Published December 2011 Allen & Unwin
From the publisher:
Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire...fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil. That is until one night she encounters a unicorn and he stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. Her family doesn't believe her (because obviously unicorns don't exist), but when Pearl reveals she can now withstand the sun, they are thrilled. She can be enrolled in high school, make friends and then lure these tasty snacks to her family!
I promise that I won't be choosing every book I read this year based on the cover...but that is one of the reasons I picked up this book. I have pretty much had my fill of vampire novels, but this one tickled my fancy as it didn't seem to have as much drama and angst as many others out there. It still has some of the drama involving cliques, bullies, budding romance, mafia style vampire families and let's not forget...prom.
There are a number of 80's movie references when Antoinette is getting Pearl ready to start school which I thought a bit odd. I am not sure if many teenage readers are big John Hughes fans? There are a number of more recent High School movies to draw from, the only explanation I could think of was that Antoinette was made into a vampire in the 80s, and that's why Molly Ringwald is still her inspiration. It didn't take anything away from the story, so it doesn't really matter, and being a Molly fan myselfit only added to its charm.
What I really liked was the humour, maybe it's because of the elusive unicorn, or maybe it's told with just the slightest bit of tongue in cheek. Pearl is a good strong character who has to make a tough decision, and she makes it, not because of a boy, but because her newly found soul leaves her with no choice.
Who will like this book: Girls Age 14+
Read it if you like: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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