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Young adult book reviews for ages 12 and up - middle school and high school students





*The Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even* by Julie Kenner - young adult book review
 
The Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even
by Julie Kenner
Ages 12+ 256 pages Berkley April 2007 Paperback    

Julie Kenner kicks off a new series for teens with The Good Ghoul's Guide to Getting Even. As the title suggests, this is another offering in the ever-growing paranormal trend, but Kenner’s twist on the story is one that hasn’t been done before.

Beth Frasier is a high school junior who has her life figured out. She’s already been accepted to college via early admission. She’s got the valedictorian gig in the bag. She also just accepted a date from the hottest football player in the school. Could life get any better?

What Beth doesn’t know is that going on that date is the last thing she’ll do. Next thing she knows, she’s waking up as a vampire. The football player isn’t what he seems - he’s actually a centuries-old vampire, and now he’s Beth’s master! He’s also got a very special reason for turning Beth: he wants Beth to figure out a way for vampires to walk out in the sunlight. What’s a ghoul to do?

What makes Good Ghoul's Guide different from all of the other paranormal YA books out there is that Beth is motivated by revenge. While this premise has the potential to make the main character bitter and whiny, Kenner deftly creates a character for the reader to both root for and empathize with. Yes, Beth is focused on getting revenge on the people who turned her into a vampire. But she’s dealing with the fact that she was turned into a vampire against her will. I find this reaction more realistic than having her take her turning in stride as if becoming a vampire were a daily occurrence. Unfortunately, Beth doesn’t quite get the revenge she wants by the end of the book – though not for a lack of trying. Kenner ends on a cliffhanger; luckily the next book in the series, Good Ghouls Do, is waiting in the wings.

Young adult book reviews for ages 12 and up - middle school and high school students

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  Jilian Vallade/2007 for curled up with a good kid's book  






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