The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd by Heather Brewer

“If citizens followed their leaders' example throughout history, the human race would have died out centuries ago.”― Ninth Grade Slays

The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd by Heather Brewer follows the story of Vladimir Todd from eighth grade through to twelfth grade. Vlad goes to school like a normal boy and encounters all the problems of a normal boy, from bullying to stress from homework; however he is not normal at all. Vladimir has a big secret, he is a vampire. His parents died and so he lives in the care of Nelly, his mother's best friend. Although he doesn't  want to hurt anyone he can't help being who he is, not even him knows the full extent of his powers. When a substitute teacher comes into the scene he thinks his cover will be blown. Even worse he thinks that the teacher knows more than he should and was connected to his parents' death.    
                                                                                                                        

The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd is a series of short books,  especially since the books use large font sizes. The plot of the series is quite simple too. There aren't too many surprises and follows quite a straight path, but this is not to say it was boring. These books fall into the ' dark youth fantasy novels' category. With its simple and predictable story, vampire and gothic creatures and last but not least a bit of romance; making it a perfect series for me. 

One thing that differs this series from others of the same genre is its target audience. While twilight was written for young adults (twilight does reach for an older youth audience even if it appealed  to a broader audience that included 10 year old girls), I would say this series was written for pre-teens to fifteen year olds. What this means is less violence and way less inappropriate scenes, his love life was only a kiss or two from his crush and later from a mysterious girl he 'falls in love with.' This, especially the violence part, could disappoint some but for me it made it more enjoyable. I don't need the details on someones brutal death. The protagonist is quite a likeable character too. 

Although I found that the series was enjoyable and I did recommend it to my friends (who like it too) I think that Heather Brewer is stepping overboard with her new series. Brewer wrote another part to the series which is from the slayer's point of view. Although I'm sure it will be written well enough I read the first of its  books and it was just too repetitive. There is only so much you can get away with the same characters.