Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

Boy meets girl.
Boy likes girl.
Boy gets infected.
Boy helps save the world.

Nowadays, a unique spin on the classic vampire story is hard to come by. Thankfully, Scott Westerfeld delivers with Peeps, which drips with snarky dialogue, well-researched diseases, and fresh twists.

In this novel, vampirism isn't a curse; it's a disease. There's no big Dracula-esque bloodsucker, but there are plenty of rats and cats. Cal learns all this and more when he moves from Texas to the Big Apple, meets a girl, and gets infected. Instead of getting the full-scale disease, he is a carrier, a peep, slang for parasite-positive.

Ultimately, Peeps is about science and natural selection, rather than horror and campfire tales. This dark comedy will make readers laugh and think - two great elements of escapism. Peeps is a fast-paced story which is as catchy as the disease it details.

After Peeps, Westerfeld wrote a companion novel entitled The Last Days. While not a direct sequel, the world is the same, and readers will recognize characters who make important cameos.

More Westerfeld reviews and news at Bildungsroman:
Interview: Justine Larbalestier and Scott Westerfeld
Book Review: The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld
Book Review: The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
Book Review: The Midnighters trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
Book Review: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld