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Summary
Summary
Think vampires are romantic, sexy, and powerful? Think again. Vampires are dead. And unless they want to end up staked, they have to give up fanging people, admit their addiction, join a support group, and reform themselves.
Nina Harrison, fanged at fifteen and still living with her mother, hates the Reformed Vampire Support Group meetings every Tuesday night. Even if she does appreciate Dave, who was in a punk band when he was alive, nothing exciting ever happens. That is, until one of group members is mysteriously destroyed by a silver bullet. With Nina (determined to prove that vamps aren't useless or weak) and Dave (secretly in love with Nina) at the helm, the misfit vampires soon band together to track down the hunter, save a werewolf, and keep the world safe from the likes of themselves.
The perfect anecdote to slick vampire novels, this murder-mystery comedy of errors will thrill fans of Evil Genius.
Author Notes
Catherine Jinks was born November 17, 1963 in Brisbane, Queensland. She received a degree in medieval history from the University of Sydney in 1986. After college, she worked as a journalist and editor before becoming a full-time writer. She has written more than 30 books for both children and adults including Pagan's Vows, Eye to Eye, Piggy in the Middle, The Reformed Vampire Support Group, and The Abused Werewolf Rescue Group. She is also the author of the Pagan Chronicles and Allie's Ghost Hunters series. She has won numerous awards including the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award three times, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the Australian Ibby Award, and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Jinks's signature facility with plot and character development is intact as she turns to the topic of vampires-as fans can anticipate, hers are not the romantic superheroes of the Stephenie Meyers books. Hers are a ragtag bunch: anemic, whiny, unattractive, they feed on guinea pigs (because they're small, "their drained cadavers can be concealed without much effort," and they breed quickly), and they turn for support to an idealistic priest. Nina, the narrator, is in her 50s, but was "infected" at 15 and chafes at being treated like an adolescent; she writes a sensational vampire series with a seductive, powerful heroine totally unlike herself, giving Jinks opportunity for comic contrasts. Throwing in delicious details and aperAus, the author works her way from the murder of one of the vampires to suspense and adventure of the sinister yet daffy variety beloved by readers of Evil Genius. The plot twists, more ornate than in previous works, ramp up the giddiness-and, perhaps, camouflage the corpses, blood and other byproducts of the genre. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Middle School, High School) The ill-assorted bunch of vampires in this offbeat Australian novel couldn't be further from the iconic image of the dangerous, sexy night creature. Forever-fifteen-year-old Nina lives with her aging mother and spends her nights drinking guinea pig blood, battling nausea and fatigue, and attending a support group with equally weary vampires committed to not "fanging" humans. Shepherded by kindly Father Ramon, who does much of the shopping and driving for his impaired flock, the group includes wise if bossy doctor Sanford, scruffy nineteen-year-old (since 1973) Dave, and endlessly whiny Gladys, among others. To escape from her dreary existence and generate some income, Nina pseudonymously writes the chronicles of Zadia Bloodstone, the beautiful and powerful vampire-for-justice she longs to be. When a member of the group strays from its rules, getting himself staked and endangering them all, Nina channels her heroine and joins Dave (who is secretly mooning over her) and Father Ramon on a brave hunt for the vampire killer. Jinks draws her characters and their unique challenges in great detail; though the adventure takes a while to get into gear, there's plenty of blood and guts (both types) to go around. One part problem novel, one part comedy, and one part murder-mystery, this alternative vampire story is for outsiders of all kinds, underground or otherwise. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
It's hard to get too involved in a cast of barely likable whiners and pathetic hand-wringers, but somehow that isn't much of a problem in Jinks' droll vampire send-up. These bloodsuckers are anything but sexy and mysterious, as here vampirism is a cross between a defining addiction and communicable disease; those infected spend most of their time being seriously ill and attending AA-style meetings with fellow sufferers. Nina, permanently arrested at 15 years old, can't stand her fellow group members, but when one of them is found staked they all must work together to uncover the slayer before he can kill again. While readers might feel pushed rather than led through the plot, Jinks offers some wry vampire-centric twists on mystery conventions (having to repeatedly piece together what happened while literally dead to the world from sunup to sundown); and when the humor hits its mark, this can be laugh-out-loud funny. Most of the comedy, though, lies in the wide-angle skewering of support groups and fringe characters more suited to hemming and hawing than biting and sucking.--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2009 Booklist
Bookseller Publisher Review
Teenage vampires are all the rage thanks to Stephenie Meyer's phenomenally successful 'Twilight' series. Respected author Catherine Jinks jumps on the bandwagon with her latest book, centred on Nina, a 15-year-old vampire who cannot deal with the anticlimatic realities of her 'condition'. Nina is a member of a small rag-tag group of Sydney vampires who strive to retain their anonymity, even if it means turning their backs on traditional vampiric activities such as drinking the blood of humans and dressing in gothic attire. After the eldest of the group is exposed and then executed, Nina and her friends must find the vampire slayer without blowing their own cover before anyone else is murdered. Matters get worse when they rescue and befriend a werewolf with some very ruthless and persistent enemies. The Reformed Vampire Support Group has a cast of well-defined characters and never loses its sense of humour. The book has genuine suspense at times, but lacks the simmering tension that most readers associate with the genre, as these modern urban vampires are not particularly captivating. Like Nina, teenage readers may find these vampires unexciting and not entirely convincing. The book does not equal the high standard of Jinks' earlier and superior efforts. Gavin Jones is the literature librarian at Melbourne Girls Grammar
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Nina Harrison has been 15 years old since 1973. That's because she is a vampire. She and the members of the Reformed Vampire Support Group break the mold when compared to the accepted vampire lore that has been around since the time of Count Dracula. They are not beautiful, strong, powerful, rich, or in control. Instead they are sickly, struggling just to stay alive, living on the blood of the guinea pigs they keep, and making the best of their affliction. They have vowed not to drink human blood or be responsible for the creation of another vampire. Nina hates her boring, uneventful life, which changes drastically when Casimir is staked and the group, realizing that the killer knows who and where they are, all move in with Nina and her mother, a nonvampire. With only a silver bullet as a clue to track the vampire slayer, Nina, Dave, and Father Ramon, who sponsors the group, set out on a dangerous journey. Along the way they rescue a werewolf from an illegal fight ring, deal with a villainous father/son team, and discover that their immortal lives might have more to offer than they ever thought. Support Group is truly like no other vampire story. It is witty, cunning, and humorous, with numerous plot twists and turns. Jinks has conjured up an eccentric but believable cast of characters in a story full of action and adventure.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Narrator Nina, "fanged" 35 years ago at age 15, supports herself by writing sexy vampire novels, but in fact she and her fellow Australian vampires (all seven of them) suffer from chronic nausea and extreme light sensitivity (which results in frequent eye hemorrhages), and subsist on animal blood and supplements devised by the 19th-century doctor in the group. When the barely reformed vampire who infected Nina is killed, she, rocker-vamp Dave (the liveliest of the bunch) and their human priest set off to find the killer but instead find a captive werewolf, a nerdy vampire slayer andfor Nina and Davea chance at love. Nina's whininess may be off-putting but her growth rings true for a stunted adolescent, and Jinks's quirky sense of humor will appeal to fans of her Evil Genius series. Those tired of torrid bloodsucker stories or looking for a comic riff on the trend will feel refreshed by the vomitous, guinea-pigdrinking accidental heroics of Nina and her pals. (Fantasy. 12 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
We wouldn't give up until Casimir's killer had been identified. "As long as he's out there, we're in mortal danger," Sanford insisted, addressing us all in a solemn, self-important manner that--for once--didn't seem overblown or inappropriate. "We have to act as a team and work together for as long as it takes. Because if we don't, we might not get through this." It's funny; I hate so much about my life. I hate the cramps, and the nausea, and the boredom, and the listlessness. I hate surviving on guinea pigs, and not being able to get a decent haircut. But that night, when it came to choosing between life and death, I didn't hesitate. Not for one second. I didn't want to end up as a pile of ashes on a bedroom floor. Excerpted from The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
