Conclusion to the Vampire Saga: Vampires are Stalkers

I now present to you the last book I wrote about for my Young Adult Literature class back in the Summer of 2009. I began these posts back in August of 2010 and covered the various adolscent paradigms represented within young adult vampire literature (that ISN'T Twilight) published between 1991 and 1997. I'll relist them here.

Anderson, M. T. Thirsty. United States: Candlewick Press, 1997.

Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Shattered Mirror. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.

Hauptman, Pete. Sweetblood. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.

Marrona, Amanda. Uninvited. New York: Simon Pulse, 2007.

Rees, Douglas.Vampire High. New York: Delacorte Press, 2003.

Smith, L. J. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. New York:  Harcourt Press, 1991.

Of these titles, Smith's The Vampire Diaries, Atwater-Rhodes, and Rees have continuing books or have created a series around the books. The Vampire Diaries wins hands down for being the most popular series and most promoted within streams of social media. This is amplified and aided by the revamp (ouch) of the series due to fan demand, in which L. J. created another trilogy of books called "The Return". From this stemmed the TV show, "The Vampire Diaries" which is currently in its second season. By far these aren't the worst titles you can find amongst vampire young adult literature today and they all make valid points about the mythology that are both varied and unique. Throw in  a few psychological aspects such as vampirism as an allegory for adolescence and puberty, and you have a way for teens to relate to the material. I hope that you add these to your reading lists or recommend more vampire literature novels that teens (or myself) might like. I leave you, just a week or so before Halloween, with the final installment of the paper, Uninvited, which tells the story of Jordan and her recently dead boyfriend, Michael Green, who begins to exude stalker-like tendencies from beyond the grave.

                          Marrone, Amanda. Uninvited. New York:  Simon Pulse, 2007.

Jordan’s boyfriend Michael Green is the greatest thing to ever happen to her. The most popular new boy in school not only relieves her social anxiety, but also makes her feel that she matters and is loved. Unfortunately, the prospect of facing the entire student body with Michael on her arm is too much pressure for Jordan to handle, and she breaks up with him. Shortly thereafter, Michael Green is found dead and is rumored to have committed suicide. As Jordan copes with this loss through alcohol and drugs, Michael begins appearing at her bedroom window every night begging to be let in so they can be reunited. As his visits become more frequent and intense Jordan begins to suspect that her ex-boyfriend is not dead, but undead.

Uninvited is the best example of the renegotiation of power developmental task. Michael’s visits demonstrate immense power over Jordan by confining her to her bedroom. Readers should recognize the signs of stalking and abuse through Michael’s behavior: keeping Jordan constantly afraid to see her friends, meet new people, or venture out after sunset. At first, instead of confronting Michael, Jordan abuses drugs and alcohol as a means of denial and escape. However, Marrone highlights Jordan’s small victories like keeping Michael outside her window and emphasizes her transformation from victim to heroine when Michael threatens her best friend, Lisa. Ultimately, Jordan is a flawed yet appealing protagonist since she overcomes Michael’s controlling behavior, becomes sober, creates healthy relationships, and moves on.

In Uninvited, vampirism is a metaphor for suicide as well as avoiding conflicts. Both Jordan and her friend Lisa consider using vampirism to escape their problems: Jordan’s lack of self-esteem and parental guidance via absent parents and Lisa’s diagnosis of lupus. Because of the various references to unsafe sex, drug and alcohol abuse, attempted suicide, and other serious issues this book is appropriate for high school readers.



Vampires in High School Part V: Vampires are Closet Diabetics

Since I do want to try and wrap up this review of YA vampire literature in time for Halloween I'll go ahead and shuffle on in a zombie like fashion onto the fifth book of my paper, Pete Hauptman's Sweetblood. Fang you for your patience.

Hauptman, Pete. Sweetblood. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.

16-year-old Lucinda Szabo has several identities: she is neither Goth, nor punk, but something. To her parents and teachers she is Lucy, to her friend Matt she is Skeeter, and to the online Transylvania chat room she frequently roams looking for “real” vampires she is known as Sweetblood. The catalyst of Lucy’s search for “a real vampire” is a paper she writes for class explaining her theory that vampires are actually diabetics suffering from a dangerous lack of insulin. As her search progresses, Lucy becomes less focused on school and her diabetes and more focused on exploring the vampire culture in her neighborhood which is filled with geographical references to Dracula: Seward High, Harker College, and Carfax Apartments.

Sweetblood is appropriate for middle and high school readers as there is very little sexuality but some instances of underage drinking. The presence of vampires here is more metaphorical and theoretical than fantastical. Outside the Transylvania chat room Lucy meets Wayne, who enjoys the guise of a vampire but does not believe they exist. Several of Lucy’s friends also participate in the goth culture but the book never reveals anyone to be a vampire.

Teens will relate to Lucy’s character who is not only trying to establish an identity for herself. Her screen name is significant because it defines her fascination with vampires and her diabetes, both important aspects of her identity. Lucy is a relatable character because she makes very immature decisions throughout the book that endanger her health and have serious consequences. In addition, Lucy’s rebellious attitude towards concerned adult figures such as her teachers, parents, and psychologist is readily identifiable to young adults. Hauptman’s metaphor for learning and growing during adolescence is portrayed through a monarch butterfly chrysalis which is given to Lucy her love interest, Dylan. Sweetblood is very character driven and relies on the interactions between the characters to show that Lucy is not alone as she believes she is.

Annotation Thursday --or-- It's October!

In retrospect of a recent assignment in my Children's Literature class where we're supposed to annotate a collection of fairy tales, I've decided to dress up as a Hans Christian Andersen character for Halloween. Plotting and previewing will come soon enough. Here's hoping I can do it justice.

But it's time for another Annotation where I review Anotinette Portis' follow-up to Not a Box, Not a Stick.

Portis, Anotinette. Not a Stick. Illus by author. United States: HarpersCollins, 2008. Print.

• Portis’ follow-up to her 2006 publication, Not a Box, uses similar illustrative and story-telling techniques. The cover art displays a faux wooden background, indicating the stick’s origin and possibly hinting at a tree’s role in the bookmaking process. The story’s protagonist, an imaginative pig, has a repetitive dialogue with an invisible speaker who continually asks him to be careful playing with his stick. When the invisible speaker interjects the italicized text is positioned at the top of the page, while the pig’s straight-lined words are positioned on the lower half of the page. This shows the reader that two different people are speaking. The pages switch from white text on a dull, brown background to a soothing blue and bright yellow background every time the speaker and the pig speak, respectively. The brown background reveals the speaker’s serious tone and his unimaginative perspective. However, when the pig is speaking the background is a bright yellow with light colored lines to denote his optimistic and dream-like imaginings as he plays with his stick. The pig is drawn with heavy, bold lines while each object the stick becomes is outlined in heavy, blue lines; but the reader can always see the stick housed within the new object.

• Portis portrays the pig and his stick (morphing into a whip, marching baton, fishing pole, paintbrush, barbell, spear, sword, and leash) with realism and an imaginative, surrealistic twist. For example, the stick is both used as a fishing pole and as a leash to lead a conquered dragon by the neck. The pig’s character is meant to relate to the reader and represent a child’s ability to imagine and have several different perspectives on an object. Portis transforms a simple stick into a multifunctional tool and inspires the reader to create their own “not a stick”.