Sweet Sixteen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Paperback)

by Scott Ciencin (Author) "Tentacles writhed under the dark leather coat of the man ahead of Buffy..." (more)
Key Phrases: demon blood, magic shop, Tentacle Guy, Quick Stop, Sweater Mafia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A novel of teenage mystery and angst featuring Buffy's younger sister, Dawn. Buffy's younger sister, Dawn, knows just how it feels to be different, so when she overhears some of her classmates making fun of a new girl, Arianna, she steps in, and the two become friends. But when Buffy comes home one afternoon to find Dawn and Arianna hanging out, she's surprised -- she encountered Arianna one night out on patrol. A demon had been attacking her, but Arianna fought back on her own. It seemed to Buffy like Arianna was well able to look after herself. What's that about? The more the gang gets to know Arianna, the more puzzled they become. She has super strength and accelerated healing power, just like a Slayer. But she also has a dark secret and an unusal past...and a dangerous legacy primed to reveal itself, just as soon as she turns sweet sixteen.

About the Author
Scott Ciencin is the author of more than forty novels and numerous comic books for both adults and teens. SWEET SIXTEEN is his first Buffy novel.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (May 7, 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0743449614
• ISBN-13: 978-0743449618
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,322,036 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just Another Pretty Face, April 21, 2002

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Sweet Sixteen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Mass Market Paperback)

In Sunnydale demons are no surprise to Buffy. Not even when a bunch of them show up in line for cat food at the local Quick Stop. Buffy, as usual, to the rescue. Except that this time an unassuming looking middle school student loses her cool and unexpectedly rips a demon to shreds. But before Buffy can say "hello" the girl is gone and the mystery gets filed away. For our regular girl wonder realizes that someone has elected her target in the demonic equivalent of 'Survivor.' This time the show seems to be called 'Get That Slayer."

The unexpected demon stomper is Arianna DuPrey, a fellow student at Dawn's school. Arianna, the child of a hypercritical mother, has spent most of her life avoiding attention. Now she finds herself in the possession of the kind of powers that she has previously only fantasized about and she is terrified. While she is trying to cope with this she attracts the attention, and then the friendship of Dawn, who has had her own struggles with being different. When Buffy discovers that Dawn's new friend is also the mystery girl from the Quick Stop there is a bit of a scramble before Arianna begins to accept that Buffy, Dawn, and the rest of the Scooby gang actually want to help her discover that has happened to her. For Arianna, who has always been a loner, this is a major, and sometimes difficult, adjustment.

But Arianna's coming into her powers has awakened one more player. Sensing an opportunity for freedom and power another Aurek Kiritan arouses himself to seek re-entry into the human plane. Arianna's father, her mother's demon lover, returns to the human plane, intent on having his half-human young daughter assume the role of the Reaver, a creature of legend, intent on bearing destruction wherever she goes. For this he will give her three gifts and require her willing consent. Only one thing stands in his way - Buffy and her band of friends, who keep reminding Arianna of her human half. Into this relationship he must drive a wedge or face the destruction of his own dreams.

The conflict in this book between Arianna's need to be special and Buffy's own need to be human sets up a relationship that will bring change to both. And the normally petulant and slightly impossible Dawn reveals her own in inner strength in the mirror of care and acceptance she holds up to both her sister and her friend. Arianna's confusion about whether her father is hero or horror, her inability to resolve her feelings for Dawn and Buffy, and her indecision about her own nature make this a particularly poignant book. As is often the case, Buffy books such as this one from Scott Ciencin have a lot to say about more important things than the slaying of vampires. This one does that particularly well, using fine writing and a memorable plot. Great reading.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Sixteen rocks, May 16, 2002

By	"aronabri2002" (Canton, Oh United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweet Sixteen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought that Sweet Sixteen was a great book to read. The Story was really creative and we got to see a different side to Buffy and Dawn in the book. I think that Buffy being a kind of mentor to Arianna was absolutely brillant and the whole story was great. The whole back story of the girl getting superpowers and buffy seeing herself in the gilr and wanting to help her kind of reminds me of why I like the Buffster. Two thumbs Up.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The worst Buffy book by far, July 1, 2002

By	J. Boccanfuso (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sweet Sixteen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Mass Market Paperback)

Scott Ciencin doesn't deserve praise of any kind for this book.

The story of Sweet Sixteen is so drawn-out (even at only 211 pages) that I, a Buffy fanatic, became bored with it quickly. Ciencin focuses so much on his own characters that most of the others are completely lost. Arianna is a bland character. She changes her mind at least 5 times throughout the book.

By biggest problem comes on page 133. My favorite quote of all time on the show Buffy is in the season 5 (the same season Sweet Sixteen takes place in) episode "The Gift." Spike says to Buffy, "I know I'm a monster, but you treat me like a man." Ciencin takes this quote, twists it, and applies it to a different situation. In Sweet Sixteen, he puts in as something Spike to said to Buffy concerning her mother's death... the quote now reads, "I know I'm a monster, but your mother treated me like a man." Why would Spike say this to Buffy about her mother? The book takes place before "The Gift," but why would Spike say that about Buffy's mom if he would later say it about Buffy herself? I know it's not that big of a deal, but Ciencin took a beautiful quote and manipulated it for his own story. That really bugged me.

Do NOT buy Sweet Sixteen. It's boring. Plain and simple. But... I do have to say I enjoyed one part of this book: the reference to Psycho Beach Party. Otherwise, I would never recommend this book.