Core

This was... okay! It's firmly middle-grade, which isn't something I really seek out, but I did have enough fun with it that I ended up reading it in about a day (it's not very long). The first half is a bit boring to be honest, not because things aren't happening -- the plot is moving at a rapid pace if anything -- but because none of it is all that compelling and the characters are a bit dull. Things do take a bit of a turn around the halfway point (when Steve gets bit): Darren turns out to be a real piece of work and becomes a far more compelling character, the horror elements come into focus, and there is this growing sense that a point of no return has been crossed both psychologically and materially. Darren also has quite a lot of agency, which is refreshing seeing as he's also a total dunce.

It's pretty obvious what it's all leading up to, though, but I am in my late twenties reading a middle-grade book so this seems unfair to hold against it. The book ends in a pretty interesting spot, and for the most part it manages to get there by letting the characters move in ways that feel natural rather than to have them pushed around by the plot. I don't think I'll be picking up more of these any time soon, but at the same time I can see myself reading these next time I'm in bed with a fever.

Can a child be ontologically evil? Steve is a dumb name for a vampire hunter.