Fat Vampire: a fat disappointment

Vampires of course are the latest trend in teen culture, (although it has appeared to die down a little). In a world with beautiful vampires with their their good looks and young love that is intact and lasts forever. BUT, what happens to the not so charming,nerdy awkward guy becomes a vamp ?  The answer can be found in Doug Lee, in Adam Rex's Fat Vampire. As if teenage years aren't awkward enough imagine being stuck as a perpetual adolescent. To make matters worse for Doug, he has to struggle to find blood (he ends up settling for cows). Meanwhile unbeknown to Doug he is being hunted by a reality show, Vampire Hunters. What is Doug to do? Can he survive life as a vamp?
I was very excited to read this for several reasons. I am not a fan of the vampire trend, so a book a mocking vampires, awesome! Then the twist of further mocking Twlight beauties by making the main protagonist an ugly nerdy vampire, I was so there and was ready to laugh! Also the cover, (in Teen Lit, covers sell books) further demonstrated the quirk and humor of the book. So where did Fat Vampire go wrong?
The first few chapters of the book were entertaining. When we first meet Doug, he is already a vampire and the only person that knows is his best friend Jay. Doug's vampire-ism doesn't stop them from going to comic-con where they rob a blood donation bus. In another incident Doug tries to get blood from a panda at the San Diego zoo, when the zoo keepers notice him in the pen, he freaks and accidentally transforms himself into bat. I was under the impression that the rest of the story would be filled with silly hi-jinks as Doug struggles with
new vampire lifestyle, instead the rest of the story well took a weird turn. Just about all of the silly incidents occurred in the first several chapters. A dual narrative is introduced from the point of view of Sejal, a foreign-exchange student from India. She is hoping to reinvent herself because she has 'the google' (a self diagnosed addiction to the internet). The two narratives to meet and catch up, but I really don't know why. At first it seems she is going to be Doug's Bollywood Bella to his awkward chubby Edward, but their relationship fizzles out before it even starts.
Another issue in Fat Vampire was the character development. In the case of Doug, the main character, there was none! Doug is the main character and we know nothing about his home life and his family. In youth literature thats usually an important aspect of the character, it shows the reader what makes the main character tick and makes him a bit more relatable. Doug was not at all, he was a jerk! At one point, out of no where Doug becames a super cool mack daddy vampire and gets a girl friend.. the only reason, to use her, so he can suck her blood while they make out. I hated Doug, I felt more of a connection to the secondary characters, like Jay, Sejal and the theater kids she hangs out with.  
The biggest upset for me was the end.. ::SPOILER ALERT:: 3/4 of the way through the book a plot actually emerges! Doug is told his vampire-ness can be reversed if he kills the head vampire. So he goes out on a hunt and it turns out its his mentor Stephen. So they meet up one night and I expect an epic battle, but the Vampire Hunter guys kill Stephen with steak through the heart. As for Doug he gets hit with a steak as well, Segal is next to him and it seem he might survive. There are several possible outcomes that could occur, and they are all included in the last two pages, with the last option being, Doug dies.
Really? That's how you end the story? That is horrible and makes me feel like I wasted my time reading the stupid book. I wanted to love this book I really did, but that ending drove me over the edge. That is just lazy writing! Bottom line, Fat Vampire was just as horrible as the books it was parodying. As far as vampire books go, it sucked.

Harry Potter Crafts

Hello to all of my Harry Potter fans! The thing that really got me into knitting was my desire for a Gryffindor scarf with the scarelett red and yellow colors (because buying it meant paying a stupid ammount of money) So I taught myself to knitt (with a little help from my Aunt Marie).  Recently, with my love for Harry Potter re-energized (because of the last movie, going to the Wizarding World theme park, and my loveable nerdos Caitie and Kim) I felt it was time for a new scarf. So I made a lovely one for myself, then I made one for one of my nerdos. I also found some left over Harry Potter fabric I had since the Chamber of Secrets film came out. So I finally decided to use it and I made some pillows of the flying Ford Anglia.

Also after an amazing trip to the Wizard World theme park and my first sip of butterbeer... o-m-g. I could not live with out that stuff! So me and Tim made some we follow this recipie which came out really yummers. It's pretty much butterscotch, cream soda and amazing-ness.
Then I tried experiementing. I tried a hat, it came out ok. They were made with circular needles and it was allright but I didn't blow myself away, I'm not very good at hats. Then my fingers started to freeze in the artic tundra that the North East has turned into this Winter. My current gloves are cute fingerless ones that I love, but I needed something better. So I broke out the double pointed needles and came up with these!

My first successful attempt at glove/mittens and I did it using my own design! I have some ideas to make even more knitted gloves that aren't harry potter related. I am going to try and make Avatar:the Last Airbender gloves and perhaps even a 1 + up mushroom. I'll keep you updated on those (if they ever happen)
If you would like to be the proud owner of a pair of these beauties, then check out my etsy shop: Jip Ma Gip
If you like the gloves but not crazy for Gryffindor I can do any other color combos you'd like, contact me via etsy and we'll work something out.

Book Review: Ghostopolis

Garth is a hopeless teenager, but not in a conventional sense, Garth is dying. His mom has dragged him to every doctor and they have all said there is nothing they can do. But Garth has somewhat come to terms with his mortality, that is until he accidentally is sent to purgatory. This happens to be just another mishap from the Supernatural Immigration Task Force and the last straw for officer Frank Gallows who is immediately kicked off the force. Despite being down on his luck, Gallows wants to save Garth and enlists the help of is ghostie ex-fiancee', Claire Voyant to help him get into Ghostopolis. Meanwhile, Garth explores his strange new environment (with his love-able skeleton horse). He comes across a silly kid named Cecil who shows him the ropes of Ghostopolis. Garth feels a strange connection to Cecil and rightfully so because he turns out to be Garth's long lost grandfather.

Now that your mind has officially been blown I can tell you how much I enjoyed this graphic novel. From this point in the story I had a feeling that Ghostopolis was something unique and special. This is due to author/artist Doug TenNapel. You may remember him from the cartoon/video game Earth Worm Jim. Ghostopolis is his latest graphic novel in which he displays his gift for creating compelling characters and putting them in situations that are just as extraordinary.   

The story itself is one we've all heard before, a boy is given extraordinary powers in a new world and of course there is a conflict of good and evil, but the story is still great and it is the world that TenNapel creates that I fell in love with. It is a supernatural backdrop that allows Mummy Pharaohs, Zombie’s, Bogey men and Bone King’s exist among each other. It also allows human inhabitants to be of an internal age (you look how old you feel, hence the young gramps) TenNapel also crafts simple yet noteworthy characters that are both comical and emotional. The first ghost we meet is Benedict Arnold and like what we believe from history he is a straight up jerk, but a funny one. Frank Gallows is a poor guy unhappy with his life just going through the motions until he falls back in love with Claire (and I don’t want to give too much away but there is a little love triangle!) The most moving characters are Garth’s Mother and grandfather, who are able to make amends.

This is a great read for any fantasy fans. The intended audience is children, but it is still enjoyable for nerdy adults like me! Another thing I particularly enjoyed about this graphic novel, is that it told a great story in a short amount of time and in one singular volume. It is a nice change of pace to not have the anxiety of anticipating more.

Released in the Summer of 2010, there is already a theatrical version in the works. Hugh Jackman has been cast as our loveable anti hero, Frank Gallows (which is pretty dead on). Let’s just hope they stay that accurate and faithful to the book.