Hearts & Other Body Parts

Gr 8 Up—Esmeralda "Esme" Silver has a pretty good life. She has two great younger sisters named Katy and Veronica, is on track to attend Stanford when she graduates, and is a practicing witch. Esme becomes fascinated when a monstrous boy named Norman moves to town. She is challenged by his intellect and wit, and the two become fast friends. That is, until Zach Kallas moves to town. He catches the eye of both Katy and Veronica, and Esme falls prey to his charms as well. The only problem? Zach is a vampire with a habit of killing girls who develop feelings for him. Norm struggles to bring Esme to her senses, but will he be too late? This debut novel attempts to modernize and update characters such as Frankenstein and Dracula by changing their names, turning them into teenagers, and placing them in a high school setting. Unfortunately, the dialogue is confusing, with many attempts at humor that fall short. Even more confounding is the inclusion of Esme's "demon cat," Kasha, her "familiar" who speaks English aloud and has served the Silver family for generations. As the story progresses, Kasha's speech and intent are never truly made clear. The cat is obviously an attempt at comic relief that just doesn't land on its feet.