl-on-girl vamping), but I digress.

The hot vampire that captures the protagonist's best friend's heart is named Francis Duvarney, a sly nod to Varney the Vampire, a "penny dreadful" English serial from the 1840's. Lulz. Big, shiny ones. But also a huge influence on Bram Stoker and thereby all vampire stories into the 20th and 21st centuries.

The "serious" elements keep the story grounded. In the town of New Whitby, there is an often-uneasy peace between human and vampire. Unlike in Forks, Washington, the locals know they exist; are grateful for their presence on the police force as they're strong, swift, and absolute naturals for the graveyard shift; and they even erected a bridge in remembrance of both humans and vampires who died in World War I. You have to apply for a license to be "turned," the procedure takes place in a medical facility instead of in a candlelit room, with members of the ZDU and the coroner's office present in case the transformation goes awry. Vampires are not allowed to attend high school, but an exception is made for Francis Duvarney, who is supposedly writing a tome on human-vampire relationships. Of course, Mel's best friend Cathy falls for him and wants to become a vampire so they can be together forever. Mel, of course, is Team Human. Being unable to laugh? No way. Giving up chocolate in exchange for immortality? Fugeddaboudit!

And Mel's trepidation over her friend's ambitions is not without foundation. You see, unlike the more sparkly vampire romances out there, Larbalestier and Rees-Brennan introduce some genuine conflict into the story. Three things can happen during the transformation process: Things go horribly wrong and you die, things go horribly wrong and you become a zombie instead and have to be Disposed of by the Zombie Disposal Unit, or things go horribly wrong and you're beautiful and immortal and unable to laugh or eat chocolate ever again.

There's also a heartbreaking subplot involving one of Mel and Cathy's friends.

The authors raise some thematic questions as well: What do you do if your friend is headed in a direction you can't understand and can't wholeheartedly approve? Do you put aside your prejudices and fears and support your friend because you love her and want her to be happy?

Mel is given a "love condrum" of her own. She meets a human boy who was raised by vampires. She has to overcome some of her original prejudices to make this relationship work. Because humans can be monsters too (a theme in Larbalestier's Liar), Kit was left on a doorstep in the vampires' neighborhood. But instead of eating him, they raised him, taught him to read and write, bought a refrigerator and kept it stocked with food for him. And, because they love him and recognize free will as an option for him, they will allow him to choose when, or even whether, he wants to be turned.

A new twist on an old tale, Team Human is a story that transcends "romance" and becomes a love story.

And finally, a tip of the hat to these ladies for coining the term "vamposeur" for posers and wannabes who wear black clothes, white makeup and red lipstain.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

{I posted this mini review on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.}

Also, vampires don’t eat food. You never get to eat chocolate again. Ever. I’d rather die.

Team Human is one of the smartest novels I’ve read in a long time. Linsey, who’s in the same subversive book club as Laura, Renegade and I are (we’re part of a larger club, but we don’t really read their choices), suggested that we read this satirical take on the teen vampire novel for our September book, and I am so glad she did.

I love satire, but I also think the best satire pays a bit of a loving homage to the source materials while also poking fun. Team Human hits that sweet spot perfectly. Mel, the narrator, is extremely distressed when her best friend falls in love with a vampire, and goes to great lengths to stop her. Mel’s voice is witty and also frustrating, and really fantastically developed. There are loads of shout-outs to vampire stories (I picked up on a few, but I’m told there are loads of references) that make Team Human a particularly fun addition to the teen vampire oeuvre.

The other thing that struck me with Team Human is that while it’s written by two authors, the narrative is completely seamless. There’s none of the alternating point-of-view that is common in co-written novels, and it reads as if it was written by one person. It’s very impressive. I will definitely be checking out other books by both of these authors—Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan is on my “read soon” list for sure.

Team Human is a book I’d recommend to readers who normal shy away from YA, especially paranormal, because this book is so very different.

Initial Reaction:
Absolutely brilliant!

[tatterpunk · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, book.

I WANTED to give you three, maybe even four stars! (Which may not sound like much, but check out my shelves -- I am super picky.) I loved your voice and verve, even if some of the dialogue and world-building made me wonder if your authors were better suited for writing middle grade, rather than the more complex world of young adults.

But then then last twenty pages.

It's interesting to see the confusion on GoodReads and who falls into which camp: those who fall into the "anti-vampirism as racism makes for a thoughtful analogy" section, and those who cleave to "a racist heroine is unpalatable, even when it's coded as anti-vampirism."

I fall into a third: "species-ism is not racism, and the idea of coding real-life bigotry as equatable to prejudice against inhuman, murderous creatures with little-to-no empathy for human beings makes my flesh fucking creep."

Fact is that Larbalestier and Brennan want to have their cake and eat it, too. If they'd made their vampires appealing and more human-like, their main character's dislike of them (essential to moving the plot forward) would have seemed inexplicable. As it is they lean toward B-movie camp mixed with genuine menace: THESE vampires are basically murderous, they're fairly inhuman (different experience of emotions), and quite a few seem to lack basic empathy (Kit was the exception; most shades, it's made clear, would have just eaten the baby). To equate aversion to vampires with racism or sexism or ableism or homophobia is seriously fucking gauche in the attempt to look clever. (I know, I know; True Blood does it too. I'll take it up with Alan Ball when I see him in hell.)

I love, love, love vampires in any and all form, it's like a sickness. If the author decides they're monsters, they're monsters. If they're woobies, ditto. If they're complex and nuanced, neither wholly bad nor good, I'll probably force the book on all my friends. But I demand consistency -- in these or any books. "Team Human" effectively convinced me vampires and humans really shouldn't mix, and then pulled a last-minute switcheroo that not only turned my stomach for the events themselves (really? a seventeen-year-old should be allowed to make an irreversible decision about her life and health and future because of someone she met mere weeks ago, because it's "HER decision?" that's the most bullshit version of girl power yet.) but doesn't make sense unless you decide that vampires are a misunderstood minority.


So, let me break it down for you.

Black people are not vampires.

Brown people are not vampires.

Queer people are not vampires.

Women are not vampires.

Disabled people are not vampires.

Stop coding real-life people with real-life problems because of systematic oppression as undead creatures of the night who feed on the blood of the living.

Saying "I respect your humanity, despite our cosmetic or cultural differences" is not the same as "I respect your humanity even though you don't really have any, but you LOOK human, even though you don't act at all like us and sometimes people die because of it, but I guess that's good enough." NOT THE SAME.

In conclusion: one sad little star.


EDIT: Okay, for all my frothy rage, it struck me that the "black people as scary vampires" trope HAS been done, and done well. (Nalo Hopkinson writes about the Blade movies, brilliantly, here -- http://nalohopkinson.com/writing/nonf... -- with a warning for all three movies and how the last two kind of take the trope from "self-aware and subversive" to "unfortunately straight-faced") So I'm wrong: you can code oppressed minorities as mythological creatures (and even True Blood gets it right sometimes) and still deliver a smart, sophisticated narrative.

But this wasn't what happened with "Team Human."

[Eilonwy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mel lives in New Whitby, Maine, the first town in the New World to have been settled by vampires. But Mel isn't a vampire: she lives on the human side of town, doing human things like going to high school, hanging out with friends, and laughing and crying. Her contact with vampires has been pretty much zero -- until the day a handsome teenage vampire enrolls at the high school, and Mel's best friend falls for him. Hard. Cathy wants to become a vampire, while Mel is firmly "Team Human." Meanwhile, Mel's other best friend and her mother have problems of their own -- mysterious problems that Mel is determined to solve.

I had such high hopes for this book! And it's not awful. But neither is it all that good.

For something that's supposedly a parody of vampire novel tropes, this story is very heavy-handed and not very funny. Narrator Mel is a busybody who tries to run everyone else's lives because she has no clue what to do with her own. Unfortunately, she has no personality that shines through in the writing voice, and no particularly charming or redeeming qualities. Worse, she "develops" by the end of the book only because the other characters demand that she do so, not because she really seems to change based on experience or her own reflection.

The other characters do no better. They're mostly very flat actors brought in to represent something, rather than seeming like actual people inhabiting an actual story. They all talk exactly alike, even Francis, the "old-fashioned" teenage vampire. Cathy, the best friend who wants to become a vampire, is somewhat intriguing, but never gets to move beyond being basically colorless. A boy named Kit was the only person in the entire novel who ever seemed complete and well-developed; I think he must have stumbled in from another book entirely. Otherwise, they just all seemed like a bunch of cardboard cutouts to me. Is this really a book co-authored by the same author who wrote The Demon's Lexicon?!

The writing does the book no favors, either. It's as flat as the characters, and as prosaic as instructions written by people who actually speak English as a native language (as opposed to more interesting instructions which were clearly translated by people who don't :-). The writing has no style, no flair, no personality. And maybe there's something wrong with me, but for a book that other folks keep raving about as funny, I didn't find it humorous, either. It felt very earnest to me, especially as "the message" began to appear in the last third of the story, and got crammed down my throat at least five times. This was an After School Special packaged as a novel, and only barely spiced up by the presence of vampires.

Hmmmm. I'm making it sound pretty awful, aren't I? The fact is, if it hadn't had SRB's name on the cove and I hadn't PAID for the darned thing, I would not have finished this book, it's that meh. So if you're curious about it, take it out of the library! Or just read I Kissed A Zombie and I Liked It instead.

[Lobo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powieść o wiele bardziej intensywna niż się spodziewałam. Okładka wygląda tak jak wygląda, ale fakt, że napisała ją autorka „Draco Malfoya, zadziwiająco skocznego szczura” mówi sam za siebie. To nazwisko jest gwarancją jakości. Jeśli po tylu latach odkąd weszłam do fandomu Pottera i zaczęłam czytać fanfiction „Draco Malfoy…” wciąż pozostaje tekstem, do którego wracam i który wciąż mnie bawi, chociaż znam wszystkie zawarte w nim dowcipy na pamięć, to jest najlepsza komedia, jaką czytałam. I czego się spodziewałam się po „Team Human”? Że będzie równie dobrą komedią. Po okładce sądziłam, że będzie w to zaangażowany trójkąt miłosny, czyli wydumane problemy hetero ludzi z pierwszego świata, którzy nigdy nie słyszeli o poliamorii (nie, nie mam szacunku do trójkątów miłosnych, szanuję za to bardzo trójkąciki, bo są o wiele bardziej wymagające fabularnie).
Powieść jest prześmieszna. Uwielbiam to, jak nabija się z konwencji powieści o wampirach, zwłaszcza to, ile szpilek wbiła „Zmierzchowi” (o wiele mniej i o wiele łagodniej niż ta abominacja zasługuje, ale „Team Human” to samodzielna powieść, a nie parodia). Poza tym jednak postaci są cudowne, z miejsca zakochałam się w Mel. Jedna z tych nielicznych dobrze napisanych narracji pierwszoosobowych, gdzie osobowość bohaterki-narratorki nie próbuje być koniem pociągowym w miejsce brakującej fabuły. Mel osobowości nie brakuje, ale nie zajmuje ona miejsca narracji. Jej przyjaciele są również niezwykle ciekawi i przyjemnie było przez chwilę pożyć jej życiem.
Poza tym jednak, że ubawiłam się czytając złośliwe i celne komentarze Mel na temat otaczającej ją rzeczywistości i wydarzeń, byłam pod wielkim wrażeniem tego, jak złożony i jak spójny jest świat przedstawiony w powieści, świat, w którym wampiry funkcjonują w społeczeństwie. Jak wiele spraw i kwestii autorki przemyślały w związku z prawami, jaki obowiązują wampiry, kwestiami przemiany w wampira, legalizacją ich egzystencji i skomplikowaną sprawą koegzystencji z ludźmi. Nie chcę spolerować, ponieważ uważam, że każdy powinien odkrywać te smaczki na własny rachunek, ale ta powieść dała mi do myślenia. Poruszyła tematy, które zwykle nie pojawiają się w powieściach o wampirach i to poruszyła je z wielu stron. Czuję się jakby odkryto przede mną całkiem nowe, niezbadane obszary, które muszę przemyśleć, jeśli chcę jeszcze pisać opowiadania o wampirach. Wspaniałe uczucie.
Koniecznie sięgnę po kolejne powieści autorki i szczerze wszystkim polecam „Team Human”. Bo śmiech jest tym, co odróżnia nas od wampirów.

[Alz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Although entertainingly written, Mel was just too much. Granted that the parallel between vampire hatred and racism is intentional--well, it's not really fun reading about a racist protagonist who doesn't have much depth to her unwavering loathing of vampires except that they're creepy. Mel was just too hyperbolic and crazy every time she started trying to talk her friend out of vampire romance, all metaphorical capslock and Intense Rage.

The book reads like Mel is a side character watching someone else's story unfold, with the end result that it's just not all that gripping. Most characters feel like real people, and it seems like they have depth, but the reader isn't quite privy to that depth. Kit, for instance, was the best character, but it feels like he got shortchanged in this book that's largely about other people even though he's an important supporting character and a love interest, so his big emotional moments and epiphanies feel like asides rather than important events.

Even the mystery wasn't that mysterious. The first piece of real info Mel uncovers (or rather is flat-out told) combined with the previous events she witnessed narrow down the possibilities considerably, and only a couple chapters later it's pretty clear that there are only two real possibilities.

I might read a sequel--but only if I was bored and happened across it in the library.

[Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms · Rating 3 out of 5]

This and other reviews can be found on my blog:(un)Conventional Bookviews

I liked quite a few things in this book, but I didn't connect that much with the MC, Mel was acting like a spoiled brat for a lot of it, and she thought she was helping her friends, but really, she was looking out for number one.

[The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover kicks ass! If people are missing this book because there's an Asian girl prominently featured, poor them. For those of us just so DONE with vampire/paranormal romance (especially in YA), this book is a humorous infusion of fresh blood.

[Dinjolina]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tio-Y...

It's raining men, haleluyah
It's raining meeeen....I mean vampires. Because humans are so not cool any more.

[Namera [The Literary Invertebrate] · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, and I really wanted to round up because the good outweighs the bad, but it was just missing that 'spark' for me that would have convinced me rounding up was the right thing to do.

The Good

✔️ It's a parody of Twilight, so there are some great snarky lines, e.g. about the ridiculousness of falling in forever love at age 17.

✔️ The heroine Mel is Chinese-American and actually comes from a loving family and has a great relationship with her parents.

✔️ Mel is super funny and there are some great scenes. The plot line holds together well, for the most part, and the writing is unobjectionable.

The Bad

❌ The romance felt a bit light (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but I never really felt any connection with the love interest.

❌ Mel's hatred of vampires is honestly a little irrational. Other reviewers have said it comes across as racist, and I'm close to agreeing.

[Blog] - [Bookstagram]

[Skyeofskynet · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I am to be absolutely honest, I am disappointed. I thought I would have much more fun reading this book, since I am forever Team Human. And first pages were awesome. Then it was hard to read, then it became better, but...
I. Just. Can't. Stand. Cathy's. Plotline.
For a book which point was to be a satirical take of all Vampire cliches, Cathy stlill stays that cliche and becomes a vampire after being in love for a month. Authors try to strongly show us that she actually wanted it forever and it would fit her (she has old soul), but I don't buy it. I would buy it if she actually waited at least a few months to be sure after what happened to Anna's dad. Nope.

The world was interesting and the take of vampire society was great as well. The narration itself wasn't bad and the main heroine was refreshing, but I found the relationships in this book to be written poorly. Points for trying though.

2,5 half stars.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

Team Human caught me by real surprise. After my initial hesitation at reading a vampire book that sounded heavy on the romance, I realised it was actually a parody of the paranormal insta-love that's not unusual to find in YA these days! We've all seen them before… And you know those awful books which try to be funny but fail? Well, Team Human certainly doesn't fall into that group. It had me in stitches and I was shocked by how witty Mel was! Full credit must go to the authors for providing me with such entertainment and I now know that I'll happily read more from them both in the future!

Mel Duan is the vampire-hating, rude and unsympathetic best friend of Cathy, a typical teenage girl who's fallen head over heels in love with Francis Suvarney. He's over 150 years old, silent, brooding, mysterious and chivalrous. Hmm, right... How very unique of him! Let's not forget that he's easily scandalised by the forward behaviour of modern females too! Cue the eye rolls now because Cathy and Francis get sickeningly sweet from here on out. Mel obviously feels the same, as she tries relentlessly to discourage their affections for each other but to no avail . Although Mel is overbearing at times, she has good intentions and it eventually became humorous and very justified. I love her! Brennan and Larbalestier do a wonderful job at poking fun at the over the top human/vamp relationship and were able to show us the not so ideal and glamorous side of it.

I really enjoyed the mysteries found in Team Human. The vampires in this book are traditional for the most part but there are a few fun changes that play an important part in the events that occur. As well as preventing Cathy from turning into a vampire (RISKY!), Mel's busy investigating the whereabouts of the principal's ex-husband. He supposedly ran away to be with a hot vamp but…what if that's not the case at all? Mel also thinks Francis is up to something shady, so many aspects of this book do overlap and we're left to wonder how they all relate to each other! The action amps up during the final section of the book but I found it to be too short-lived and the resolution too simple! However, it can be forgiven because of everything else that's great about the book.

During one of her stalk sessions, Mel finds herself in Francis's house and meets Kit, a human boy who was raised by vampires after being abandoned by his real parents and left for dead. His "mother" Camille is a badass cop and this trio of characters were my favourite to watch together. They had an amusing yet sweet bond with each other and the male banter…where do I start? For all that she preaches, Mel is completely oblivious to Kit's affection for her. I must have 'aww'ed a million times at his cuteness. He smiles whenever she giggles and always looks to please her. I obviously liked this pair, despite the fact that there was never really a romance shown between them in the book. Team Human doesn't focus on the romances themselves very much but the ending definitely leaves things open for interpretation! ;)

Overall, these two authors make a wonderful team and write extremely well together. I would've liked to have explored Mel and Cathy's friendship more, as well as between them and the boys, but Team Human isn't a book to take too seriously. It's hysterically funny and will put a smile on your face in the short amount of time it'll take you to fly through it! I bow down to the authors for their bottomless pit of jokes and willingness to create some seriously kooky characters, while still providing some heart-warming and more serious moments too. The book covers all the bases!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating - 3.5

The Short Story? - Team Human is a highly original YA novel! Two of the most brilliant YA authors have come together to write one heck of a novel! A brilliant plot that antagonises vampires ( hey! that's different!), a romance tagline that's completely adorable and a feisty protagonist that really grows on you with her lack of grace and fierce loyalty. Team Human is the ultimate juxtaposition to YA paranormal mainstream. Brennan and Larbalestier are bringing back the human glory!

The Long Story? - The novel and I got off to a rough start but everything smoothed over about 80 pages into the novel. Team Human is a wonderfully unique idea and Brennan and Larbalestier are two very brilliant authors. The writing style took some time to get used to, mainly because of the different writing styles due to two authors. However over the course of the novel you get used to it! The plot started off a little too fast and too slow at the same time. There was this massive rush of events in the first 20 pages and then it slowed considerably and kind of pondered along until about 80 pages in. The thing I liked the most about the plot was definitely originality. In YA we have no shortage of books supporting to paranormal but to get a novel that's Team Human is quite something. I enjoyed the book but I had higher expectations, some events were a little too predictable and others a little frustrating. However the idea was unique, I loved the romance tagline and the mystery element about Anna's missing dad was good! Overall, it was enjoyable!

I had some problems with the characters. Some people might describe Mel as feisty but to me, she came off as irritating and rude. I really felt like she lacked manners and some of the things that came out of her mouth should have been left unsaid. She grows onto you as you progress through the book and her intentions are good and her fierce loyalty is something truly admirable, she's just a really "explosive" character and that kinda clashes with my own personality. Cathy really annoyed me. I felt she was really 2D and she was too nice and ignorant. She was all lovesick over Francis ( which is kind of the point) but it just got a little too extreme sometimes, I felt the urge to shake her and say "GET A GRIP AND MAN UP!". Francis had noooo appeal so I didn't see the attraction and he was under developed. However I really liked Kit ( and the story behind his name) as well as Camille! Characterisation wasn't a highlight for the novel but the characters kinda fitted with the novel as a whole.

Team Human wasn't perfect but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. It was a rough start but I ended really loving the book, so much that I stayed up late to read it and woke up early to finish. Even with our clashing personalities, Mel was a good protagonist for Team Human, without such a strong-willed and fiery character, Team Human definitely would have lost to Team Vampire :D Overall, good writing, great plot, loved the romance and a solid cast. Thumbs up for Team Human!

[Ferdy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers

Mel Duan tries to save her best friend, Cathy, from falling in love with the new guy at school who much to Mel's annoyance is a centuries old vampire.

-I adored the concept of a protagonist who hates vampires and that goes on a mission to keep her best friend from dating one. Its pretty much guaranteed that every YA vampire book will be filled with cliches and this is no different, however this book is really only filled with cliches for the purpose of pointing out how ridiculous those cliches and tropes are.
The first half was very funny but the latter half didn't come across as satirical — the romance with Cathy and Francis (the vampire) started to be portrayed with more gravitas, so it wasn't quite as easy to laugh at their wuv for each other.

-I can imagine a lot of readers not liking the main character, Mel. She was obnoxious, racist, judgmental and tactless — but I found her attitude mostly entertaining. I loved that she didn't go weak at the knees for vampires and wasn't impressed by Francis. Her observations about him and vampires in general were hilarious and spot on. I liked how Mel was blunt with Francis and didn't just let him take Cathy away without a fight.

-I have to say I hated Cathy, she was weak, idiotic and too damsel in distress-y. Even though Francis and Cathy were both blah and had the personality of planks, I still found their dialogues hilarious because of how cheesy they were.
It was hard to like Cathy, since after a month of meeting Francis she decided to become a vampire for him even though in doing so she could die or become a zombie. I know the whole point of the book was to poke fun at silly teenage girls falling into insta-love with the centuries old vampire — but I still found myself irritated at Cathy's devotion to Francis and pissed at her giving up her life for someone she barely knew. I was hoping at the end that she would turn into a zombie, I would have preferred that, since it would have shown that jumping into things doesn't always work out. I suppose if that happened though it wouldn't have made for light, funny reading.

-Mel and Kit's romance was cute and funny. At first I was afraid that Mel would fall in love with Francis but thankfully the authors went down a different route. I was glad that Mel became a little more accepting of vampires but still stood firm that vampirism wasn't romantic or something people should do lightly. I hope that Kit doesn't turn into a vampire at the end — he seemed to enjoy hanging around with humans. I loved some of the conversations Mel and Kit had especially when Kit accused Mel of wanting to sex him up — it was so funny.

Overall, this was an entertaining and witty book. It's not meant to be taken seriously and Mel may not be everyone's cup of tea since she's pretty much a racist but for those readers that always groan, snort and roll their eyes when reading vampire books this might be right up your alley.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Team Human - Sarah Rees Brennan,Justine Larbalestier   Parodying Twilight is incredibly easy, but also, very quickly it becomes tiresome. Once you point out the oddness of anyone more than a hundred years old voluntarily going to high school, and the awkwardness of dating someone old enough to be your great great grandfather, what's left? Plenty. For one thing, there's a mystery to solve. For another, the authors take time to explore the prejudices that develop in segregated communities, and the ways in which well-intentioned people discriminate without meaning to. The authors created a strong, principled, sporty, modern heroine who cares deeply about her friends, and they gave her friends with distinct personalities and points of view. There some romance, and plenty of humor, and a recognition that high school students are soon to be adults and need to make decisions for themselves. As well, the book is beautifully plotted. And it all makes sense.

Really, there's nothing about it I didn't love. I even appreciated the list of recommended vampire books in the acknowledgements.

***
I picked it up again because Westerfeld was coming to town(ish) for a signing, and Tosh and I pretty much checked everything out of the library by either of them, that we didn't already own. Between the three of us, that wasn't much. Inn fact, I ended up checking out several that one of us did own, because it was easier than rampaging through the girl's bookshelves. Apparently not everyone is comfortable with other family members walking into their rooms and making off with their books. Just goes to show. Also, it must be said, some of the people in the household are not meticulous about shelving their books in an easily comprehensible order.
Anyway, I read it again and loved it again. The Larbalestier/Brennan pairing is seamless and the book is funny and fresh and warmly human. I'm glad there are writers reminding me that all of humanity isn't a stupid waste of space and resources. Sadly, I need that reminder at least daily.

Library copy.

[cEe beE · Rating 4 out of 5]

A paranormal book that doesn't feature a hot supernatural stud and/or a girl with hidden super powers? How refreshing!

Team Human stars Mel Duan, a regular 17 yr old human girl, who with her BFFs, Cathy and Anna live in New Whitby, Maine a city founded by vampires. Unlike Sookie Stackhouse's world, the vampires here have been living as citizens since the founding of the USA, and live separately in their own community called The Shade.

Mel herself has never met any undead and likes it that way. But everything changes when a vampire wearing a hazmat suit walks into school on the first day of class. Anna's father left the family for a vampire and now her mother, the high school principal has been acting very strangely. Cathy and Francis, the hazmat vampire become inseparable. Mel is very dismayed by the turn of events and wants things go back to the way they were. She would do everything in her power to help Anna and get Cathy away from Francis.

Team Human is in parts really funny and moving. I often found Mel's stubborn meddling annoying but I admired the depth of her loyalty to her friends. Kudos to Justine Larbalestier & Sara Rees Brennan for a unique and entertaining story!

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts off in high snark, as Mel and her best friend, Cathy, observe the arrival of a new boy to their high school -- the eternally 17-year-old Francis.

He looked beautiful and bored. He also looked like a crazy astronaut suit full of trouble.

As the story unfolds, the tone gets more serious as we watch Mel respond to the many changes her friends are experiencing--the disappearance of Anna's father and the bizarre behavior of her mother, Cathy's decision to become a vampire so she can be with Francis forever--and as she meets additional members of the vampire community, including the young human Kit (called Kitten by the vampires who raised him).

It's an interesting mix of Twilight spoof, coming-of-age story, mystery and romance. It also includes concepts of prejudice, self-discovery, and the inevitable way friendships adjust as we grow up and start following new paths. It is a lot to cram into one book, but it works pretty well.

I'll be interested in reading more by this duo, whether they do more in this setting or try something different.

[Mada]

I think it's gonna be great.It sounds so funny and I love the cover.Can't wait to read it.