Thursday, September 06, 2012

Review: Fang Girl by Helen Keeble

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Fang Girl

Helen Keeble
Publication date: September 11th 2012
by Harper Teen

 

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A pyschotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined….

Helen Keeble’s riotous debut novel combines the humor of Vladimir Tod with Ally Carter’s spot-on teen voice. With a one-of-a-kind vampire mythology and an irresistibly relatable undead heroine, this uproarious page-turner will leave readers bloodthirsty for more

*A copy was provided by Helen Keeble for review purposes*

A ridiculously funny vampire comedy, Fang Girl brings us a fun read with a surprising lot to offer – aside from the humor, we’ve got a witty protagonist and a entertaining plot which has a good amount of substance for such a frivolous novel.

When Jane wakes up and realizes she’s in a coffin, has super speeds, and fangs, her mediocre life is no more. 15 year old Jane is a surprisingly compelling character; her charm and wit throughout her ordeal is constantly entertaining, brimming with laugh-out-loud quotables, while her innocence and insecurities convey her teenage years perfectly. Additionally, Jane’s family has a big role in this story which is much appreciated. Though kookie at times, the parents become instantly likeable if only for their immediately support for Jane’s… predicament. Their characters really enrich this novel. They would do anything to help their daughter and I adored the way they handled all the sudden, bizarre situations they’re thrown in. Jane also has a brother who is an absolute darling with his enthusiasm for these antique beings. We meet a slew of secondary characters along the way as well who have a satisfying amount of development and great charisma. For a novel that is so humor-based, I wasn’t expecting to see such strong character presence.

Ridiculous in an almost vampire parody style, Fang Girl is a perfectly gratifying read that is amusing to no end. This book is never to be taken as a serious vampire novel, it’s a comedy through and through. Sure there is an intriguing plot-line with turns that completely caught me off guard, but in the end, it’s meant to be comical. Nevertheless, I was quite pleased with how interesting the story itself truly was. Too often in a comedy do we see plots shoved aside, becoming secondary to the humor. In Fang Girl, however, the plot is exciting as well as diverting, with a touch of romance to spice things up. I especially enjoyed how blunt some plot developments were. One page you’re all happy and dandy, and the next you have to take a picture of the page to text to your friend who previously read the book because you accidentally mailed it to them *deep breath* to ask if this really just happened. True story! It’s not all unpredictable, and some of it may be cheesy, but it’s the good kind of cheesy that makes you snort unattractively, which is always cool!

Fang Girl is the perfect book for the beach, a plane ride, to hide behind your math textbook; it’s effortless and extremely high in entertainment value. If you’re looking for a fun, refreshing novel, I would recommend this one in a heartbeat!

4 Hot Espressos
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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31 Responses to “Review: Fang Girl by Helen Keeble”

  4. Mel - Thedailyprophecy.

    When I’m having a busy time, I like to read funny and easy books like this. I’m going to put it on my special list, so I can read this one when I feel like I need something fluffy. It sounds great, with all the awesome characters 🙂

  6. Carmen B.

    This sounds like the perfect for the times when I feel a bit morose and need something to cheer me up and have a good laugh about. Great review! I’m glad that despite the humor, there is also some substance about the novel and unexpected plot twists 🙂 Also, a vampire goldfish? Lol XD

  10. Sam

    Witty protagonists are some of my favourite kinds. I love the sound of this book! Great review, Giselle. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

  14. Camille Picott

    The premise was enough to make me LOL. Glad to hear this had substance with the humor. I always thought Buffy had a nice balance of humor and substance, which I think it extremely hard to pull off.

  15. Christina

    Yay! It’s always nice to have a break from all of the melodrama in YA for something light and hilarious. I will definitely be putting this on my list of books to try. 🙂

  16. Christina

    Bahahaha, I’m sure you snort VERY attractively. lol. This sounds like a book to read in private, lest one look like a crazy person on the train, beach or in class.

  18. Eileen

    I’m so glad this one was really hilarious but it still had sound characters 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed this one in the end Jane sounds like a great characters. And that texting story is hilarious! 🙂 Awesome review Giselle!

  21. Chel

    “A ridiculously funny vampire comedy”

    I really didn’t need to read more after that. I’m already sold. This book sounds like a quick, light-hearted read. But! Cheesy is one of my enemies. I’m really uncomfortable around cheesy. However, Jane seems like a really likable character. I think I’m going to like this, except for cheesy. 😉

  27. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    hahahaha I enjoyed getting your screenshots of the pages! That part was super shocking. I loved this one too, the parents were the BEST. I loved how supportive they were in such a weird situation. And the brother and his steampunk! hahaha I’m so happy I got to read this one by accident. Best sccident EVER!

  31. The Vintage Bookworm

    I’ve been seeing this around A LOT. At first I didn’t think I’d be interested in it, but the more I see it and the more reviews I see I think I’ll give it a try. 🙂

    Great review! Glad you liked it.