Fangs for Nothing by Adrianne Ambrose. © 2011. Kindle eBook. Source: e-copy provided by the author for an honest review.

Three teenage friends travel the country “hunting” vampires only to find one in their own backyard in Cleveland. In finding the vampire, they are forced to confront their own teenage insecurities and learn more about themselves and the world around them.

I confess, I have very little patience for angst-ridden lip-biting teenagers, so I tend to approach Young Adult Fiction with a jaundiced eye. With that said I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The characters were well-drawn especially the main character Sherbie. Best of all they’re characters with heart, even the antagonists. The author doesn’t rely on a black and white, good vs. evil plot. Each character has his or her own motivations and they are made clear. They all have strengths and flaws which makes them very real and very human.

Also, the dialog is natural. Ms. Ambrose doesn’t feel forced to give the reader a ton of background information on the characters, and what she does give us isn’t given in the form of awkward dialog that would be unnatural for friends talking to each other. She even depicts IM chatting with just the right amount of information. The relationship with Sherbie and his two friends seems very real. They seem to fit together.

Best of all, she’s not afraid to make fun of her own characters. This is a comedy after all. But each of them makes mistakes through the course of the book and those mistakes often lead them into some alternately funny and serious situations. In the end this is a morality play about kids being too focused on appearance. Their troubles are caused by their own insecurities which are typical of teenagers and even many adults I know. Although this book is billed as a comedy, it uses the comic lens to show some truths about teenage life that in a more serious book would seem preachy. 4/5

Meredith

Meredith is a writer and fiber artist living in Central VA. She studied literature and folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before working as a corporate trainer and instructional designer for 10 years. She has written countless training manuals, but now devotes her energy to fiction and creative non-fiction. A voracious reader, her interests are history, genealogy, anthropology, and Scots Gaelic. When her hands are not holding a book or touching a keyboard they are likely knitting, spinning or felting. You can follow her adventures in fiction and fiber on her website. You can also find her on Twitter and Flickr.

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