Customer Reviews

The Return of the Vampire (Point)

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With a new turn on the old vampire, Caroline B. Cooney expresses the old motto `beauty is on the inside' skillfully in this thrilling tale following the life of Devnee. A dull, boring girl, Devnee yearns for beauty and all the wonderful things it brings. The vampire can grant her this wish, and many others, but they come with a price. Devnee begins to learn as she sees friend and foe suffer because of her selfishness, that even though she is beautiful on the outside, the vampire is slowly rotting her from within with her own greediness.

"The Return of the Vampire" is a different type of vampire book, because it really isn't about the vampire. A great English teacher of mine once said, "Good authors use extraordinary situations to teach ordinary lessons." Cooney does just this through the vampire, addressing ordinary teenage wishes.

Ordinary,dull, boring Devnee longs to be the most popular, beautiful girl in school. It's bad enough she had to move into the old house with a tower. Devnee wants the in-crowd to be her friends but they all hate her. One night Devnee was in the tower, (which happens to be her room) out comes the vampire who has been trapped there for a long time.He promises to give her anything she wants, that is for a price. Devnee didn't think much of it at first, but later on she realized that what she did was wrong and that she had to undo what she did and stop him before he hurts anyone else. Will Devnee be strong enough to defeat him? Find out as you turn the pages.

This is a really suspensive book. I've read this series of the vampire stories. I love all of Caroline's books and trust me. this book is worth reading and you'd wish you buy it.

I thought that Caroline B. Cooney did exelent in writing this book, it was great. I like the part in the book when she relizes she was wrong but it's to late!!!!!!!!!

Synopsis: Devnee Fountain has just moved in with her family to an old Victorian Mansion. When Devnee first sees the house, she is intrigued by the tower. Being a lonely, dull girl with no interesting personality or friends, she pictures herself living like a princess in her room on top of the tower. She wishes more than anything to be beautiful, because with beauty, she feels she can make friends easily and achieve anything she wants.

When Devnee starts going to school, she meets Trey, Aryssa and Nina who are part of the school's buddy system, and show her around. Devnee thinks Trey and Aryssa are really friendly, but then realizes that like Nina, they were just pretending to be nice with her. Devnee feels completely rejected.

Little does she know that there is a vampire living in the tower room where she now lives; a vampire who can make her wishes come true, who can make her really beautiful and have everyone befriend and adore her. In the beginning, all her dreams come true when the vampire makes her beautiful and all the kids start noticing her. But then she realizes this vampire does his work for a price; a price that could destroy Devnee's life if she is not careful.

When Devnee realizes that she is borrowing her beauty from Aryssa, by sending Aryssa to fulfill the vampire's appetite, she knows that she is under the vampire's power, because in order to stay beautiful, she needs to supply the vampire continuously. Is there any hope for Devnee to keep her beauty and escape from the vampire?

Review: I actually read "The Cheerleader" before I read this book, because they both involve the same vampire, and are part of "The Vampire" series written by the same author. I must say I enjoyed this book better than "The Cheerleader" mainly because this story felt more believable.

For one thing, I liked the fact that unlike "The Cheerleader", this book actually mentions Devnee's parents and involves her mother to the plot twist. I felt like the author also expresses Devnee's reactions very realistically, where Devnee feels angry towards Victoria one minute for nominating Aryssa as the Sweet Heart for the Valentine's Day dance, but in the next minute, wishes that she were as nice as Victoria, or sad that William fancies Victoria for her smartness rather than her looks.

Although I really enjoyed reading the book throughout, I felt the ending was a little rushed and could have been written better, or in more detail. But other than that, I thought this was a well written vampire book by Caroline B. Cooney.

If you enjoyed reading this book, I would recommend reading the others in the Vampire series, namely "The Cheerleader" and "The Vampire's Promise".

Caroline B. Cooney has written another offbeat thriller that hits closer to home than most of the teen pulp written these days. Devnee's yearning for beauty and acceptance reminds us all of the times when we do not feel special or worthwhile. Cooney's descriptions of atmosphere and settings do more to scare than blood and gore. This is an overlooked gem of a book. Its message is cliched, but still important: beauty is found on the inside.

Ordinary,dull, boring Devnee longs to be the most popular, beautiful girl in school. It's bad enough she had to move into the old house with a tower. Devnee wants the in-crowd to be her friends but they all hate her. One night Devnee was in the tower, (which happens to be her room) out comes the vampire who has been trapped there for a long time.He promises to give her anything she wants, that is for a price. Devnee didn't think much of it at first, but later on she realized that what she did was wrong and that she had to undo what she did and stop him before he hurts anyone else. Will Devnee be strong enough to defeat him? Find out as you turn the pages.