What If Harry Potter Was a Vampire?

For years, Eighth Grade Bites: The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod has been sitting on my bookshelf at school. With five books now in the series, I finally was able to sit down and read it.

Basically, the story is this: What if Harry Potter was a vampire? Awesome, right?

Vlad is a typical eighth-grade boy who is skinny and shy. Bullies torment him, and because this is a vampire book, there’s a girl he’s got a crush on. Vlad's parents died in a house fire and he’s been living with his aunt Nelly ever since. All in all, he seems like a pretty normal kid, except that he has to wear a ton of sunscreen and drink blood constantly.

What’s most fresh and interesting about this story is how Vlad acts toward his vampire side. He’s not mopey and moody. He doesn’t lament, “Why is this happening to me?” No, he’s been a vampire his whole life and now he’s come to deal with it. He basically treats it like a food allergy. It’s like he’s allergic to peanuts, but instead it’s light and he needs blood to survive.

He has a friend, Harry, who knows Vlad’s secret. Harry is completely accepting of it, and even thinks it’s pretty cool.

When Vlad’s teacher vanishes and a slew of murders occur in town, it seems like there’s another vampire on the loose. His teacher is replaced by a monster-obsessed substitute who seems equally obsessed with Vlad. Now Vlad is starting to question everything, including his parents' death.  

Overall, this is an enjoyable read. It’s fun (the book is loaded with little vampire and Gothic references), but the plot has almost every cliche possible.

That being said, I can see why there are so many follow-ups and why there’s a huge fan following of this book series.

This book is on the list for the summer reading club at Howard County Library. Each age group has its own book list, and you can either read your own selection of books or the books off the list; what’s most important is that you read.

Remember: Middle school readers, your book club is all about earning book bucks; you get five book bucks for every hour you read. This is a GREAT way to earn some book bucks.

Erinn lives in Elkridge and is the mom of a 3-year-old. She teaches middle school reading and English in the Howard County public school system.