Team Human

Team Human 
by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Mel is horrified when Francis Duvarney, arrogant, gorgeous, and undead, starts at her high school. Mel’s best friend, Cathy, immediately falls for the vampire. Cathy is determined to be with him forever, even if having him turn her could inadvertently make her a zombie.

And Mel is equally determined to prove to her BFF that Francis is no good, braving the city’s vampire district and kissing a cute boy raised by vampires as she searches evidence in this touching and comic novel. (Description from Goodreads.com) 

While this is not going to be one of my top books for 2014, it was generally an enjoyable read.  There were a lot of funny moments and it did make you think about prejudice in a nice easy way.  It is tongue-in-cheek about the whole human/vampire love trope and I thought a lot of the side characters were great.  

My biggest (and pretty much only) complaint was that I often found the main character, Mel, to be annoying. I honestly think that the authors wrote her to be somewhat unlikable...and they did a good job of it. Her sheer pigheadedness and sometimes whiny personality just grated under my skin. I think listening to the book also enhanced this rather than making her easier to swallow.  

Not a book I'd recommend to everyone, but there are readers I know who would enjoy it at least as much as I did, if not more. 

Full disclosure:  Audio book received to review for AudioFile

Monster High

Monster High
by Lisi Harrison

The monster community has kept a low profile at the local high school, but when two new girls enroll, the town will never be the same. Created just fifteen days ago, Frankie Stein is psyched to trade her father's formaldehyde-smelling basement lab for parties and prom.

But with a student body totally freaked out by rumors of monsters stalking the halls, Frankie learns that high school can be rough for a chic freak like her. She thinks she finds a friend in fellow new student Melody Carver-but can a "normie" be trusted with her big secret?
(description taken from Amazon.com)

This was an interesting start to a new series. I love the concept of the original movie "monsters" having been real people that reproduced and now their descendants are attending high school and trying to conceal their secret identities! Frankie is a hilarious newly created teen that exemplifies all the worst behaviors a spoiled fifteen year old girl can have...yet, couples it with a courage and sense of self-worth that is undeniable and makes her a character well worth emulating.

Melody, the "normi," is another fantastic character. Not perfect, by any means, yet very honest about relationships and more open to others than a lot of people out there. The other "monsters" that are introduced are all different and all tons of fun. I can't wait to see what they get up to later in the series.

My only major complaint - the book ends on such a cliffhanger! It was honestly all just a set-up for the series...could almost be considered a prequel to whatever the next book is...that should be book one really.

It was fun to read, though. I actually listened to it on audio and got to hear snippets of the "Monster High" theme song and there were additional sound effects that gave a cinematic feel. More fun. I highly recommend the audio version of this one!

Full disclosure: Received audio version to review for SLJ.