Review: Team Human

Team Human
by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
YA Fantasy
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

Readers who love vampire romances will be thrilled to devour Team Human by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan. Team Human celebrates and parodies the Twilight books, as well as other classics in the paranormal romance genre.

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.

Review:

This was a fun book to read - light on emotional investment when it comes to the characters, but full of quirkiness and a great sense of humor.  Having read Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, I found that this book didn't have quite the number of jokes and one liners that I anticipated so instead I felt this story was amusing instead of laugh-out-loud funny.  The story did have some legitimate and interesting points of view in Mel and Cathy in their attitudes towards vampires.  It's interesting to see Mel grow from her almost irrational dislike of vampires to understanding, and because this is a bit of a parody of vampire stories, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Cathy is ultimately not belittled for her point of view as a character.  I don't want to reveal too much though about the choices the characters make in the story.

There is a nice romance between Mel and another character too which gave more dimension to the vampire vs. human aspect.  The romance is predictable, but sweet, and it was entertaining to see the little bumps in their romance along the way.  The story also features a side mystery with one of Mel's other friends, and that also became a bit predictable towards the end, but it contributed much to keeping the plot more interesting.

This wasn't a book I devoured so much as quietly enjoyed.  The message in the end is a great one for tolerance and choice however, and it was delightful to go on this journey with the characters.