The Reformed Vampire Support Group – Book Review
YA Fantasy by Catherine Jinks, Author of Evil Genius, Reviewed
Sep 6, 2009
Following the success of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, the world went on a vampire rampage. The already popular sub-genre exploded, until it seemed as if every other urban fantasy dealt with some version of the human-falls-in-love-with-monster trope. With so many novels featuring the sexy, fanged undead on the market, however, one might think that all possible novelty to vampires has been exhausted. Catherine Jinks' The Reformed Vampire Support Group (Harcourt Children's Books, 2009, 978-0152066093) would prove that assumption false.
Vampirism, as a Disease
Contrary to popular opinion, vampirism is more like a debilitating disease than an abdomen-defining, supernatural powers-inducing gift. After all, as Nina, the novel's heroine, points out, vampires are dead. That they can move at all is something of a miracle - or a curse, in the implacable opinion of those who've been bitten. Whiny, cowardly, and self-pitying, most vampires can barely muster the gumption to attend the weekly meetings of the Reformed Vampire Support Group, let alone run on rooftops and evade vampire hunters.
Forced to live indoors and feed on guinea pigs, the members of the Reformed Vampire Support Group make their way through their unlives as best they can. Then one of their number is found murdered by a stake to the heart ( because some vampire lore has its facts straight, at least), and their members are suddenly thrown into a race to find their would-be murderer before said murderer catches up with them.
The Strengths and Weaknesses of Vampires
The Reformed Vampire Support Group's largest asset is how well it intersperses pace with character development. The book's tempo is speedy, to be sure, but never so much that the reader feels rushed along. Jinks builds her world and characters with careful care, but doesn't sacrifice plot to do so. She does an admirable job of developing her characters at a believable rate while still moving her story inexorably forward.
The story itself twists and turns in a way that seems almost incongruous at times, but then ultimately works. The villain is not whom you might suppose. Each characters' motives are not exactly what they may seem. And the resolution, though satisfying, is not perfect. That very imperfection, however, makes the story wonderful: things don't work out as they would in a fairy tale (or in a Stephenie Meyer novel), perhaps, but they work out as they should. It leaves the reader with the knowledge that the future is always changing, and that happiness is as much a choice as it is anything else.
Just as importantly, the characters are fun. Jinks has a talent for creating large, enjoyable casts, and flawed, appealing lead characters. Nina is fifteen in body if not in mind, and that mix of age and youth create a compelling heroine. She is a teenager just as much as she's an adult. She acknowledges her weakness, but wants badly to be stronger; to be normal again, to do the things a normal person should do. She wants to be like the vampires she writes about - a hero, instead of the weak thing she's instead become.
Dave, Nina's best friend and fellow vampire, is just as much of a pleasure to read. Quiet and subdued, he hides a wealth of feeling behind a shy, understated exterior. He's a remarkable contrast to Reuben, the angry, charming werewolf they meet later in the series. All three characters complement each other in wonderfully subtle ways, juxtaposing strength and weakness in a manner both masterful and entertaining.
Wrapping it Up
The book's largest flaw is how little a role the support group actually plays in the grand scheme of things. Only Nina and Dave enjoy a decent amount of time on its pages, with Father Ramon and Horace a distant third and fourth. Most of the support group (even those pictured on the cover) play no discernible role in the novel. That is not to say they aren't each interesting, individual characters, charming for all their complaints. A greater presence might have done more to make them three-dimensional, however, and would have given the title greater credence than it has.
Despite this, it's difficult to deny the sheer enjoyment-factor of The Reformed Vampire Support Group. With its large cast of characters, its masterful use of plot, character development, and pace, and the sheer novelty of vampires who aren't superhuman and deadly sexy, The Reformed Vampire Support Group has carved its own niche into the world of urban fantasy. Fun, quirky, and undeniably entertaining, this novel is unlikely to disappoint.
If you enjoyed this book, you might also want to check out The Demon's Lexicon, an urban fantasy by Sarah Rees Brennan.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group on Amazon
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