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Team Human
Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan
Published: July 2012 (Harper Teen)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Reviewed by: Chelsea
Rating (out of 5): 3 stars
The premise of Team Human is pretty brilliant. You know every teen vampire romance novel you’ve read? The one where the vampire has a hundred years on the teenage girl, but he looks 17, so it’s cool? Well, Team Human tells the story from the best friend’s perspective.
“Francis is a really nice vampire,” he protested. “And, you know, some human-vampire relationships work out great.”
“Oh, really?” I asked. “How many people do you know involved in happy relationships with the undead?”
Main character Mel has a serious problem with vampires. Granted, she’s never met one in person, but they drink blood and aren’t alive and that’s really enough for her. She much prefers they keep to their part of town and stay the hell away from her. Unfortunately, Francis arrives at school and everyone gloms to the guy like he’s made of candy. That includes Mel’s best friend Cathy.
When Cathy begins to fall hard for the vampire, Mel will do whatever it takes to save her friend from dating the undead. Also, she talks smack to the guy constantly. This premise makes for laugh-out-loud reading.
While I loved the concept and can’t speak highly enough of the humor packed into this book, it still fell short for me. It took me quite a bit to get into the novel at first, despite the laughs, as Mel spends time telling about how her world works and about her best friends. It was funny, but didn’t draw me in. And, early on, Mel’s anti-vampire hate bordered on “separate but equal” which skeeved me. However — and it’s a big however — I’m glad I stuck with it. By the end of the novel, Mel is forced to deal with some of her vampire hate issues, solves a mystery (kind of) and kisses a hot guy a few times. All of which made me connect with her.
If you’re after a quick read with a plenty of teen laughs, Team Human can do the trick.
Sexual content: Kissing
Intriguing. Yup, that about sums it up. I have to say, though, it does make me want to pick it up and read. I am very curious about what kind of story line it will take compared to the typical vampire romance girl-falls-for-vampire-and-vampire-tries-to-not-kill-her.
Pretty much. The concept is great, but didn’t hit it out of the park like I’d hoped. Still an enjoyable read. There’s a subplot about a friend’s dad who ran away with a vampire, leaving his family. Finding him becomes a goal for the main character, and adds to her distaste for the other friend’s new vampire boyfriend.