Got Fangs?

Rating:
Summary: delightful young adult fantasy
Review: Oregonian teenager Francesca only wants to be normal, but that is difficult when you are six feet tall, bigger than most males in the school, and can read minds by touching objects. Making it more difficult to be a norm is her recently divorced mother, a witch who has dragged Fran to Hungary on a traveling show tour filled with freaks and geeks.

Fran is almost run over by a motorcycle. The driver is a hunk who is actually taller than her, which is what freaks her out. She does not blink when she learns he is Benedikt Czerny, a Czech Moravian Dark One over three centuries old. As she suffers from a crush over the geriatric vampire who does not look a day over his early twenties, he believes she is the one who will save his soul. Of course when it comes to battling a demon, Benedikt thinks Fran and his sister should stay home while he fights alone; he obviously does not understand an American Amazonian princess who is prepared to kick demon butt and his if necessary between their kisses.

The cast whether they are normals, supernatural, or hybrid in-betweeners seem genuine so that the audience receives a delightful young adult fantasy. The story line grips the audience from the moment a lamenting Fran, the poster girl for teen angst, meets Benedikt, the centerfold of vampires; and never slows down until the final altercation with the demon that will open the Moravian's eyes (not his fangs). Fans will appreciate this fine amusing yet suspenseful tale of vampires, witches, and demons, oh my.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Katie Maxwell Has Done It Again!
Review: Sixteen-year-old Francesca (Fran) Getti has never wanted anything more than to have a normal life, and to simply blend in with other kids her age, that way no one could ever figure out just how much of a freak she is. Unfortunately, that's too much to ask for, since she has now been dragged off to the middle of Hungary by her mother - a witch - to join a traveling band of magicians, psychics, and other oddities, called GothFaire. If this weren't enough, Fran is now forced to be the "normal" one amongst a bunch of freaks; while at the same time try to face her fate as a psychometrist - someone who need only touch something to know strange facts. Things are looking down, until Fran meets a Moravian Dark One - a.k.a. a vampire - named Benedikt, who insists that Fran is the key to redeeming his soul. Throw in an immortal friend who remembers what Mozart was like, a mysterious horse with a strange past, and a demonologist who thinks he's Elvis, and you can see why Fran has absolutely no chance of fitting in. Ever.

I have been a fan of Katie Maxwell since the release of THE YEAR MY LIFE WENT DOWN THE LOO, yet her amazing writing still amazes me. Each book she writes is just as good, if not better, than her previous one, and GOT FANGS? is no exception. Fran is a hilarious character, whose hectic life, and demented mother and friends, will drag readers into this novel, and not let them out until the very last page. Whether you're a fan of Katie Maxwell's or not, GOT FANGS? is a book that can't be missed!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Rating:
Summary: Got Fangs?
Review: We all know Nancy Drew- the eternally cute, pretty, perky, teen aged Wonder Woman detective who is so perfect we'd gladly let her solve her own murder. Fran is none of that, but she is gifted. The problem is, she'd like to return the gift. Having touch telepathy makes her life one of constant exposure to others' emotions. Working in a traveling carnival with psychics, an Elvis impersonating demonologist, an Immortal and other assortedly gifted people makes her craving for normal intensify. When a new guy rides into her life, she can find the blessing in the lack of normal. If her life was that mundane- Ben would never look twice at her, he's hot and she's not, at least in her opinion. However, since he's a Dark One and she's his Beloved, he only has eyes for her. Unfortunately, his love is a bit overprotective when she gets involved in an investigation into thefts that threaten everyone's livlihoods and she overhears a mental plot to kill Ben.

**** The concept of a Dark One (vampire) and his beloved was introduced in Ms. Maxwell's less young adult novels written as Katie MacAlister, and it translates well into her young adult work. Fran and Ben's love story promises to develop into something very interesting as time passes. Ben will probably appeal more to the Spike loving fans than the Angel lovers since he's the fun kind of vamp- not a brooder who thinks happiness is poison. Underneath the fun and mystery is a very healthy message for girls- you don't have to be perfect to be wonderful. ****