"Team Human" by Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan . vampire novel, satire, romance . N7,5
28.10.2012
A hilarious take on all vampire clichés, half hilarious, half heartbreaking. I can’t say it’s anywhere near ‘Unspoken’ or ‘Liar’ in quality but it isn’t a comedy either. It has a bit of a middle-school feel, even though there’s more honest descriptions of sexual feelings than in ‘Unspoken’ (‘Liar’ was positively and delightfully sensual). It stands quite well on its own but I’m looking forward to the sequel nonetheless!
Some unspoilery quotes:
Here’s the thing. Boys really go for Cathy: they tend to believe she’s helpless when she’s just distracted. Cathy’s not used to the sinking feeling you get when you realize the guy whose name you’ve been doodling in your homework margins not only hasn’t been doodling your name, but doesn’t even know it.
Kristin doesn’t actually like guys. She says this gives her a special insight into them, because the onlooker sees more of the game.
[spoilery quotes]
“It is best for Catherine if I simply remove myself from her life forever,” Francis said bleakly. “Without me, she can live a long, full life. She can be happy. I must leave her, in fact, for her own good.”
I didn’t much like the way Francis put that. Parents are always trying to make you do things for your own good. Not boyfriends. With boyfriends, the relationship is supposed to be equal. They’re supposed to let you make your own decisions.
“Here is a lesson about how humans behave,” I said. “When a guy assumes a girl wants to have sex with him on the second occasion they meet, we humans generally regard him as an enormous jerk! In fact, that goes for any guy assuming a girl wants to have sex with him anytime before she says, ‘Yes, sex sounds terrific!’”
“I was wondering,” he said in a rush, as if he’d been holding the words back for a while. “After I become a vampire. I was wondering if you’d still want to see me.”
“No,” I said without pausing.
Kit stood stricken.
Not for the first time that day, I kind of wanted to punch myself in the face.
“I mean,” I said, talking fast partly to get it all out and partly because I had to get to Anna, “I mean … I do mean no. I wish I’d put it in a nicer way. I get-I’m starting to get that vampires are people. I know Camille’s your mom. She seems great. I don’t want to say anything bad about them. But a vampire wouldn’t be for me. Not growing up, not seeing the sun, not having every bit of life: laughter, food, the highs and the lows of being alive. That’s something I don’t understand and I never will. It’s like choosing to watch a movie that’s stuck on pause.
“I couldn’t do it. And being with a vampire? You’d never laugh at any of my jokes. I’ll turn eighteen, nineteen, twenty, thirty, forty, but Kit, you’ll be a teenager forever.”
Kit swallowed.
“So when Cathy becomes a vampire,” he said, “she won’t be your friend anymore?”
“Cathy’s not going to become a vampire!” I yelled at him, as if by shouting loud enough I could make it true.
Kit stood there on the corner of two of the busiest streets in the city, people flowing past him, carrying shopping bags, hurrying off to a movie or dinner, living their human lives. He looked wretched.
“Cathy and I have been friends since we were tiny,” I said after a moment. “We’ll always be friends. Nothing can change that. But I’ve only just met you and-I couldn’t stand it. I’m sorry.”
“I’ve only just met you, too,” Kit said. “I’m not going to change the whole course of my life-what I was always meant to be-for you. I can’t. I’m sorry as well.”
I guess there should have been a pause filled with regret then. But we didn’t have time.
“C’mon,” I said. “I mean, if you still want to?”
Kit nodded. “Anna’s waiting. She needs us.”
Cathy was willing to change her whole life for Francis. She would’ve said that if we weren’t ready to change our lives for each other, then Kit and I weren’t meant for each other. I guess that also meant it was best this way and there was no need to be upset.
My throat was tight. I was upset. Even if Kit wasn’t the One.
The trundle bed in my room was already made up for Cathy. Dad’s doing, I knew. It wasn’t something Mom would have thought of. She’s a big-picture person, Dad says. Not great at details. It made me feel sad for Anna all over again. Her dad was gone forever.
#novel, *author: female, #urban fantasy, +social issues, 2012, 2012: novel, +vampires, #fantasy, @_usa, @read in english, [quotes], [quotes] books, book-2012, *author: sarah rees brennan, *author: justine larbalestier, +gay, +lesbian, +friendship, +romance