Selected Book
Bloodlust (Vampire Beach)
- Mass Market Paperback
- Author: Alex Duval
- Publisher: Simon Pulse
- Release Date: May 2006
- Reading Level: Young Adult
- ISBN-10: 1416911669
- ISBN-13: 9781416911661
- List Price: $5.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryTHE A-LIST BITES. Jason Freeman is stoked when his family relocates to exclusive DeVere Heights, Malibu. The in-crowd at his posh new high school is surprisingly friendly -- soon Jason's hitting all the best parties. He even meets the token hot-but-unattainable girl. Determined to enjoy his almost postcard-perfect new life, Jason tries hard to ignore the many strange things going down in DeVere Heights. But then a girl washes up dead the morning after one off-the-hook party -- and with no explanation but a suspicious-looking bite mark. Now Jason has to admit that what you don't want to know can hurt you. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Pretty Good
Rating:
This book was alright. I have read better but who hasn't? I think the writing was a little shallow but the overall effect was better than you would expect.
So little plot, so little action
Rating:
What kind of vampire book takes over half the novel to introduce vampires?!? Bloodlust, the first in the Vampire Beach series, by Alex Duval, is a rambling, contrived story of rich kids in Malibu with only a hint of the action and mystery promised on the back of the book. Overall, I found the story relatively boring, difficult to follow, and overly frustrating.
The story focuses around Jason Freeman who has recently moved from Michigan to the super-elite neighborhood of DeVere Heights in Malibu. Jason is quickly accepted into the inner clique of his school because he is cute and a great swimmer. He even makes great friends with the hottest and most powerful girl in school--Sienna. Oddly, Jason also befriends an outsider named Adam, who, in contrast to any high school I have ever heard of, is accepted by the cool kids without a hint of disagreement. (Where's the teenage angst? Where's the Breakfast Club-style clique wars? In short, where's the conflict?) Jason gets invited to raging parties, dragging along his sister (who seems like a total throwaway character, by the way), and flirting with random girls. Eventually a dead girl washes up on the shore with, you guessed it, bite marks. Now Jason and Adam are on the case trying to track down the mysterious vampires in the perfect Malibu community.
To begin my critique, I'd like to start by saying that I am a great fan of YA Lit and I was really looking forward to this book. However, the problems I encountered really drained the life from me (pun intended). First, it takes forever to get to the vampires. I mean, FOREVER! Duval wastes so much time describing the parties that he seems to forget to build the narrative to support his plot. Second, while the backdrop setting is a standard locale for many current YA novels and CW television shows, the author seems to be trying too hard to reference current trends to make connections with most kids. For example, Duval writes that Alex tried to "eye-TIVO" every detail of his new surroundings. Later, one of the girls calls Alex and "Absolut cutie," referencing alcohol ads that were so five years ago. Third, once we finally get to the vampires, Duval does little to build suspense. Caution to the reader, here. What follows may contain mild SPOILERS: The girl who dies is such a bit character, I felt zero empathy for her. It may as well have been an anonymous dummy washing up on the beach. I thought it was going to be Jason's sister or something that would make me care. The same can be said about the various characters who are accused of being vampires. They are not well-constructed early in the book; therefore, there is no reason to really care at the end. Even Jason himself is such a stock character I cared little if he lived or died at the end.
I bought this book as a special edition that included the first two books of the series. I was excited to introduce my students to a book that combined the seductiveness of the OC with the haunting feeling of vampires. I was sorely disappointed. The characters are poorly conceived, the story is boring, and the quality of the writing is contrived and, well, poor. If only a pack of werewolves would pounce on DeVere Heights before people are stuck having to read another adventure in Malibu. Let's hope for a full moon.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Rating:
I like vampire stories. If you've read any of my other reviews, you might already know that. Because of my prejudice, I dove into the first in the series of VAMPIRE BEACH books with high expectations. And I did enjoy it. Yes, it has some problems in execution, but more about that later. First the good stuff.
As BLOODLUST begins, high school senior, Jason Freeman, has just moved into an exclusive Malibu subdivision with his sister and their nouveau rich parents. He experiences the typical teenage angst: the girl he likes is taken, he can't have a good time at parties because he's always watching out for his younger sister, one of his new friends isn't exactly riding the top rung of the social ladder, etc. The usual stuff. But something seems a little odd in Malibu. Then a girl turns up dead, and Jason discovers that the popular crowd at his high school is made up of vampires.
This book put a fun spin on both the traditional vampire story and the "high school popular crowd" story. I stayed up late, turning pages to see what would happen. That's a good sign. When I was done with BLOODLUST, I was grateful that there was another VAMPIRE BEACH book on hand and I tore right into it.
Unfortunately, BLOODLUST did have some problems that detracted from my enjoyment. First, it was too short. There was clearly a lot of stuff going on in Jason's high school, but relatively little of it was explored. When he discovered the vampires and began learning about them, I ended up with more questions than answers. And by the time the real mystery began, the author seemed in a hurry to resolve it. Seemingly, no sooner did Jason realize there was a problem than it was solved. That was a letdown. I wanted more investigation, more conflict, more story.
Another thing that bothered me was the use of slang. The author was eager to portray authentic-sounding teen dialogue, but it seemed forced and, at times, outdated. That is often the problem with trying to write the way modern teens speak. By the time the book is published, the dialogue already sounds like it was written about two centuries ago. And be warned that this one is for older readers. It contains frequent references to alcohol use and some sexual activity.
I found VAMPIRE BEACH: BLOODLUST to be an enjoyable, light read. No deep human truths will be revealed, but there is plenty of good, old-fashioned, escapist fantasy. This slender volume is the perfect companion for your next plane trip. It should keep you entertained all the way from check-in to baggage claim.
Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan
The Malibu Vampire Scene
Rating:
Jason Freeman's Family has just moved from Michigan to an exclusive neighborhood in Malibu. Jason is thrilled even if his younger sister has her doubts. Things go well at first as Jason quickly makes friend, makes the swim team, and falls in lust with a beautiful rich girl. But then he notices some odd things. For instance, everyone raves about a party he thought was mediocre. But then after a party on a boat, one of the guest turns up dead on the beach.
The death is tragic enough but one of Jason's new friends shows Jason evidence that he thinks a vampire is involved. And not just one. He suspects there is a whole clan of bloodsuckers in Malibu. Jason does not believe at first until he comes face to face with the truth. There are vampires in the area but they don't kill. Now there is a rogue suffering from bloodlust who cannot keep control. While the rogue is about, no one is safe. Can Jason find out who is the villain and save the day?
This is a fast and fun books. The vampires and stuff do not appear for the first half as Jason acclimates himself to the new life but it really sets things up for how everything works. There is a pretty good-sized cast in this one so you have to pay attention. Although the bad vampire does kill a victim, this is not really a horror story. Jason and most of the characters are quite likeable. I don't know how many books are going to be in this series, but this is a very good start.
If you like the Paranormal You'll love this book.
Rating:
This book is different that other books that i have read. When i bought this book i didn't know if i would like it or not, but as it turns out i really really like this book. I shows how sometimes moving away from what you know and what you think you know can be a good experance until you find out their secrets. One event in this book makes everthing come together as it should. Alex Duval is a marvellous author and i can't wait until i read Book Two of Vampire Beach: INITIATION. It sounds just as good as this one. I hope to see more of Duvals work on Vampire Beach...
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