The Good Ghoul’s Guide to Getting Even by Julie Kenner July 11, 2007

Trying out for the drill team was supposed to be the icing on her college applications. Beth Frasier may have been at the top of her high school class, but would AP classes, independent study, and editing the school paper be enough to get into the college of her dreams? To Beth, the answer is an obvious “No,” hence trying out for the drill team to “round out” her extracurricular activities. Beth is so caught up with making the drill team that she makes what even she would call dumb mistakes, ending up undead.

Fortunately for Beth, she is a good girl with a scientist father—meaning he thinks nothing of her late night phone call for bags of blood (for a science project, of course). As Beth learns how to navigate life as a member of the undead, she must also figure out a way to defeat the vampire responsible for her undead state, an act that would make her mortal again.

What’s most appealing about Julie Kenner’s book is Beth’s scientific disposition. Unlike most other vampire books I’ve read, Beth actually wants to figure out, scientifically, what makes vampires different from regular human beings. I also liked that the storyline is not of the “My love interest is a vampire” variety. This is light, paranormal fun, along the lines of Prom Dates from Hell. The Good Ghoul’s Guide to Getting Even won’t grab readers the way the way Twilight has, but those looking for something different than the rest of the vampire books out there will enjoy it. It looks like it’s the start of a series, since there’s an excerpt of the next Beth Frasier book, Good Ghouls Do, coming out September 4.

Also reviewed at Dear Author.