Vampire High
Vampire High is a novel written by Douglas Rees in 2003. It was followed by the novel Vampire High: Sophomore Year in 2010.
Cody Elliot is doing terribly in school; straight F's. His lawyer dad is sick of it, so Cody is forced to attend an alternative high school called Vlad Dracul Magnet School. His new classmates are creepy; they all wear sunglasses in winter, have pale skin and jet black hair, and they're all super smart. One kid shows Cody his fangs, and it becomes clear that all of his classmates are vampires. But they get offended if you use the word "vampire," so they call themselves "jenti" and the humans "gadje". Running water makes the jenti dissolve, so they need a few gadje to play water polo. Now, as long as Cody plays water polo, he's assured straight A's. But when Cody decides to get generous and donate some blood to his friend, the school becomes drastically changed.
Not related to the Canadian TV series of the same title.
- Amoral Attorney: Subverted. While Cody's lawyer father butts heads with him often, he's still a nice guy. At the end of the story, he tells the opposing water polo team that if they sue for the selkies playing (perfectly legal, as the selkies are students at the school), he will counter sue on their behalf, pro bono. This is enough to get them all to back down.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Justin, a vampire, tells Cody that there is no such thing as werewolves. Though he does add that it's as far as he knows.
- Deadpan Snarker: Cody, who apparently inherited it from his father.
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Mr. Elliot: Now I really feel like a New Englander. I have a birch tree in the yard, a wood stove in the kitchen, and a mad relative in the attic. I wonder if I can chain her up? |
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- Fantastic Racism: Humans and vampires generally don't trust each other. They generally try to ignore each other, though there's hints that things weren't so great in the past.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: These guys aren't killers. Their blood is delivered to them in pints.
- Our Vampires Are Different: These vampires can turn into wolves, they are mortals, and they can go in the sun. Definitely different.
- Certain ones also turn into otter-like creatures in water. These vampires are called selkies, and are speculated to be some genetic offshoot.
- Selkies and Wereseals: Selkies are a type of vampire that can turn into an otter, and enjoy playing water polo.
- Shipper on Deck: Justin seems pretty determined to help patch things up between Cody and Ileana.
- Write a Vampire Novel: Averted. In the end, it turns out the entire novel was a homework assignment!
- Took a Level in Badass: Justin
- Vampire Vords: Kind of. They have their own language, though.
- Vegetarian Vampire: For dinner, they eat potato soup, salad, and apple pie. No blood anywhere.
Vampire High: Sophmore Year contains examples of:
- Genius Bruiser: Gregor, who can toss people like Frisbees and writes poetry in his spare time.
- Meaningful Name: Mercy Anne Warner, last queen of the Mercian vampires
- Slap Slap Kiss: Turk and Gregor
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Dracula and Mercy