Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire by Heather Swain – Review

Summary:

A hilarious take on the paranormal trend–Twilight meets The Breakfast Club!

When former good girl turned rebel Josie Griffin gets busted for what was in her mind perfectly acceptable revenge on her cheating dog of a boyfriend, she lands herself in anger management therapy. It could be worse: it could be juvvie, or she could be a zombie cheerleader like the rest of her former friends. But there’s something strange about therapy–these are not normal kids. There’s the wannabe ladies man with a weird accent, Johann; the blindingly gorgeous Helios; Avis with his wild dreads; and Tarren, the sprite of a girl with a wicked temper. And all of them keep talking about “powers.” Josie knows that has to be impossible, but strange things start happening, and nothing weird ever happens in Indiana. After all, there’re no such things as vampires, werewolves, Greek gods, or fairies . . . right?

Review: 3.5 Stars

This is a book that I discovered at the Chili Library used book sale earlier this month. I picked it up because it looked like a funny urban fantasy novel, but I had never heard of it, so I was a little skeptical. I am so glad that I went to that book sale because I don’t think I would have discovered this book otherwise and it was a quick and entertaining read. If you are looking for a funny paranormal book I would suggest giving Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire a shot.

Josie is an ex-cheerleader who seems to be going through a bit of a goth phase ever since she caught her boyfriend sleeping with her best friend. She winds up assigned anger management and community service for taking a baseball bat to her cheating boyfriend’s car. At anger management sh meets some strange kids who think they are paranormal beings and slowly comes to realize that they might not be so crazy after all. While doing community service she realizes that girls are disappearing from the local shelter for runaways, since she wants to be an investigative reporter she is determined to find the truth about what is happening to these girls.

I found this novel to be a quick fluff read, perfect for spring break reading or when you are looking for something light and fast paced. The plot is decent and the characters are alright. Nothing about this novel is really deep, but it is entertaining. The characters are kind of witty and the story moves really fast. I wasn’t hooked, but I wasn’t bored either. This novel is no great masterpiece, but it would be a great choice after reading something thick or intricate. I found the cheerleader turned rebel story line to be a bit weird and I felt like the romance was really superficial, but at the same time I really enjoyed reading this book.

This is the type of book I would recommend if you are in a slump or if you enjoy superficial young adult books. I thought this was a cute, quick book and I liked the pace and the writing. I am a bit intrigued and would like to see what else Heather Swain has written because there are many times that I have found myself looking for something like this to pull me out of a reading rut.