Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Mel lives in New Whitby, a town founded by vampires.  She isn't a big fan of the Shade, where most of the vampires live.  When Francis, a teen vampire, enrolls in their high school, Mel knows it will cause trouble.

The trouble comes in the way of Cathy, Mel's best friend, and vampire lover.  While most of the girls in their school are enthralled by Francis, he seems to return Cathy's attention.  Mel is determined to save Cathy from Francis--even when she doesn't want to be.

Not only that, but their friend Anna is also upset and wonders about her mother.  Anna's dad ran off with a vampire over the summer break, and it seems to be hitting Anna and her mother hard.  Anna's brought her mother's behavior to Mel's attention and Mel feels she needs to help figure out what's wrong. 

On top of everything else, Mel meets Kit, a human living in Francis' home.  He plans on becoming a vampire when he's 18.  Mel doesn't know what to think of that--she was beginning to like Kit. 

Everything soon comes to a head and Mel and her friends need to figure out what to do. 

Not quite what I was expecting but still a good story.  Definitely not your normal vampire book, and it's about time too!

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B Dunkle

Tabby is taken to Seldom House to become the young maid. Once there, she finds the home in ruins, and instead of becoming the maid, she's asked to be the companion for the new young master.

Something strange is happening, though, and Tabby can't help but try to figure it out. The villagers all watch her when she's outside, and inside, Tabby is certain there's another young girl.

Only when Tabby finds the chamber full of old bones does she realize how threatening the whole situation is...she and the new young master are meant to be sacrificed.

A chilling tale that almost works. While it's chilling, the conclusion--and really the climax--stutter a bit and lost some momentum.

iDrakula by Bekka Black

What would Dracula be like if he lived in today's world instead of in Bram Stoker's imagination?

Well, I still can't tell you. While this book is a retelling of that great classic, you don't spend much time with the Count. This book is told entirely in text, email, and web browsing. Most of the story comes from Mary who talks to Jonathan Harker, her boyfriend, Lily, their friend, and Abraham Van Helsing, a pre-med student.

Renfield, their friend, has been committed to a mental hospital after some bizarre behavior. He had been setting up a business deal with a Count from Romania, so Jonathan is sent to Romania in Renfield's place. There he finds himself cut off from technology and almost a prisoner during the day. He manages to escape but is captured and sent back home to the hospital, as he's contracted a rare blood disease.

Mary, learning some uncomfortable truths, decides to learn all she can about the Count and what could have happened to Jonathan. Lilly is then attacked and everything seems to point back to the Count. On the advice of Renfield, Mary and Van Helsing work together to learn the Count's secret and destroy him to save the lives of Lilly and Jonathan, and soon, their own.

I was a little worried about trying to read iDrakula in its strange format. I found the story moves forward at a much faster pace when told in text or email. When Mary browses through airline tickets and recognizing vampire websites, I had to go back and check each screen print to get all the details. I enjoyed the story a lot more than I thought.

Never After by Dan Elconin

Ricky has been dreaming about The Island for a few nights now, so when Peter appears in his room one night, he figures a short visit couldn't hurt. He's been thinking about running away anyway.

When Ricky gets to The Island, he realizes Peter has no intention of letting him go back home. Ever. Chained up underground, Ricky has no hope of escape--until he's rescued by Alex, Hooke, Nigel, and Oscar. Oscar is captured in the process, so Ricky repays the favor by rescuing her. Together, the group plans on capturing Peter with one goal in mind--getting off The Island.

But they didn't realize Hooke just may have his own plans.

An interesting twist on the Peter Pan legend. Peter is the bad guy here, and you know that from almost the start. There are no adults and no ship on The Island. Lots of action and humor--I was laughing out loud with some of the jokes and pranks the boys played on each other.

Thirteen Days to Midnight by Patrick Carman

Jacob's been in and out of the foster care system most of his life--until he stumbles into Mr. Fielding, who takes him in. They get along well together until a car accident kills Mr. Fielding.

But Jacob has a secret. Right before the crash, Mr. Fielding whispered "You are indestructible" to Jacob, which saved his life. Jacob's not sure, but he thinks he can't die. And when he accidentally writes the same phrase on Olivia's cast, he puts both their souls in danger.

The story seems a little odd, and it is. There is a lot of suspension of disbelief here, but the story itself is interesting and engrossing. Most of the book is spent trying to see the limits to this "power" of Jacob's, with Olivia getting more and more obsessed with it. When Jacob and his best friend realize they shouldn't have been playing with the idea, it's almost too late to save Olivia. Lots of action and suspense. You just have to ignore some of the most implausible ideas.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt

Keturah lives in a small village in a little kingdom. She lives with her grandmother, who midwives many of the women in the village. Keturah one day, wanders into the forest, following the hart the Lord of the village has been trying to hunt down. She soon gets lost and can't find her way home.

Lord Death finds her but Keturah tricks him to giving her one more day to live. They continue this pattern while Keturah frantically searches and bargains with Lord Death. As the days pass, Keturah learns her entire village will soon be dead as well, and she must also focus on saving their lives as well.

An engrossing tale of seeing what's right in front of you. There are a lot of fairy tale elements here, and I could barely put the book down.