The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen

Author: Allison Van Diepen
Pages: 272
Date Published: June 1 2011
Publisher: Point

Introduction

       Amy, like many other people in Chicago, are obsessed with The Otherworld, a book series about a tall, handsome vampire stalker. His name is Alexander, and his entire life is devoted to killing a very powerful vampire named Vigo. Amy has spent more than a few days thinking about what it would be like if Alexander were real. One day after getting off the bus after dark, Amy is jumped by a man and is panicking, when suddenly a tall man comes to her rescue. Later when thanking him, she realizes his striking resemblance to the Alexander on the covers of the Otherworld series. After questioning him a little bit, Amy realizes that he really is the main character from the books. She also knows another thing. Vigo is here too, and Alexander won't leave until Vigo is either back in the Otherworld or dead. Soon people start showing up dead with two marks on the their necks. Amy knows that Vigo has began killing, but she and Alexander are no closer to capturing Vigo. Alexander then reads the Otherworld books that have him as the main character. He then discovers many secrets about Vigo that he didn't know before. Hes one step closer to killing Vigo and one step closer to going home.

Cover

        The Vampire Stalker has two covers. The one that I had, was a girl with her back turned and a man looking out from behind a wall, as a man is coming down the street. I love the mist in that cover, it makes it seem mysterious. The other cover is a girl with a sad/angry/scared expression on her face. With the same silhouette. I am usually not a fan of books having whole faces as the covers but I don't mind this one so much.

Character/Relationships
       I had some issues with the characters in The Vampire Stalker. For one, Amy seemed really unrealistic. A guy shows up from a book and she keeps going about her daily about her life, and thinks more then once about what it would be like to actually date Alexander. I mean, there is a vampire going around the city KILLING kids and she's thinking about what it would be like if she and Alexander were dating. Alexander was kind of boring too. Seeing that he comes from a different world, I would think he would be a little more interesting to read about.
       It's obvious that Alexander and Amy like each other throughout most of the book. Amy's is almost always thinking about Alexander and the relationship quickly becomes:
      Oh my gosh Alexander! I luv you!
      Slow down Amy. I know you love the books about him but please control yourself.

Conclusion

       Honestly, this book wasn't that great. As I said, Amy spends a lot of her time thinking about Alexander, While Alexander is more focused on trying to catch Vigo. I had not read anything else like this before, but I am sadly disappointed. 


     
      

End Of Days by Eric Walters

Author: Eric Walters
Pages: 320
Date Published: September 27 2011
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Introduction 
        Our days are numbered. We have on average, seventeen years and four months. A large object is rushing toward earth and once it comes, humans will cease to exist. Within a twelve month period, the greatest minds on earth have mysteriously died. Or so everybody thinks. They have really been taken to study and prevent an asteroid from hitting the earth. As time ticks down, food becomes scarce and many die. Scientists are scrambling to find a way to destroy the asteroid, after a failed attempt to completely stop the asteroid, they are running out of ideas. But with the help of a teenage boy named Billy, and another scientist they have one last shot to stop the end of days from happening.

Cover

       I like the cover for the End of Days, it was very plain yet still looks nice, the rainbow colors in the title stand out nicely against the black background.

Characters/Relationships
      I liked many of the characters in this book among my favorite is Billy. He was tough enough to survive years in the disastrous world yet he is still very kind. He puts in a great effort in being a leader. everywhere he goes. He to know everybody around him because he believes that everybody is important and that nobody should be forgotten. After years of not having much food, and disagreements between other people, you would think that, that would make him mean and full of hate, but despite all that he still has some kindness in him.
      A character that I didn't like as much would probably Mr. Sheppard. One of the great minds that was taken to help stop the asteroid. I found him boring at some points. He didn't really capture my interest for very long while I was reading the book.
       No love story in this book really, for a brief time Billy thinks about Christina but only for a few pages within the book. Billy and Christina never became an item.

Conclusion
      Overall, this book was alright. Most of the characters were pretty good. I am not a huge fan of Eric Walters but I am glad I gave this book a shot. It would be a great book for boys and girls to read if they are into a little bit of science fiction.