How I Survived My Summer Vacation Vol 1 [Mass Market Paperback]

Nancy Holder (Author), Yvonne Navarro (Author), Michelle West (Author), Cameron Dokey (Author), Paul Ruditis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Pocket Paperback Numbered) | Publication Date: August 1, 2000

Buffy is taking a break in LA with her father, but things that go bump in the night don't take vacation. So Buffy is trying to keep a lid on thing in LA. Meanwhile, Giles and Jenny Calender are trying to keep the forces of darkness away in Sunnydale, with no help from slayers.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743400402
• ISBN-13: 978-0743400404
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,729,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born back in the early days when black and white photographs were considered normal instead of artsy. As a child I always thought I'd grow up to be an artist, and I was was convinced I'd spend my life doing line drawings of long, leggy models like the ones in the daily newspapers. Life, however, did not cooperate: a foul-up in grammar school resulted in a transfer to a local high school instead of the technical, arts-heavy one I'd planned to attend.

Following that was a move that really made things start winding around. By the time I returned to Chicago for the second time in 1981, I'd worked as a waitress, a nurse's aide, a bookkeeper and gift shop cashier, an accounting clerk, and a secretary in everything from office furniture stores to a hotel to a journalism society. In 1981 I came back to my old job in a Chicago law firm and settled down in the Windy City for awhile. In 1982 I tried to write because my mother said "You could do this." The seed had still been planted, and I sold my first story in 1984. Since then I've written around a hundred stories, most of which have been or are scheduled to be published.

My first novel, AfterAge, was published in 1993 and was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. In 1995 my second solo novel, deadrush, was published, and it also was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, this time in the category of Superior Achievement in a novel. Final Impact, the third solo novel, was published in 1997, and won both the Chicago Women In Publishing's Award for Excellence in Adult Fiction and the "Unreal Worlds" Award for Best Horror Paperback of 1997 from the Rocky Mountain News. Since then I've published several more solo novels, Red Shadows (a follow-up to Final Impact), DeadTimes, and That's Not My Name, her first suspense novel. That's Not My Name, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Paleo, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Willow Files, Vol. 2 all won at the Illinois State level of the IWPA 2001 Mate E. Palmer Communications contest (two first place and one second place, respectively), plus I somehow swept all three awards of the Short Story category with "Ascension," "Divine Justice," and "Santa Alma." I've also written a number of media tie-in novels, including several Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels, Hellboy, Elektra, and Ultraviolet. Full info about all her books can be found on her website along with a lot of free excerpts.

I moved to my beloved Arizona in 2002 and currently work on historic Fort Huachuca. in southern Arizona. Numerically, I'm up to about twenty novels and one non-fiction book, with those never-ending plans for more. I love heat, Godiva chocolates, and Great Danes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A killer collection perfect for summer vacation., July 26, 2000

By 

Rebecca Herman (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How I Survived My Summer Vacation Vol 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a collection of short stories set between seasons one and two of Buffy. All six of the stories were excellant. In the first one, Dust by Michelle West, Buffy recieves gruesome visions of death every time she touches a person. Buffy must face her own worst fears, and confront what happened the night she died and was revived. The second story is titled Absalom Rising and is by prolific Buffy writer Nancy Holder. A sorceror named Absalom comes to Sunnydale and rallies what is left of the Master's followers. His plan: have them steal the Master's bones so that they can ressurect him. Now Giles, Jenny, Angel, Willow, and Xander must stop Absalom and his followers without the help of Buffy, who is in LA with her Dad. Next up is Looks Can Kill by Cameron Dokey. A shape-shifter who can assume the shape of any living creature attempts to defeat the Scooby Gang by the tried and true method of divide and conquer. His ultimate goal - to capture Buffy by taking on the shape of one of her friends. The fourth story, No Place Like..., is also by Cameron Dokey. It is set in LA and involves Buffy trying to free the trapped spirits of a group of children. Fifth is Uncle Dead and the Fourth of July. At a Fourth of July parade, a group of zombie soldiers try to take over the town, and Giles, Jenny, and Angel must put the zombies back to rest before midnight - or Sunnydale is doomed. The last story is The Show Must Go On by Paul Ruditis. In this story, the backstage crew (all vampires) of a travelling theater group recreate death scenes from famous plays. The gang has to stop the vamps before they kill everyone in the audience. This is a great Buffy book for you to read on your summer vacation. Which, hopefully, will be exciting, but not have any of the horrifying elements of the Scooby Gang's summer vacations.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good premise which didn't deliver, August 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: How I Survived My Summer Vacation Vol 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

"How I Survived my Summer Vacation" is a collection of six short stories about the Scooby Gang's summer after season 1. Although the stories were well-written, there were a few major problems I had reading this book- namely, the lack of Willow and Xander. Of the four books taking place in Sunnydale, only Absalom Rising, by Nancy Holder, prominently features Willow and Xander. In the other three stories, they are either kept in the dark about the demons, busy with other things, or both. Instead, this book has a lot of Jenny Calendar and Giles who, while interesting characters, are not worth devoting a book to in lieu of the other characters.

Another problem with this book was the way it did not fufill it's premise. Buffy rarely has any contact with her father, Angel does not seem to care about joining the Scooby Gang one way or another, and the only reason for the concert mentioned in the book's summary was to keep Willow and Xander out of a story.

The stories written about Buffy are somewhat better on an emotional level, although "Dust" is too confusing to understand until around page 15, which would be fine for a normal story, but results in frustration in a story only 40 pages long. It's climax is also diffucult to understand, so readers are left wondering about many details which are only vagely described.

I think that, while most of the stories were interesting and well-written, some major flaws hinder the reader's enjoyment. It's worth picking up from the library over the Buffy-less summer, but not necessarily worth buying.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to spend your summer vacation, July 30, 2000

By 

algerina "algerina" (Saint Paul, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: How I Survived My Summer Vacation Vol 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a collection of 6 short stories set during the summer following Buffy's sophmore year.Buffy has just killed the master and gone to LA to stay with her father. 'Dust' by Michelle West follows Buffy to LA where she has to battle internal visions and demons. As she gets up close and personal with the future deaths of her friends and relatives her death at the master's hands becomes more real. This is the darkest and most distrubing story. In 'Absalom Rising' by Nancy Holder Vampires steal the master's bones from Giles. Jenny, Xander and Willow come to his assistance. Angel offers his help but Giles has trouble trusting a vampire. 'Looks Can Kill' by Cameron Dokey is my favorite story. A shapshifter bent on the slayer's destruction targets her friends in her absence. Angel, Giles and Jenny track the beast but who do you kill when the beast can look like anyone. "No Place Like..." By Cameron Dokey is a sweet story of redemption and love. Buffy sets out to kill a witch and ends up righting an old wrong. 'Uncle Dead and the Fourth of July' by Yvonne Navarro is a silly adventure for Jenny,Giles and Angel once again. Giles attempt at American history are amusing. The last story 'The Show Must Go On'by Paul Ruditis is a hoot if a bit bloody. Theatre buffs will particularly love it.

All in all a good collection that is true to the mood at the end of the first season and the beginning of the second. The stories are enjoyable whether you know the history or not. But for the true fan the references are very will placed. Angel it would seem is staying close to Xander, Willow,and Giles because they represent a way to keep close to Buffy. In the last story he asks Giles to get a message to her since he hasn't heard from her all summer. Giles is trying to distance Xander and Willow from any danger. And Jenny Calender is falling in love with the stuffy watcher.

I recomend you spend part of your summer vacation reading these stories and I hope since this says volume one that another collection for Buffy's junior summer will follow.