Middle School Bites 4: Night of the Vam-Wolf-Zom

Middle School Bites #4

by Steven Banks, Mark Fearing (Illustrator)

Tom the Vam-Wolf-Zom is back—and so is the zombie that bit him—in this monstrously funny 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 he didn’t even get excused from sixth grade!

Now Tom is stuck navigating normal middle-school conundrums as the world's only Vam-Wolf-Zom. And ever since he accidentally caused some drama between the vampire and the werewolf who bit him, he's got to avoid trouble with them, too. Luckily the zombie who bit him turns out to be a super nice guy. (Go figure!)

Even the nicest monster can't help when it comes to figuring out the rules for sixth grade, though. Looks like Tom is on his own as he deals with band arguments, a suddenly-friendly-but-formerly-mean bully, and even a first kiss.

Created by an Emmy-nominated writer for SpongeBob , The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron , and CatDog , this hilarious series is illustrated with clever, cartoon-style art on every spread. Perfect for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Last Kids on Earth.

Genres: Middle Grade, Paranormal, Fantasy

272 pages, Hardcover

Published October 25, 2022

About the author

Steven 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.

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the latest adventures of Tom the vam-wolf-zom, Tom recruited his sister's boyfriend to help free the zombie who bit him from a carnival that has him prisoner and see if they can find a zombie nirvana the zombie has heard of. Soon after that mission, Tom's band is hired for a birthday party and Tanner shockingly asks if he can join and play bass. The band isn't sure about this, but Tanner has been nicer recently (thanks to Tom saving his life). Tom then gets forced into the male lead of the school play that's a musical loosely based on Beauty and the Beast and the drama teacher scheduled it so that the production will happen during a full moon (saving on costume expenses). Tom isn't thrilled to be in the play, because he has enough other things going on because that same night Martha is forcing him help get the top secret vampire book out of the clutches of the werewolves.

I like the evolution in Tanner's character and his growth. I also like the zombie rescue mission. The night of the play is pretty wild and crazy, and quite humorous with how Tom has to ad lib when things go wrong. With the zany plot, memorable characters, larger font and occasional pictures, this series is a great recommendation for reluctant readers.

Notes on content:
Language: None (a couple hecks if that is a bad word in your house).
Sexual content: Nothing beyond a little kiss. There's a kiss in the play and after one girl quits rather than kiss Tom 2 other girls kiss him to demonstrate it is safe and then the understudy does in the play. Martha also kisses Tom as thanks for his help. (He talks about going from never being kissed to being kissed 4 times in 24 hrs.)
Violence: Violence is threatened by the carnival owner and a werewolf. No one is seriously hurt.
Ethnic diversity: Most of the kids are white American.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified that I remember.
Other: Someone is knocked over in a port-a-potty. The zombie who bit Tom is chained up and made to perform by a mean carnival owner.

[Sean Harding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Banks Notes #4
Middle School Bites #4
Book #4 in the series and I thought this might have been the end, but there are still many loose ends and yet there doesn't appear to be another book on the horizon?
We need book #5 come on Steveo grab your pen and give us more.
Great world building and again great side characters, but we need to know more about Abel and some of the other parts that are not finalised.
We can only hope there is another book.

[Kelly Antoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why is there no fifth book?!?!?! What about the girlfriend plan?? Will it be Annie? Martha? Capri? Who is Martha's spy in the Werewolf Council? Will Tanner keep Tom's secret? Will Emma ditch Carrot Boy for Darcourt, or will she realize the truth before she makes a terrible mistake? What about the Vam-Wolf-Zom in London? Does the professoer have a miracle cure that will turn Tom back into a normal kid? Please tell me another book is coming!!!!!

[Blakely Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised that Steven Banks was adding a 4th book in the Middle School Bites series, and thank you to NetGalley for the DRC! My daughter and I have been reading the series together since it was released, and we are both huge fans! The 4th installment didn't disappoint and highly recommend this series for Middle Schoolers who may want [or need] to try something other than DOWK. =)

[Eddie Medrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very fun and enjoyable read

I highly recommend this series!
So many twist and turns.
I had a blast reading this and can’t wait for the next book.
Loved the artwork too.
Congratulations on a great series Mr. Banks!