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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 13, 2008
This review is from: Suck It Up (Hardcover)
At sixteen, Morning McCobb is a recent graduate of the IVL. No, Morning isn't a genius. He is a sixteen-year-old vampire just graduating from the International Vampire League. But this League of Vampires isn't what you would expect; their motto is to "drink culture, not life." They exist peacefully by blending in with humanity -- that is, until now.
Morning is going to be the first to "come out of the closet." He's the kind of vampire the League has been waiting for. Young, nonthreatening, the kid is a sangv! Sangv translation: blood virgin, meaning he's never drunk human blood. In fact, Morning has never drank blood belonging to a living organism, human or animal. He drinks Blood-lite, a soy-based blood substitute!
To help with his coming-out process, Morning is teamed up with Penny Dredful, the owner of PR Agency. It is her responsibility to turn Morning's fifteen-minutes of fame into 24/7 coverage. Credibility is the least of their worries; once Morning pulls a couple of CD's (cell differentiation) and turns from a boy into a dolphin, back into a boy, and then into a tree and back again, most people are believers. But not everyone is a Morning McCobb fan. There is a group of vampires called Loners who haven't conformed to the Leaguer way and still feed on humans. They want Morning eliminated before he reveals all of their secrets.
Is the world ready for Morning McCobb, a real vampire?
SUCK IT UP is another rendition of the growing array of young adult vampire novels. Meehl's take on the vampire lore is interesting, refreshing, and humorous! Debunking the myth of vampires and sun as "solar phobia," as well as their fear of garlic -- hello, bad breath! I also enjoyed the references to superheroes and comic characters, being a fan of the genre myself! Morning wants to be a superhero as well as a firefighter, after his experiences from 9/11. The characters are original, although I didn't hold a strong liking to any of them. Overall, SUCK IT UP was a funny and original. This is a book that I think boys as well as girls would like. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy the vampire sub-genre!
Reviewed by: The Story Siren
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book to sink your teeth into, July 19, 2008
This review is from: Suck It Up (Hardcover)
Most teen vampire novels drip with dark, gothic atmospheres or devolve into needless whining angst, but this one definately fits the "perky goth" tag. Morning McCobb is anything but your typical dark, brooding teen vampire prince: if anything, he's the antithesis, a lovable, delightfully geeky lover of comicbook superheroes. Among the young members of the cleverly-named IV League, he's a bit of a misfit who falls over himself when he shapeshifts, but his cheerful outlook keep him from falling into the pit of self-pity. The ambitious head of the IV League, a covert organization of vampires who have weaned themselves off the need for human blood, grooms him to be the poster-boy for "Worldwide Out Day" -- his pet project to ennable League vampires to come out of the "selva obscura", the dark forest they have lived within for so long, and mingle with "Lifers", or ordinary humans -- and Morning accepts the role reluctantly at first. But the schemes of a "Loner", a rogue vampire, named DeThanatos, nearly thwart this plan for the reunion of humans and vampires, and endanger Morning's relationship with his PR rep's would-be sophisticated filmmaker daughter.
Slapstick comedy, mischievous turns of phrases, playful tweaks of the vampire mythos, noble derring-do, charmingly awkward romance -- there's a little bit of everything in this book. The pace is a little more slap-dash than I would have liked, but that fits well with the superhero tropes (and comic book references, from X-Men to Superman to heavier material like Alan Moore's Watchmen) that author Brian Meehl liberally sprinkles throughout the story. I'm looking forward to seeing a graphic novel adaptation or sequel to this!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Original and Witty, January 20, 2010
"Lifer: A mortal, or age-challenged, human being. Loner: A vampire who practices the old ways and insists that being a bloodsucking fiend is part of his or her ethnic heritage. Leaguer: A vampire who has conquered the craving for human blood and lives on a diet of animal blood or artificial blood substitutes."
As a tot, orphan Morning McCobb dreamed of being a superhero. At age 16, he managed to get bitten, not by a radioactive spider, but by a vampire. Newly graduated from the super-secret International Vampire League Academy, Morgan has been chosen to be the first modern vampire to `come out' to the mortal humans. If his experiment is a success, it will pave the way for all Leaguers to walk in the light.
Aided by PR specialist Penny Dredful and her wise-cracking daughter Portia, Morgan is ready to show his stuff, as it were, to the sensation seeking press. However, a few obstacles still block his path to fame. There are both `Lifers' and `Loners' who would like nothing better than to drive a stake through his heart. Then too, Morgan will have to control his envy for all things human if he wants to keep his bloodlust for Portia (as well as the more human feelings that she inspires) in check.
Suck It Up is a fun, funky, original take on vampires in the modern world with likable characters and a great story.
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