Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side - Beth Fantaskey


ISBN: 9780152063849
Publisher: Harcourt
Genre: Horror
Age Level: 12+
Reader’s Annotation: Everything is going great for Jessica until Lucius shows up with a ridiculous story about her being a vampire princess and his betrothed. Jessica doesn’t really think much of it, until her parents tell it’s the truth.
Summary: Jessica is your average seventeen-year-old. She hangs out with her best friend Mindy, gazes adoringly at Jake and looks forward to her senior year of high school. Everything changes when Lucius Vladescu arrives at school, a foreign exchange student from Romania, with a past that Jessica does not want to face. Lucius (and her parents) reveal that she is actually the daughter of vampire royalty from Romania, that she has been betrothed to Lucius since birth, and that their marriage will secure a lasting peace between their warring families. Jessica, a practical girl, has a difficult time accepting these revelations as truth until she becomes jealous of another girl chasing Lucius.
Evaluation: This is a refreshingly light offering in the vampire genre without all the angst that sometimes accompanies these titles. For readers awaiting the next big thing, this title will serve as fun fodder until New Moon hits theaters.
Booktalk Ideas: What if your life were not your own? Forgetting the vampire bit, what would you do if you were betrothed?
Challenges: Vampires
Selection: Trying to get a wide range of vampire titles.