Boys That Bite

BOYS THAT BITE by Mari Mancusi
Category: Paranormal
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 4/4/06
Publisher: Berkley
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"
Rating: 5 Stars

Sunshine "Sunny" McDonald was doing pretty well; the hottest guy at Oakridge High School, Jake Wilder, has asked her
to go to the prom with him, and life is now complete. At five-foot-four, with dirty blond hair and unimpressive muddy
brown eyes, Sunny would have sworn that Jake didn't even know she existed. Freckles notwithstanding, she's not as
easily recognizable as her twin sister, Rayne, who's so into the Goth scene, vampires, and wearing all black that it's not
even funny. Yes, life is looking up--until Sunny lets herself get guilt-tripped into attending Club Fang, a cheesy Goth club
filled with wannabe vampires, and suddenly her life isn't so sunny anymore.

The night starts out okay--yes, the club is the epitome of cheesy and the smoke machine is making her cough--but
improves vastly when an Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean Orlando, not Lord of the Rings Orlando)
introduces himself with a "Good evening..I'm Magnus..I believe you were expecting me" line. Sunny sure wasn't expecting
him, and she definitely was not expecting the bite on the neck she gets from the totally hot Magnus.

Suddenly life is taking a dark turn, when Sunny finds out that Magnus is not only a vampire--for real!--but that he mistook
her for her twin sister, Rayne. Now Sunny's going to turn into one of the undead--this close to prom!--unless she find the
Holy Grail. Which is the one and only thing that can reverse the process of turning into a vampire. But even with thoughts
of Jake Wilder on the brain, Sunny's not so sure that being a vampire would be so horrible, or that being in league with
Magnus would be the end of her life.

BOYS THAT BITE is a funny, action-packed read that will keep you turning pages long into the night. The
characters--from Sunny, Rayne, Magnus, and everyone in between--are all well-rounded people, and the dialogue is
smart and funny. As the three race to save Sunny from an eternal life as a member of the undead, she'll have to find out
what's most important in life. And the ending, including a stunner regarding Rayne, definitely sets up the scene for a
sequel. A great read!