A YA vampire story with no glitter? A teenaged male protagonist? Seriously, you jest. Thirst is an delightfully unconventional book, set in a version of our world where vampires are known to the general public and are reviled as monsters. When Christopher begins mysteriously changing, he needs to find out the hows and whys fast, before his friends and family catch on and it’s too late. ( )

Chris has normal teenage problems, except that he is becoming a vampire. Chris' thirst grows and it becomes harder to hide his transformation, but he must, in order to protect himself from stake-wielding vigilantes. Chet, claiming to be on the side of the Forces of Light, offers to reverse Chris's vampirism in exchange for his help in keeping the Vampire Lord imprisoned. Chris agrees, but then wonders if he has done the right thing. Chris struggles to deny his thirst and stay human.

The story was an intriguing take on the vampire novel, but I didn't really get into the author's style. However, I loved the ending and the last few pages made the whole book worthwhile. ( )

I wasn't really looking forward to this since I am leery of vampire-themed young adult, but I had read a couple short stories by M.T. Anderson and loved them, so I wanted to give one of his novels a try. It was either this or Burger Wuss, and this sounded better.

I couldn't have been more pleased with it. Anderson has a wonderful sense of humor, though there are no jokes being made. It's more a matter of subtle, absurd quirks to the writing - mostly subtle twists in the descriptions that make reading the entire book a joy, despite the rather depressing content.

The story is about what you would expect in that the main character wakes up and finds himself a vampire, though in this book that is a very bad thing, and he is trying to resist the urges from page one. He gets advice from two mysterious, outside forces, and the narrative becomes an interesting waiting game of who he should trust and which one is using him to bring the other down. It's almost agonizing by the end, because you're not sure if he's being played for evil's sake, if he is going to be cured as promised, et cetera. It's a good story, but as I mentioned, very depressing, so the humor helps immensely.

The ending was not at all what I was expecting, which is also a huge plus.

The parts that make this young adult, like the character struggling with his friends to keep his vampirism a secret and trying to win over the girl he likes, are okay. I liked the interactions with his friends, though the parts with the girl were never quite as genuine.

Mostly I loved it for the little absurd twists. I've never read anything quite like it, and it's pretty much cemented M.T. Anderson as great in my mind. ( )

Full of teen angst, the awardness of physical and emotional change. A clever portrayal of the 'us (humans) vs Them (Vampires) dilemma and prejudices. Fast paced and to the point, with a few twists and ambiguous ending, much like Chris's sexuality. ( )

Chris is typical teenage boy in many ways. He's got a crush on a girl in his English class, a couple of friends that bug him, a big brother, and parents who are planning on divorcing. He is atypical, in that he is beginning to experience changes which turn out to be consistent with becoming vampiric. He's turning into a vampire and doesn't know why.

He's approached by a celestial being called Chet who needs him to help keep Tch'muchgar, the Vampire Lord, from entering the world. Chris is conflicted, confused, and lonely. The thirst within him is growing even as he struggles to stay human. He wants to be saved, cured of this curse. Chet has promised this, but can he be trusted? Chris has to keep his secret and try his best to make the right choice.

A nice vampric twist to a coming of age story told with a fair amount of humor.
Chris wants to talk to someone about all the things happening in his life, but he can't. He's so alone, he doesn't know who to rust. ( )