UNCLE VAMPIRE

Uncle Vampire, (published by Random House) tells the story of identical twin sisters, sixteen-year-old Carolyn and Honey. Despite their duplicated blond beauty and contagious smiles, the two girls are as different as night and day. One is vivacious and loving; the other questionably sullen and withdrawn. Yet the girls share one common secret terror: their uncle is a vampire. By day, Toddy hides his fangs and plays the perfect uncle. But when darkness falls, he creeps into their room, wraps his claws around their throats, and drinks their blood. Carolyn is desperate to tell someone, while Honey wants to pretend nothing is wrong. It isn't as if Uncle Toddy is killing them, she says, and nobody would believe her anyway; they would think she was crazy, just like Mama. So quiet Carolyn stays. After all, the twins only have each other. Divided, they don't stand a chance.
When it becomes horrifyingly clear that Uncle Toddy's "thirst for blood" is never to be quenched, Carolyn must at last tell the truth that they've hidden for so long, and finally bring delayed justice to their "vampire" by finally exposing him to light.
The story is at times confusing and difficult to follow because of the author's intended "jumpy" suspense style, but it works very well for the angle of the book, as does the "vampire" metaphor. Uncle Vampire is an intriguing, tightly woven novel, with a shocking ending sure to leave the reader's mouth as dry as cotton.

Anita Lal
Ages 14 and up
*Warning- coarse language, may offend some readers