Customer Reviews

Poison Apple #2: This Totally Bites!

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this great new series from Scholastic Press, Scholastic Goes Goth. It is shaping up to be a dark off-shoot of their popular Candy Apple Books. This new series, Poison Apple Books, starts with 2 out this spring, one in August and another in the fall and it looks amazing. These books explore such things as ghosts, vampires, haunting and other darker tales. Unlike most fluffy books for young girls these tales have a little more grit but still have some humour and really fun reads.

Emma-Rose Paley is a twelve year old with a love and fascination with all things dark, from her black and purple wardrobe, to her black shag rug in her room, with pink skull-and-crossbones wallpaper. She is not quite what you expect from a middle grade student. Her mother would prefer if she wore pastels and acted a little more girly, but what can you do with a stubborn girl? Then her great aunt Margo arrives from Transylvania - tall, dark, ageless and cold to the touch. Emma discovers her family comes from Transylvania, and her great aunt looks ageless. She also looks just like Emma-Rose with dark hair, blue eyes and sharp incisors. Emma now thinks that she has uncovered the reason she is so different; she just might be a vampire, just like her great aunt. Soon she hopes so, for she is finding an inner strength from seeing herself as a vampire. She stands up to the class president, plans the school dance, and believes she has been invited to a ritual to turn her from a fledgling into a full fledged vampire. Her best friend Gabby thinks that she is crazy and this causes a rift between them that seems irreparable. While at the library, she meets Henry Greene, a guy from school she likes and who, it appears, is into folklore and legends, and he thinks that she just may have something. This second book out is in a new Scholastic imprint, Poison Apple Books. It is cool, hip, and fills a niche for those attracted to something a little darker at a younger age.

Poison Apple Books:
The Dead End - Mimi McCoy
This Totally Bites! - Ruth Ames
Miss Fortune - Brandi Dougherty
Now You See Me

My niece's school had a book fair this past week and this is one of the books she brought home and I quickly snatched it up along with another from the same series, Miss Fortune, that I will be reviewing soon! I could not resist! It's like a dark side to the popular Candy Apple Books. These are called Poison Apple Books. How cute is that?

Anyhow I Loved Loved Loved it! Emma Rose is twelve, pale, has dark hair, hates pastels, and loves rainy dark weather, and oh yea she may be a vampire!

When her aunt Margo comes to visit, Emma thinks she has found a family member she can relate to because she has always felt sort of differently from her parents. Aunt Margo is pale, the family pooch is terrified of her, and she hates garlic just like Emma Rose but very quickly things start happening that lead Emma to believe Aunt Margo is a vampire and that she may be one as well!

This was a really fun read and I laughed quite a few times at poor Emma as she tries to go about her usual school activities and keep her life in sync the whole time worrying that at any given minute she would sprout wings, turn into a vampire, and suck her friends dry. Emma was really easy for me to relate to because I myself love dark weather and not so much care for pastel like things.

If your looking for a quick, light, fun read then grab this one!

My daughter (age 11) really enjoyed this book. She is looking forward to reading more in this series. I read a bit of it, and it was a cute story. If your child enjoys the "My Sister's a Vampire" series, she will enjoy this series, too.

Emma-Rose Paley is the odd ball in the family. She hates pastels and loves black. She hates the sunshine and loves gloomy weather. When her mother invites her great-aunt Margo to help out with an exhibit at the Natural History Museum, Margo comes to town for the opening Gala.

Finally, Emma-Rose finds a kindred spirit or so she thinks. She wanders into the guest room late one night and discovers something that makes her skin crawl and makes her questions everything.

Could great-aunt Margo be a vampire? Emma-Rose researches the possibility and discovers that not only it might be possible, but Emma-Rose could be a fledgling herself.

My Thoughts: A spooky read filled with vampires, wild imaginations, best friends, boy drama, and a dance. I loved reading about Emma-Rose and her family. I loved the relationship between her and Henry. I loved how Emma-Rose took charge of the dance and made it something spectacular. And also how she inspired others to stand up too.

This book is about Emma-Rose a pale girl who hates sunshine and garlic and has recently not been able to sleep at night. But when her great aunt margo comes to stay with them Emma-Rose begins to question who she is and what she is. This book was great with a lot of susension and mystery but the end really took a flop:(

At first I thought the book was great with all the mystery and suspention but when i got to the end it really just went down hill! Don't worry i won't ruin the ending for you but this wouldn't be my first pick.

Emma-Rose Paley is dark-haired, navy-eyed, pale-skinned and she just saw her Great-Aunt turn into a bat. Now, on top of the big school Halloween Dance coming up (which her friend Gabby has pushed her to help plan) and her parents working hard on a major gala for the museum, Emma-Rose wonders if she could be a vampire too.
This Totally Bites! is a ultra modern (cell phones and the internet factor in a lot, which is good because many times such things are ignored in modern literature) middle grade scary tale that bring the popularity of the paranormal into a kid-friendly book. Emma-Rose faces realistic kid-sized problems, some of which are even scarier than possibly being a vampire.
While this book does have the potential to be a little too scary for sensitive kids (my daughter insisted on sleeping with a bulb of garlic on her table after we read the Aunt Margo turns into a bat scene) it doesn't touch on any truly uncomfortable situations (for kids or parents). For kids who are trying to edge in on their parents' love of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, or who just love Buffy reruns, this is book, part of the Poison Apple series, is perfect. Recommended for public collections.

Contains: creepiness

Emma-Rose Paley doesn't like being out in the sun or eating garlic, she likes her meat rare, she wears black, is pale, and has trouble sleeping at night. Could Emma be a vampire?

This question comes to light when Emma-Rose's aunt visits their family and Emma catches her transforming into a bat. When her aunt arrives, animals start showing up dead in the local park, which hasn't happened in thirteen years. Thirteen years ago was the last time her aunt visited.

Her aunt is from the Carpathian Mountains, more popularly known as Transylvania. Legends say that vampirism can skip generations and that the children don't become full-fledged vampires until their 13th year. Could Emma-Rose's aunt really be a vampire? Could Emma-Rose be turning into one?

A great book for readers who are interested in vampires but aren't ready for Stephenie Meyer's books. The characters are entertaining and realistic, the plot is well-developed and makes for an interesting twist on the traditional vampire story. Readers who like vampires, magical realism, realistic fiction, and/or the Candy Apple counterpart series will enjoy reading THIS TOTALLY BITES!

Reviewed by: Kira M

This is a darker version of the Candy Apple book series. I think the Candy Apple ones deals with different kids from the same school while this series more like Goosebumps with each book independent of the others. Like some of the Candy Apple books I hope Ruth Ames get a chance to do more for this series.

12 year old Emma Rose has always been into darker side of life. Prefers her meat raw, hate sunlight and loves staying out a night. When great aunt Margo from Translyvania comes for a visit and she think she see one of her stuff bats she brought for the museum turn into her she sure that not only is her Aunt an vampire but she is too. She spend the book trying to prove it with the help of her two best friends.

Good product. Item received quickly and in condition seller stated. Would buy from this seller again.
Thank you.