Guest Review- Vesper by Jeff Sampson

    Donna and I met when I worked at the library near the high school where she taught. She was kind enough to let me join the high school book club she began and we partnered running the meetings. I instantly felt a connection with her as she loves YA as much as I do and is such a wonderfully, kind and genuine person. She is also tons of fun to be with and we have the same sense of humour. I'm so happy that even though we no longer "work" together, she's become a very dear friend. Here's her review of Vesper.



Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Published by Harpercollins  January 2011

304 pages

Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher

Summary from GoodReads

Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.

The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely— something not human?
As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

  Let's state the obvious: there are many YA books out there that feature vampires, witches, and werewolves. Vesper is indeed one of those novels...however...Jeff Sampson manages to put several unique stamps on this one! Firstly, the main character of Emily Webb is, well...believable. When her personality changes (dorky-self-professed-nerd-turned-Lara Croft-take-no-prisoners-hotty) coincide with the murder of a girl in her neighbourhood, she cannot deny that weirdness is afoot. Her observations of both her own behaviour and the string of murders that follow evolve into compelling creepiness. This novel is peppered with awesome pop culture references and humour, along with a fascinating peek into future events with recorded interviews with a secret company that has an intense interest in Emily. I genuinely enjoyed this novel and would definitely read future installment.