Normally I don’t go in for Vampire books, never really have, whether they sparkle or not, and I haven’t read teen high-school romance since I was fifteen because the basic formula got old. You’d think on that basis that I would not enjoy this book.
I did enjoy this book.
Very much.
My previous experience with vampire stories involves the vampires being separate from humans and above all secret, or at least rumored and talked about in fear-filled hushed voices, only to be discovered by our intrepid heroine who falls madly in love with the eternal and tormented vampire (who was mercifully turned in his teens and not his fifties) who’s as deep as a table spoon where the inevitable outcome is her turning into a vampire, the end.
Teen literature seemed to be much the same, only it would be the popular guy in school who was as deep as a table spoon that the pining heroine would eventually get only to realise he was completely wrong for her and the convenient best friend was practically begging for her.
Team Human smashes both of those stereotypes in the face with a wet fish.
Not only are vampires a known part of life, but there’s a vampire police force in shiny outfits and zombie containment squads! They live in the vampire answer to council housing; tudor mansions etc in their own district, they even have a tour bus!
Not only that, but our intrepid heroine is not the one to fall madly in love with the vampire, it’s her best friend! And she seems to be the only one seeing the problems with this idea. What’s really great about this book is that these two wonderful ladies have managed to compile a compact cast who portray all the different potential ways of looking at the situation and manage to convey that without detracting from the main characters or slowing down the pace of the book.
It’s also interesting to see a book from the point of view of the lady best friend and all the strains and frustrations that come with that. Of having no one to turn to when no one in spitting distance agrees with you and all you can do is watch as your friend makes their decisions on their own. And it covers the very difficult lesson of learning that people make their own choices and no matter how much you love them, they won’t always see things your way and that’s okay, even though it’s hard.
I’m also not usually wow-ed by first person POV stories as I like to get a handle on all the characters but strangely enough when reading Team Human, it didn’t feel like it was first person. It didn’t fall into the routine of focusing on Mel and Mel’s love interest as the rest of the world seemed to dim into the background it cycled well through the characters so you didn’t find yourself forgetting about any of them.
Nice to see also was the inclusion of the other members of the friend group, that one at least was given a plot line that kept the book ticking over in between the strained friendship and blooming romance that added to that element that a girl’s life is not all about boys. Then it all tied in at the end for an exciting ending and clear messages without having to have them spelled out for the reader.
For fans of Sarah Rees Brennan’s The Demon’s Lexicon series you’ll see a lot of Brennan’s trademark humour throughout the book. Sadly I’m not as well versed in Justine Larbalestier’s writing to say conclusively if her style stands out in the book (I shall have to read her work and see!) but it certainly ties in. I haven’t read a lot of co-written books but Team Human does appear to be a seamless shining example of it’s trade.
I wish there was more!
I loved the cover but I would say the models look a little old for the characters they’re portraying! But the whose-looking-at-whom says volumes about the contents but in a subtly way that I think is impressive.
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