Capstone Press, 2011
ISBN: 9781429654524
Available: New hardcover
“Are vampires charming heartthrobs or evil undead”? That’s the question Jen Jones poses to her readers in The Girl’s Guide to Vampires. It’s pretty clear what her take is going to be, and it’s pretty clear who her target audience is, with photos from Twilight and The Vampire Diaries splashed across the pages. There is some factual information (including a few images) but it’s brief, and the constant comparisons to the vampires in Twilight distract from that. It’s pretty obvious that, to this author, vampires are definite boyfriend material. There’s even a Cosmo-style quiz to help bedazzled girls identify whether their crush is a vampire.
Unfortunately, Jones glosses over the monster within even the most “charming heartthrobs”. Jones referred to Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as “mischievous” and Angel as a “good-hearted romantic”. Perhaps she missed Season Two, where they were both sociopathic monsters. Even the vampires in Twilight are hardly harmless. Jones does acknowledge that they can be “downright devilish”, but her tone downplays that, and in a nonfiction book about vampires, it would be nice to see their dark side taken a little more seriously.
The age group the book is intended for seems up in the air. Jones chooses Adele Griffin’s Vampire Island, Sienna Mercer’s series My Sister the Vampire, and Bunnicula as top choices for reading material. These books are aimed at upper elementary school kids. In the next breath she’s recommending the Twilight movies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Vampire Diaries, targeted at teens and adults. My local library apparently has this problem too. I found this book shelved in the children’s nonfiction, but it’s now been moved to the middle school books. Capstone indicates that it’s written at a grade 3 reading level, with a suggested interest level of grades 3-9. It’s clearly meant to catch reluctant readers, but chances are, that with those designations from the publisher it will be purchased for elementary collections, and third grade is awfully young for Twilight.
The Girl’s Guide to Vampires, with its gorgeous artwork and design, color photographs, and conversational style, will completely succeed at hooking reluctant readers, especially Twilight groupies. As a nonfiction introduction to vampires, though, it is a disappointment.
Contains: n/a
Reviewed by: Kirsten Kowalewski