I liked this book so much. This is my stepdad's account and I'm a teen. I thought her look on vampires being diabetics was really different and interesting. As the story went on I got more interested and couldn't put it down. Awesome book.
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com
Lucy Szabo is diabetic, and that's led her to think up some interesting theories about vampires. Lucy believes that vampire legends were inspired by dying diabetics--the uncontrollable thirst, the deathlike appearance.
When Lucy gets involved with an interesting crowd--including a "real" vampire, a cute boy from school, and a bunch of burnout Goths--she starts to lose control of her life. She's sneaking out at night, her grades are plummeting rapidly, and she passes out at school because of an insulin reaction. Lucy's life is falling apart, and only she can pull the pieces back together again.
SWEETBLOOD is definitely an interesting novel, and very original. It's interesting in terms of Lucy's theories and in terms of how vampire legends started, but also just as a personal story, as the story of Lucy's life. There are good, intriguing characters throughout the novel, it's quite well-written, and very much worth reading.
Both my 15 yr old daughter and I read this and LOVED it. Lucy's take on vampires was really an eye-opener. Also, my daughter is a sort of goth not really accepted teen ager. This book really spoke to her.
I would recommend it to all teen age girls.