I graduated high school in 2012, so I have a soft spot for vampire novels. This one was a fun and quick read for middle graders. The dialogue and action keeps the story moving pretty quickly and I really appreciated that most of the characters are Black -- definitely a vampire story switch-up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to the free advanced digital copy of this book.

A mysterious group called the Vanquishers, tasked with warding off the vampires, has been decommissioned for some time, but have they really?? Parents are still following the rules for keeping vampires away, and then one of the of the friends disappears from the roller rink. This is the perfect book for middle graders obsessed with the vampires among us. Definitely a hit!

Certainly a unique approach to a vampire story. Almost a superhero story (though it doesn't seem like the Vanquishers have any special abilities). And I love the exploration of a world that thinks evil has been eradicated. THere is no real sense of urgency, so pacing is a bit off.

Such a great MG paranormal debut from Kalynn Bayron. I loved the diversity of characters, the adventure aspects and the overall story beginning to end.

This novel did a great job of creating a sense of unease throughout the whole book. In this world, vampires aren't just legends and creatures of myths, but real monsters that created chaos for many years until the Vanquishers wiped them out. Or did they? Boog, Jules, and Cedric realize that their parents are acting weirder than usual, and when their friend disappears they know they have to take action. I loved how easily this felt like it could be happening today, and I loved how the characters just meshed well with each other. They have this set up for a sequel and I hope they do a great job with a conclusion. So much spine chilling fun.

Wow did l love this book! The Vanquishers is a deeply innovative middle grade take on vampires, filled with mystery, complex family dynamics and the sweetest friendships ever. It follows Boog, a girl who lives in what is believed to be a post-vampire world. When a friend goes missing, everything she is forced to question everything she believes.

Much of this book is Boog and her two besties working together to find their friend, but also to find out what their overprotective parents are hiding from them. Their family dynamics and the mystery of their missing friend work perfectly together, and had me wondering how everything was tied together. This all leads to a fresh take on vampire stories that also relies on classic vampire lore, creating something totally new and classic at the same time. What Bayron has built here is so smart, and I can’t wait to share it with young readers.

Bayron adds so much fun to this. There’s great humor throughout. I laughed a lot. I also loved reading about Boog’s family and her best friends’ families hanging out. There’s tons of great friendship stuff in this. And, there’s so much casual queerness. There’s an a character that uses they/them pronouns, and another with two dads. I feel like there will be more as the series goes on and excited to see it. Overall, I loved this and think it’s a new middle grade staple. I can’t wait to read all the Kalynn Bayron books on my TBR.

Being in middle school is hard, but can you imagine being in middle in a time where vampires were a daily threat?
*****
Malika “Boog” Wilson and her best friends have grown up idolizing The Vanquishers, a group of heroic vampire hunters who wiped out the last horde of the undead decades ago. Nowadays, most people don't take even the most basic vampire precautions--the days of garlic wreaths and early curfews long gone--but Boog's parents still follow the old rules, much to her embarrassment.

When a friend goes missing, Boog isn't sure what to think. Could it be the school counselor, Mr. Rupert, who definitely seems to be hiding something? Or could it be something more dangerous? Boog is determined to save her friend, but is she ready to admit vampires might not be vanquished after all?
*****
The first in what I hope will be a strong new series, The Vanquishers by Kalyan Bayron really exceeded all expectations for me.

With elements of humor, horror, and the overall difficulty of being a teenager, The Vanquishers is able to meld a great story with positive social progress as well. The characters are wonderfully diverse, Jules goes by they/them, and Cedric lives with his two dads. The overall warmth between the friends just adds that extra element to make this an all around great introduction to this world.

And lastly, can I just say how much I enjoy the fact that there is a character named Mr. Rupert? Ahh, I can barely express how much joy that gave my inner 90’s teen.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children’s Books for the opportunity to read and review this title!

A thrilling middle grade read akin to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stranger Things, for fans of vampires and groups of kids saving the world.

I was sold the moment I read the summary of The Vanquishers, then got even more excited when I realized it was by Kalynn Bayron, who wrote one of my favorite YA books, This Poison Heart. I think my favorite part about this book is that the adult characters absolutely shine in this novel. In a world where far too many middle grade and YA books go the route of killing off adults willy-nilly, Bayron excels at writing adults and parents who work well in stories and provide a fantastic pillar for the younger characters to jump off of. They're whole individuals and the adult's motives are clear for most of them being side characters.

I had a lot of trouble with this book, unfortunately. First, the character introductions seemed a little weak and I had trouble differentiating between the children until I got to the meat of the novel. I'm unsure if that was because there were too many characters, or if the personalities were too similar.

I also really struggled with the entire plotline with Aaron, I feel like it would have been a larger impact had it been one of Boog's actual friends who went missing instead of the boy she just met and just became a part of the group. So much of the first section of this book is devoted to building up to the reveal that vampires are back - when the summary makes it pretty clear that they are from the get-go. If Aaron had been an established part of the group or someone else had been taken, I feel like the emotional impact would have been greater. As it stands, this book feels like it could have been a third of its length had the winding narrative not been added to attempt a quick emotional connection before the action.

Overall, as much as I wanted to enjoy this book, I didn't. I think the plot would have been far better suited for a young adult novel than for middle grade, and I struggled with the character's actions and the slow build-up to what the reader already knew from the summary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Children's Books for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

Young readers craving a spooky vampire story will absolutely adore this book. I loved seeing Black kids be the hero and save the day. This book sets up what I hope will be a series as readers will certainly crave more when they finish.

There are no Vampires. The Vanquishers got rid of all of them years ago. So why are Boog, Cedrick and Jules parents so weirdly overprotective? There are no vampires, until there are. Most terrifying line in the whole book,, " Remember, don't invite them in." I'll be recommending to middle grade and YA readers. This was a lot of fun and I look forward to book 2.

I'm currently on a vampire kick so I was excited to pick up The Vanquishers. Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing, as there were only a few vamps in the story. However, I absolutely adore Kalynn Bayron's writing and the relationships she built, not only between the Squad but their parents and neighbors as well, made this book such a fun read!

(I'm a little annoyed with myself for not realizing earlier this isn't a standalone. Now I have to wait FOREVER to see if my guess is correct)

I've read a lot of Bayron's other books and liked them, so I was curious how they would handle a middle grade book. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this book was. The plot was interesting and the main group of characters were well-written, if not well distinguished from one another (a lot of them have too many similarities to another character, which made it hard to read at times). I also liked the take on vampires, it was interesting, and while it wasn't anything really new, the author did a good job of taking inspiration and putting a spin on the typical vampire tale. We also get a few references to other well-known vampire series (though interestingly not Buffy that I remember, despite that having the biggest influence, I felt). The plot itself was very good, though I felt that it dragged in places and took too long to get to the reveal, which meant things wrapped up quickly at the end, with an obvious hook for a sequel. I had some issues with the tone, especially in dialogue and narration, but that's more of a personal preference. I'm looking forward to the next book to find out what happens!