Manga: "Chibi Vampire"

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Kagesaki, Yuna. Chibi Vampire. Los Angeles: TOKYOPOP, 2003.

Karen is from an ancient line of vampires and is actually a vampire in reverse. As if gushing with extra blood every month isn't enough, a new boy arrives at school and the effect he has on her makes things even more complicated.

Who is Chibi Vampire and why is she feeling so drained? This manga, first in a series, will introduce you to the Maaka family whose middle child is a little vampire with some big problems.

Karin Maaka comes from a family of vampires including a "sexy creature of the night" older brother Ren and her bat controlling little sister Anju. Karin was not born a normal vampire like the rest of her family- she doesn't suck the blood of her victims, she deposits her blood into them. Each month she fills up like a tick and worries she might have one of her niagra nosebleeds at school if she doesn't get rid of some blood fast. Life gets even more complicated when a new boy arrives at her high school and she finds herself inexplicably blood bloated every time he comes near her.

You will be drawn into this pop-gothic world of vampires dealing with the comedy and horrors of adolescent development. The manga artwork is a perfect backdrop for this dark comedy of errors. It could get very interesting for you finding out: who is Chibi Vampire and why is she feeling so drained?

Horror: "Vampire Kisses"

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Schreiber, Ellen. Vampire Kisses. NY: Harper Collins, 2003.

Raven Madison dreams of vampire love. Could Alexander Sterling be the one she's been dreaming of?

Raven resides in Dullsville, a modern day town without pity. Rumors fly, like bats in a belfry, circling the new family living in the mysterious mansion on the hill. Although Raven is excited about the prospect of having her first vampire kiss, she also worries about what a town without pity can do...

Raven is the number-one outcast in her highly conformist high school, she finds solace engaging in her number one, two, and three passions- watching vampire movies, dreaming about vampires, and plotting the fall of her nemeses Trevor. Her fantasies of vampire love seem about to come true when she finally meets Alexander Sterling. The boy on the hill.

"I had waited for a moment like this all my life. To see, to meet, to befriend someone who was very different from everyone else, and just like me. Suddenly the reality of the situation hit me. I had been caught."

It's the height of the high school social season and the Snow Ball is approaching. Will Raven be caught in the tangled web of her own deceit or will she be the willing victim of Vampire Kisses?

YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.