Team Human

Posted @ Scribing Shadows

Before I even started Team Human I knew it was going to make me laugh, because it was going to make fun of the stereotypical teen vampire story lines. Story lines that I enjoy sure but also make fun of, you know what I am talking about, girl meets new hot guy in school who happens to be a vampire, knows him for two seconds and they fall madly-can't-live-without-each other love. And Team Human did make me laugh but what I didn't expect it to also do was make me cry. I also didn't expect the amount sleuthing the main character Mel would be partaking in and although I don't gravitate to much mystery books I really enjoyed the mystery in this one.

It's the beginning of September and Mel and her best friend Cathy are starting their senior year, strange thing though so is a 100+ vampire named Francis, who may look seventeen but sure doesn't act like any seventeen year old in the 21st century. Cathy who has been obsessed with everything vampire since Mel has known her is instantly enamoured...Mel is not. Mel doesn't trust Francis, what kind of vampire wants to go to high school? Not to mention it seems the school's principal doesn't want him around either and Mel has made it her job to find out if it's because the principal's husband ran off with a vampire and she's prejudice to all of their kind or that something a lot more sinister is going on.

Team Human wasn't just a story about poking holes at a cliché. It was a story about looking past one's own prejudices and narrow minded beliefs and about accepting the decision and choices of those you love even if it goes completely against what you want. Team Human was about friendships and what it truly means to be a good friend, not just doing what you think is best for others but allowing others to do what they think is best for them even if you completely disagree.

This book was filled with so much character growth and development, not just for our main heroine but for supporting characters as well. Mel goes from being naïve and blinded by her own perspective to someone willing to seeing different points of views before stubbornly deciding that she knows everything. And Kit, a human raised by vampires finally steps out of the world of the undead and interacts with people with a pulse. It also showed the development of relationships between several different characters and not just in a romantic sense. Although, the drama and the mystery was what propelled the story along I enjoyed the character-side of things the most.

If I didn't know any better I never would have guessed that this book was written by two authors, the storytelling is coherent and consistent from beginning to end and I would never be able to point out which author might have wrote what. The style was smart and witty and this story had me giggling throughout most of it and shedding tears later on while still unexpectedly leaving me with a good, warm fuzzy feeling as I read the last line. If you've been on the fence about reading this book then just give in and get it, you won't regret it.

Much more than a Twilight spoof (although, that's there) this is a heckuva read. Mel's a spunky high schooler with a lot on the ball, her friends see her as a fixer, the one who can help them deal with whatever crisis they're dealing with. It's a role she relishes, it's her way of identifying herself. Particularly this time, when she's trying to stop one friend from falling for a vampire, while another is coping with her dad abandoning the family for a vampire lover. Vampires are pretty low on Mel's list.

Mel's a flawed hero, in an endearing way. She's bullheaded, fierce, dives into things without looking, she makes mistakes, but picks herself up and charges back into the fray with a minimum of self-doubt.

The rest of the cast are almost as well-rounded, were I in high school, I'd love to hang out with them (they'd probably be a bit too wild for me, honestly).

A fun, emotionally-satisfying novel for teens and adults who don't mind reading below their grade level.

I blogged about this here but basically let me say that it was fun and clever and excellent world-building and I don't even really like vampires but I really liked this book. (But also I think someone who would like vampires would like it.)