Due to our recent chat about So Yesterday, I had to bump Peeps
Peeps is an EXCELLENT action/adventure/sci-fi/romance/vampire novel. EXCELLENT. It's original and smart and funny and creepy with an occasionally break-neck pace -- I kept realizing I was skimming, desperate to know what would happen next (I don't deal well with suspense), and I had to force myself to back up and slow down.
Nineteen-year-old Cal is a member of the Night Watch. For the last year, he has been tracking down and capturing all of the women that he unknowingly infected with a parasite. Parasite positives (or peeps) have an aversion to sunlight. They are super-strong and have excellent reflexes. They bond with rats. They crave blood.
"But wait!" you say. "How could Cal infect those women AND be a member of Night Watch? Shouldn't he be all bloodthirsty and violent?"
Simmer down, young pups. It turns out that Cal is only a carrier -- he has the parasite, yes, but he still has self-control. He has to fight off incredibly strong urges -- the parasite is sexually transmitted, and it WANTS to be spread -- but for the most part, he has all of the perks of vampirism without the lame running-from-people-with-torches-and-pitchforks part. Except, of course, that he can't kiss anyone for the rest of his (very long) life. Another major difference from traditional vampire stories -- peeps aren't dead:
Optimum virulence is why most deaths from parasites are long and lingering--in the case of a carrier like me, the time it takes to die happens to be longer than a normal human life span. That's the way the older peep hunters talk about it: not so much immortality as a centuries-long downward spiral. Maybe that's why they use the word undead.
The book has a great format. All of the odd-numbered chapters are story related, and all of the even-numbered ones give the run-down on a different parasite. (Happily, there is a bibliography. I'll be tracking down Parasite Rex very soon.)
YES! This was SO one of my favorites last year. Way to go with the sequel news, I can't belive that I missed that. V. Excited. The parasite chapters were wonderful - I almost didn't mind that they took me away from the action.
Posted by: Jac | 12 May 2006 at 07:03 PM
One of my regular patrons wandered in yesterday -- I just pointed at the book, asked her if she'd read it, she said no, I told her to, so she checked it out. She'll like it.
(I love it when people obey me.)
Posted by: Leila | 13 May 2006 at 08:49 AM
Peeps is one of those books that takes little to no effort to booktalk and then the kid comes back and says, "yeah, that was awesome and I gave it to my little brother and my best friend and they liked it too." That's so awesome.
Posted by: jac | 13 May 2006 at 04:31 PM
I just bought this book last night online. I am so glad to find your review. Thank you.
Posted by: Woosang | 15 May 2006 at 07:59 PM
Nowadays, a unique spin on the classic vampire story is hard to come by. Thankfully, Scott Westerfeld delivers with Peeps, which drips with snarky dialogue, well-researched diseases, and fresh twists.
In a more candid voice, now, let me say Westerfeld ROCKS, and I love, love, love the use of cats in this story.
Posted by: Little Willow | 20 May 2006 at 05:16 PM