The Vampire's Promise Trilogy

by Caroline B. Cooney

Overview

From master of suspense Caroline B. Cooney, three spine-tingling vampire novels in one juicy volume.

A vampire lives in the tower of the creepy old house in town--a vampire who makes promises and grants wishes. Few know he exists. When Althea, Devnee, and Lacey meet the vampire, he offers them the things they want most--popularity, beauty, freedom.

But his bargains come for a price.

How much are the girls willing to pay? How many lives will they destroy? And is there any way out of a vampire's promise?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545289764
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/01/2011
Series:	Vampire's Promise Series
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	620L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

CAROLINE B. COONEY has written more than 75 novels for young adults. Her books have sold more than fifteen million copies and have been printed in many languages. She lived in Connecticut for many years, but has recently moved to South Carolina. Please visit her online at www.carolinebcooneybooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

This collection contains three loosely related novels, originally published in the early 1990s. In Deadly Offer, Althea's greatest wish is to be a popular cheerleader. When the vampire who resides in the shuttered tower of her creepy house offers to help her obtain this wish, Althea decides leaving behind a life of quiet loneliness is worth sacrificing some of her classmates. Althea naively thinks the vampire will just make his victims tired and is shocked to find them becoming shells of themselves. She must decide if her popularity is coming at too great a cost. In Evil Returns, a new family moves into Althea's old home. Plain and dull Devnee longs to be beautiful and popular and strikes the same deal with the vampire that Althea did, exchanging human sacrifices for beauty and popularity. And in Fatal Bargain, six teenagers party in the now abandoned mansion from the previous two stories, looking for a good scare. They get more than they bargained for when the vampire appears and forces them to sacrifice one of their group in exchange for letting the other five go free. It would be an understatement to say that these stories have not aged well. The cape-swirling malicious vampire feels incredibly dated when compared to the glut of vampires modern readers now encounter. The stories lack both romance and suspense. The superficial concerns of Althea and Devnee seem ridiculous. The logic behind their drives to be popular and who they choose to sacrifice does not make sense, nor does their calm acceptance of a vampire squatting in their home. The overarching message to be careful what you wish for feels heavy handed, never mind that readers are unlikely to care what happens to these lackluster, shallow characters anyway. Reviewer: Amanda MacGregor

Children's Literature - Amanda MacGregor