Vampire's Assistant, by Darren Shan

The Vampire’s Assistant, by Darren Shan, is the second thrilling book in the Cirque du Freak series. This time, Darren can’t avoid drinking human blood, if he wants to stay alive that is. Mr. Crepsley and Darren have reunited with the freak show as Darren learns the rules to being undead. He even makes friends with Evra, the snake boy, and Sam, a local who isn’t part of the show. When a man, R.V., opposes things of the Cirque, he decides to do something about it. What happens when you mess with the Cirque?

Darren Shan needs only a pen and paper to satisfy me. This novel is the perfect sequel to the first book and it’s great to learn more about each of the characters as we go along with Darren. I think that this is the best vampire book due to the lack of cliché romantics and boring characters. I would recommend this book to young-teen boys and girls, mostly boys, because they might find the idea of vampires and the cruelty that takes place more interesting. This is a must read if you have read the first!

Reviewed by Kristine, grade 9.