The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill
Brewer, Heather
ISBN-13 978-1455830336
ISBN-10 145583033X
Publisher: Brilliance Audio, 2011
Genre: Fantasy- Paranormal
Reading Level: 830 Lexile
Interest Age: 12-17
Reader's Annotation:
Joss has special talents that others see, but he does not notice. Can he use those talents to beat the world's most vicious creatures?
Plot Summary:
This is the first book in the series. Joss ends up at his Uncle Abraham's cabin for the summer. Within days, he finds out that his uncle's cabin is is not just a summer getaway, but a place for a group of vampire slayers to come together. They are planning to clear the forests of vampires and Joss will be trained to become one of them due to his special talents. He is put through many tests. First he must purify his soul so he is able to sense the vampires further. His uncle is very hard on him and many of the other slayers cannot figure out why. He goes through whippings, extremely long runs, and the complete non-approval of his uncle. Joss runs into a vampire on his own one day who asks his name. They have a conversation and Joss' world is changed forever. Will he be able to obtain his uncle's approval and become a true vampire slayer?
Critical Evaluation:
Heather Brewer is famous for her first series The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod . This new series, The Slayer Chronicles is an offshoot with a focus on Joss. The book picks up with the characters from the other series. This can be wonderful if one has read all the books in the first series, but for those picking this book up without reading others, the characters are just thrown at you. The writing style is very clear and the performers of the audio book bring the characters to life. Each voice is a distict character which makes for easy listening and understanding. The listener can get distracted and refocus without risk of not understanding the story. There are many characters involved in the story and sometimes it is hard to keep all of them straight. The story would be easier to follow if not as many characters were popping in and out of the story line.
About the Author:
Heather Brewer has written three series. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, The Slayer Chronicles and The Legacy of Tril. Each one of the series are about paranormal activities and creatures. Each book contains blood. Brewer knows her target audience well because as a teenager, she loved to read, dressed in black, danced under the full moons and was very interested in paranormal.
Brewer has not changed much with age. She still enjoys walking through cemeteries and she owns a coffin couch. She likes to spend time with her family and really enjoys writing novels for teens. She has written many short stories as well. One can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and her Blog.
http://www.heatherbrewer.com/bio.php
Curriculum Ties:
N/A
This is the first book in the series. Joss ends up at his Uncle Abraham's cabin for the summer. Within days, he finds out that his uncle's cabin is is not just a summer getaway, but a place for a group of vampire slayers to come together. They are planning to clear the forests of vampires and Joss will be trained to become one of them due to his special talents. He is put through many tests. First he must purify his soul so he is able to sense the vampires further. His uncle is very hard on him and many of the other slayers cannot figure out why. He goes through whippings, extremely long runs, and the complete non-approval of his uncle. Joss runs into a vampire on his own one day who asks his name. They have a conversation and Joss' world is changed forever. Will he be able to obtain his uncle's approval and become a true vampire slayer?
Critical Evaluation:
Heather Brewer is famous for her first series The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod . This new series, The Slayer Chronicles is an offshoot with a focus on Joss. The book picks up with the characters from the other series. This can be wonderful if one has read all the books in the first series, but for those picking this book up without reading others, the characters are just thrown at you. The writing style is very clear and the performers of the audio book bring the characters to life. Each voice is a distict character which makes for easy listening and understanding. The listener can get distracted and refocus without risk of not understanding the story. There are many characters involved in the story and sometimes it is hard to keep all of them straight. The story would be easier to follow if not as many characters were popping in and out of the story line.
About the Author:
Heather Brewer has written three series. The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, The Slayer Chronicles and The Legacy of Tril. Each one of the series are about paranormal activities and creatures. Each book contains blood. Brewer knows her target audience well because as a teenager, she loved to read, dressed in black, danced under the full moons and was very interested in paranormal.
Brewer has not changed much with age. She still enjoys walking through cemeteries and she owns a coffin couch. She likes to spend time with her family and really enjoys writing novels for teens. She has written many short stories as well. One can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and her Blog.
http://www.heatherbrewer.com/bio.php
Curriculum Ties:
N/A
Book Talking:
Could you be a vampire slayer?
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book will appeal to a wide variety of teenagers because it is intriguing and suspenseful. There is no love story in this book which will appeal to boys as well as the fact that the main character is a teenage boy. This is a different side to vampires than shown in Twilight and other books.
Could you be a vampire slayer?
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book will appeal to a wide variety of teenagers because it is intriguing and suspenseful. There is no love story in this book which will appeal to boys as well as the fact that the main character is a teenage boy. This is a different side to vampires than shown in Twilight and other books.
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