Started out strong, but I had a difficult time getting through the last half of the book. The content was simultaneously not dark enough, and way too angsty. For example, becoming a vampire does not seem like a big deal, because of how normalized it is in this universe, but the teen angst is SO strong. Darius character is well-written and it was overall, an enjoyable read.

In this story we follow a single POV of a fresh men high school boy whose name is Darius, he’s a goth kid who also happens to be part vampire. His mother is sick and is slowly dying as a vampire with v2. He gets bullied pretty consistently and you see quite a bit of that. In this world vampires are out to the world and the government has them drinking synthetic blood or taking pills call red to help crave their appetite. It’s a super intriguing premise that lead me to this book. I find it a fast read to get through and it really reminds me of when everyone was obsessed with Facebook with how much it’s referred to in the book. You see the mental state of a 15 year old, how he deals with change and grief with his mother. He struggles through a lot of different things during this book, though a lot of it I feel can be cut out. The last 20% of the book had me hooked at how it was going to wrap up though I would say the twist is worth it. Over all it was an intriguing story and makes you think about how things would be of vampires were around.

It takes a while to get into it, but I enjoyed the fun and unique twist the book had on vampires and teenagers. The characters were also a huge plus!

This book was requested when I was young and requested more books than I could possibly read. Sadly, I no longer have access to this book and my tastes have changed. Thus I will not be able to give feedback on this title.

"What kind of soda do vampires drink? Blood orange soda!" This is a groan-worthy dad joke rather than the basis of a novel, but here we are.

Darius is not an ordinary teenager. Because his mother is a vampire and his father was human, Darius gets to choose if he wants to live as a human or transition into a vampire. He plans to start the change for his sixteenth birthday, but several events push up the timeline: a bully at school and an already-transitioning vampire girl who wants to jump Darius's bones. If Darius becomes a vampire, he'll be strong enough to defend himself from the bully and also be able to resist the vamp girl's charms. The latter is important because, in this world, being bitten (or biting someone) is way more significant than the birds and the bees. The afore-mentioned blood orange soda comes in because this substance speeds up the transformation process, but Darius has to take it on the sly because it's also super illegal. That's right, there are laws involving vampires because this is a world where vamps are out in the open.

So. My expectations were way too high. When I initially saw this, I thought, "About time! A vampire YA book from a guy's perspective! We'll get the other side on all this silly love triangle, sparkly vampire stuff!" Nope. This is ultimately a fluffy YA book, which is a shame (from my perspective, though not for those seeking out a fluffy YA read). Monsters like vampires are often a way for us as a society to explore our fears, passions, and other hang-ups. At various points in time, vampirism has been a way for us to explore racism (the original Nosforatu contains haunting imagery), anxiety about an atomic apocalypse (I Am Legend-- the original book and not the movies), family (Interview with the Vampire), and discomfort with female sexuality (Twilight).

I was really hoping for more depth here-- for example, where vampires could be read as a metaphor for ___, and perhaps Darius's transition could be read as a gender transition. I don't think there's enough substance to support either of these readings though, even from a Roland Barthes/death of the author perspective. Not everything has to have a double meaning (sometimes a cigar is just a cigar), but some complexity would have really benefitted the book and made it relevant beyond its 2014 publication date.

Now that my hang-ups are out of the way, let me instead evaluate the book on its own merits.

A setting where vampires are out in the open but the world largely continues as it has been is not a new one, but portraying it from the perspective of a teenage boy deciding whether or not to become a vampire feels fresh. I really liked this. Unfortunately, I don't think we get enough of Darius really considering his transition. Instead, his actions are driven by short-term external factors. Why are bullies or short-term love interests powerful enough forces for Darius to make this irrevocable decision? The easy answer is that it's less of a decision and more just speeding things up-- Darius had already decided to do this for his sixteenth birthday. But why? I needed way more angsty mulling to justify a move this big.

I enjoy the new twists on the vampire mythos that each book brings, but the changes in BOS were puzzling rather than intriguing and ultimately fell flat for me. For example, a vampire's first bite is special-- if the biter or the biteee love the other, there's a permanent bond. This drives some aspects of the plot. I felt immediately grossed out-- this felt very reminiscent of conservative interpretations of the importance of young folks (especially girls) not losing their v-card because they'll be forever changed and can never go back. For reasons I didn't catch, Vampires are usually Goths, and Goths are often Vampires-- wearing black, guylinger, piercings, listening to appropriate music, etc. Somewhat similarly, most social types are capitalized and treated as fairly set-- Jocks, Geeks, etc. I appreciate the book having an aesthetic, but it never felt justified.

Finally, the ladies. I guess it's not surprising that, when male love interests are cartoonishly flat in most YA books written by and for women, it's not surprising that female love interests are cartoonishly flat in this YA book written by a man (presumably) for at least a partial male audience. Angel and Shelby get little development beyond a few descriptors, and what we know about them is focused on Darius-- we know Angel always wants to protect Darius and plays the drums and has PMS, and we know Shelby has the hots for him and is rich. That's about it.

For those looking for a quick, light read, this might be really enjoyable. I probably spent way too much time thinking and writing about this.

Such a cool idea! I'm a fan of the supernatural novels and I liked the different ways that the author played with vampiric conventions.

A well-written and enjoyable book, I am glad I requested this title and will be more than happy to pass the title along to my fellow library purchasers.