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Middle School Bites #2
Middle School Bites: Tom Bites Back
Tom the Vam-Wolf-Zom is back - and so is the vampire bat that bit him - in this series about a boy who's dying to fit in.
Eleven-year-old Tom was bit by a vampire, a werewolf, and a zombie right before the first day of middle school. It was a weird and crazy day. And the worst part? Even a Vam-Wolf-Zom needs to go to sixth grade. At least his neighbors and classmates seem to have accepted him. Annie even wants him to join her band!
Plus, there are some cool things about having vampire and werewolf traits. Tom has night vision now, and he's super-fast and strong. (There's nothing cool about being a zombie.) Maybe life as a Vam-Wolf-Zom will be as EXCELLENT as his best friend, Zeke, predicted. But when the bat that bit Tom shows up again, and speaks to him, he knows it's time for a new plan. Tom's adventures continue as he navigates normal sixth grade stuff - singing in a band, dressing up for Halloween, tolerating his older sister - despite being the only Vam-Wolf-Zom known to humankind.
Eleven-year-old Tom was bit by a vampire, a werewolf, and a zombie right before the first day of middle school. It was a weird and crazy day. And the worst part? Even a Vam-Wolf-Zom needs to go to sixth grade. At least his neighbors and classmates seem to have accepted him. Annie even wants him to join her band!
Plus, there are some cool things about having vampire and werewolf traits. Tom has night vision now, and he's super-fast and strong. (There's nothing cool about being a zombie.) Maybe life as a Vam-Wolf-Zom will be as EXCELLENT as his best friend, Zeke, predicted. But when the bat that bit Tom shows up again, and speaks to him, he knows it's time for a new plan. Tom's adventures continue as he navigates normal sixth grade stuff - singing in a band, dressing up for Halloween, tolerating his older sister - despite being the only Vam-Wolf-Zom known to humankind.
360 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 8, 2020
10 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Steven Banks
111 books41 followersSteven Banks has numerous writing and acting credits. He has been a head writer for several Nickelodeon series including "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron", "The Fairly Odd Parents", "CatDog", and "Sponge Bob Square Pants". His play, "Love Tapes," co-written with Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame), was recently performed at the Sacred Fools Theater in Hollywood. And he created, wrote, produced, and starred as himself in "The Steven Banks Show," a comedy series which aired on PBS in the 90s.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 8, 2020
A CLIFF HANGER?!?! This book has left me on a huge cliff hanger. I can't with this book. It is so cute and wonderful to read and has now left me hanging. Wonderful middle school book.
September 12, 2024
Since Tom got bitten by a vampire, werewolf, and a zombie he's been trying to figure out his new normal. He meets the vampire girl who bit him and she helps him learn to fly (which he isn't great at) as well as providing him with great material for his American History figure oral report since she knew Benjamin Franklin personally (he totally would've failed without her help). Tom works on his flying in secret - not ready to reveal that skill to the world, preps for Halloween, tries to channel his best friend Zeke's exuberance about his Vam-Wolf-Zom attributes in helpful ways, figures out his role in Annie's band, deals with the local bully Tanner, and navigates life at home.
This is a slice of life novel in that there aren't any overarching problems for Tom other than adjusting to life as a Vam-Wolf-Zom. We get to see how he handles things that come up for him in October through November (he's prepping for Halloween in the first part and it ends at US Thanksgiving). It's fun how he's looking forward to Halloween when he can go incognito, how the full moon changes his singing voice, how it drives him to do something unimaginable to his sister's hamster, and of course, Zeke's enthusiasm is always entertaining. Tom's relationship with Tanner continues to be rocky, but we do get a small insight into why Tanner is the way he is...his home life is not great (I have hopes future books will see breakthroughs there). Middle school books that are the right mix of goofiness and realistic middle school issues are hard to find...some try too hard on the goofiness or some are too serious on the issues, while this will appeal to a core group of middle school readers who desire that sweet spot mix.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None. Some girls have crushes on Tom but he's pretty oblivious. Tom's older sister has a boyfriend, but they have a surprisingly healthy relationship that isn't very physical. (Surprising because Tom's sister is often pretty superficial.)
Violence: Tanner pushes some kids around. Nobody is badly hurt. Martha, the vampire who bit Tom, talks about how she feeds on people (without killing them).
Ethnic diversity: From illustrations it appears most of the town is white.
LGBTQ+ content: I believe one of Tanner's classmates had 2 parents of the same sex.
Other: Tom's zombie hunger overcomes him at one point and he swallows a live animal, he is greatly disturbed by the event and later throws it back up and it runs away. Tom craves raw meet and liver.
This is a slice of life novel in that there aren't any overarching problems for Tom other than adjusting to life as a Vam-Wolf-Zom. We get to see how he handles things that come up for him in October through November (he's prepping for Halloween in the first part and it ends at US Thanksgiving). It's fun how he's looking forward to Halloween when he can go incognito, how the full moon changes his singing voice, how it drives him to do something unimaginable to his sister's hamster, and of course, Zeke's enthusiasm is always entertaining. Tom's relationship with Tanner continues to be rocky, but we do get a small insight into why Tanner is the way he is...his home life is not great (I have hopes future books will see breakthroughs there). Middle school books that are the right mix of goofiness and realistic middle school issues are hard to find...some try too hard on the goofiness or some are too serious on the issues, while this will appeal to a core group of middle school readers who desire that sweet spot mix.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None. Some girls have crushes on Tom but he's pretty oblivious. Tom's older sister has a boyfriend, but they have a surprisingly healthy relationship that isn't very physical. (Surprising because Tom's sister is often pretty superficial.)
Violence: Tanner pushes some kids around. Nobody is badly hurt. Martha, the vampire who bit Tom, talks about how she feeds on people (without killing them).
Ethnic diversity: From illustrations it appears most of the town is white.
LGBTQ+ content: I believe one of Tanner's classmates had 2 parents of the same sex.
Other: Tom's zombie hunger overcomes him at one point and he swallows a live animal, he is greatly disturbed by the event and later throws it back up and it runs away. Tom craves raw meet and liver.
June 21, 2021
Middle School Bites: Tom Bites Back, by Steven Banks, is a humorous book with an intriguing twist. Tom, the main character of the book, has gone through some unfortunate events in his first week of middle school. These include being turned into a vampire (he thought it was a spider bite), being bitten by a werewolf (he thought it was just a big dog), and being bitten by a zombie (at a creepy old carnival at a gas station), and that is just the unusual stuff! This has turned him into the world’s first Vam-Wolf-Zom.
The book starts out with Tom and his family visiting their grandmother’s house, which is very far from his neighborhood, on the night of a full moon. His Gram really likes old horror movies and things of that nature, so Gram is really interested in Tom. After Gram sees him turn, Tom says goodnight and goes to bed. This is where he finds a bat sitting outside the window. The bat is Martha Livingston-the bat that turned him into a vampire. Tom has a lot of questions, but before he can ask anything Martha turns into a girl!
The majority of the book is filled with Tom trying to be a normal kid, which is not possible, because of what Tom is. The book has a good balance of funny, serious sections, action sections. This results in an interesting, light, enjoyable read.
A difference between this book and many other books is that Tom does not try to hide the fact that he is a Vam-Wolf-Zom. All his other classmates, teachers, and basically everyone knows that he is a Vam-Wolf-Zom from the start of the book. This makes for a book that is refreshing, because it isn’t cluttered with Tom trying to hide his true form.
This book literally bites, in a good way that is. It is a rather entertaining read (unless you do not like Werewolves, Zombies, or Vampires, and if that is the case, why in the world are you reading this book). Unfortunately, this book is intended for younger audiences, so I did not enjoy the book as much as I would have if I were younger. The book, although intended for younger audiences, can be an entertaining read for any age, albeit a short one for more advanced readers. In the end, I give this book a solid 3 bats out of 5, as it is an entertaining read and one that any young horror enthusiast will enjoy!
Reviewed by Sam S., 14, Kentuckiana Mensa
The book starts out with Tom and his family visiting their grandmother’s house, which is very far from his neighborhood, on the night of a full moon. His Gram really likes old horror movies and things of that nature, so Gram is really interested in Tom. After Gram sees him turn, Tom says goodnight and goes to bed. This is where he finds a bat sitting outside the window. The bat is Martha Livingston-the bat that turned him into a vampire. Tom has a lot of questions, but before he can ask anything Martha turns into a girl!
The majority of the book is filled with Tom trying to be a normal kid, which is not possible, because of what Tom is. The book has a good balance of funny, serious sections, action sections. This results in an interesting, light, enjoyable read.
A difference between this book and many other books is that Tom does not try to hide the fact that he is a Vam-Wolf-Zom. All his other classmates, teachers, and basically everyone knows that he is a Vam-Wolf-Zom from the start of the book. This makes for a book that is refreshing, because it isn’t cluttered with Tom trying to hide his true form.
This book literally bites, in a good way that is. It is a rather entertaining read (unless you do not like Werewolves, Zombies, or Vampires, and if that is the case, why in the world are you reading this book). Unfortunately, this book is intended for younger audiences, so I did not enjoy the book as much as I would have if I were younger. The book, although intended for younger audiences, can be an entertaining read for any age, albeit a short one for more advanced readers. In the end, I give this book a solid 3 bats out of 5, as it is an entertaining read and one that any young horror enthusiast will enjoy!
Reviewed by Sam S., 14, Kentuckiana Mensa
January 8, 2021
Eleven year old Tom Marks, who was bitten by a vampire, a werewolf, and scratched by a zombie, meets Martha Livingston of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a 244 year old girl, who happens to be the vampire who turned him while she was feeding. As she explains to Tom his fate, and various other things, Tom soon realizes that there are some good and bad advantages about being in his current state, but it comes with a cost. This second installation is sure to keep the reader locked in as this tale unfolds.
May 27, 2024
Banks Notes #2
Middle School Bites #2
More lunacy with the second book in the series, which followed directly on from the first, and had a very similar ending to the first, and I suspect the second one will end in a similar way again.
The supporting characters and plethora of interesting sub plots to solve make the book even more engaging and interesting.
Good fun!
Middle School Bites #2
More lunacy with the second book in the series, which followed directly on from the first, and had a very similar ending to the first, and I suspect the second one will end in a similar way again.
The supporting characters and plethora of interesting sub plots to solve make the book even more engaging and interesting.
Good fun!
June 28, 2021
My 10 year old daughter devoured this book in a matter of days and said even though the plot seems unrealistic it’s actually written in a way that it’s very believable. She LOVED both books.
January 28, 2024
I read it and it is literally fire (crazy good)!
April 12, 2024
Super fun book! My 8 year old daughter loves this series.
Want to read
September 26, 2020Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews