Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton

 

On Friday, I finished reading Don't Want to Be Your Monster by Deke Moulton. This mysterious horror novel is about two brothers, ten-year-old Adam and fourteen-year-old Victor, who are vampires with very different perspectives. While Adam wants to use his vampire abilities to help mortals, Victor's favorite movie is The Lost Boys and he wishes that their mom, who works in a hospital, brought home young blood more often so that he can tap into all of his vampire powers. After the bodies of two murders are found in their hometown of Lacey, Washington, Adam tries to solve the mystery on his own with the help of two mortal kids, Shoshana and Luis. Meanwhile, Victor comes across Luis's older sister, Alejandra, who searching for the alleged vampire that murdered her friend. When it becomes clear that a vampire hunter is after their family, Adam and Victor must put aside their differences to stop the killer before he murders anyone else.

I've read a lot of vampire novels in the past, so I was very excited to read this story and ended up enjoying it a great deal. The mystery was suspenseful and I appreciated how the identity of the vampire hunter wasn't revealed until close to the end because it built up anticipation. The climax of the novel was very nerve-wracking, even if I felt sure that none of the main characters would die, because of the conflict between Adam and Victor and how it separated them when they needed each other the most. I also loved the unique mythology that Moulton developed for the vampires in her story. I've read enough vampire stories and seen enough TV shows and movies that I know that they aren't always evil, but I thought it was fascinating that vampires went into hiding after being persecuted even though they could heal mortals using blood magic. The one thing I didn't like was how the author used Shoshana as a spokesperson about racism and prejudice. I agree with the author's message, but it felt heavy-handed. On the other hand, I did like how Shoshana helped Adam learn about his Jewish heritage because he was only a baby when he was rescued and turned into a vampire. Additionally, Adam and Victor definitely felt like real brothers. They sometimes make mistakes and miscommunicate even when it's obvious how much they care about each other. I adored the dynamic of their family of two moms and an older sibling, Sung, and they really came together in the end. Sung was particularly helpful when Adam needed someone from their family right away. Although there is an author's note covering her inspiration at the end of the book, I took a particular interest in the explanation of locations because I thought it was cool that Moulton used real life places in Don't Want to Be Your Monster. Overall, there are many more good aspects about this book than bad, and anyone who is a vampire fan and/or enjoys murder mysteries should read it.