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Team Human

by Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan (Goodreads Author)

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 1,891 ratings · 533 reviews

Mel and Cathy and Anna have passed vampires on the street, and sat near them in cinemas, but they don’t know any. Vampires stick to their own kind, and Mel and her friends hang out with other humans—until a vampire boy in a bizarre sun-proof suit shows up at school and captures Cathy’s heart.

Mel is horrified. Can she convince Cathy that life with a vampire is no life at al...more

Paperback, 359 pages

Published July 1st 2012 by Allen & Unwin

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Sep 12, 2012 The Holy Terror rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, vampires, young-adult, asian-characters, paranormal-romance, zombies, supportive-authors, chinese-characters, buddy-reads-2012, stand-alone, 2012

I feel bad about giving this two stars, but about halfway through it really lost some steam. Larablestier and Brennan wrote this story as a satirical take on young adult vampire romance and it was funny and biting (haha) in the beginning, but many of the elements that I enjoyed when I first started reading became increasingly annoying.

I liked the main character, Mel, throughout most of the book, though at times she was unnecessarily violent, prejudiced, and rude. There was one scene where she pu...more I feel bad about giving this two stars, but about halfway through it really lost some steam. Larablestier and Brennan wrote this story as a satirical take on young adult vampire romance and it was funny and biting (haha) in the beginning, but many of the elements that I enjoyed when I first started reading became increasingly annoying.

I liked the main character, Mel, throughout most of the book, though at times she was unnecessarily violent, prejudiced, and rude. There was one scene where she punched her guy friend so hard he reared back to retaliate (though thankfully he controlled himself) and she thinks nothing of it. She's angry and lashes out and nobody calls her on it. She does the same thing when returning a volleyball to some random people playing nearby; she throws the ball so hard that it knocks the breath out of the guy she launches it at. Then they ask her to play with them. If a guy pulled these stunts he'd get his ass kicked.

Mel also hates vampires, though she claims she has no problem with them, and I can't help but think that if her friend's new boyfriend was African American instead of a vampire everyone would think she was incredibly racist. She calls vampires "them" and pretty much says to everyone that they should be segregated and kept away from humans. Obviously, vampires drink human blood so it's a different type of fear and prejudice, but I couldn't help think that if this wasn't a paranormal story the reactions to this book would be very different.

Let me make something clear: I don't agree with the nutters who want to kill all vampires. My parents voted yes on Proposition Four, and if I had the vote I would have too: Unlawfully killing vampires should be punished as harshly as killing people. Murder is murder. I don't want vampires dead. I just wanted Francis to go to a different school.

Swap out "vampire" for any race and that sounds pretty awful, right? It's definitely an interesting observation when you consider that Mel is Chinese-American too. What if someone said, "I don't want to kill Chinese people, I just don't want to go to school with them." Perhaps this was the authors point though, because the bulk of the story is spent trying to convince Mel that vampires are people too and they're not all murderous villains. I think her hatred of vampires was laid on super thick though, so much that it makes it difficult to believe that she could ever turn over a new leaf. I thought this conversation that Mel and her sister had was telling:

"I know how you feel about vampires."
"What?" I asked. "Why does everyone keep acting as if I have a problem with vampires? I don't have a problem with vampires. You said Cathy shouldn't be dating a vampire. You agreed with me!"
"Well, sure," said Kristin. "I think vampire groupies are dumb. And I know Cathy gets way too intense and serious about things, and getting intense and serious about a vampire seems like a terrible idea. But I'm not saying I'd never date a vampire. You, though, Mel. You love to laugh. Not to mention you're always fierce about your friends, and the way you saw it, a vampire hurt Anna. None of those things are bad! It just means you are less likely than anyone I know to be Team Vampire."

Racists will be more upset about being called a racist than the possibility that they might be racist. Mel definitely shows those signs here.

Mel's sister brings up laughter in that quote I pulled, and that's one of the reasons I dropped this book to two stars; the words "laugh" and "smile" or some derivative thereof were used over 150 times, and most of them were in the last half of the book.

What if they said it was an honor, a privilege, and a blessing for Cathy to get all her blood sucked out and to never laugh again?
She'd never laugh again if she became a vampire. And she'd never laugh, or smile, or speak if the transition didn't work.

So many of Mel's thoughts and her conversations with her friends are about laughter, jokes, and making people smile. Or trying to make people laugh with a joke, or one of her friends smiling at her and Mel thinking that she couldn't bear the thought of never laughing again if she was a vampire who didn't smile at jokes and laugh ... It gets old, quickly.

Random praise: I like that neither Mel nor any of her close circle of friends has a car. She walks and rides her bike for the majority of the book. She also has two parents who take an interest in her life and she does her homework and goes to a public school. She and her friends hang out at a coffee shop and share a brownie because they only have enough money for one. These little realistic touches were nice and unexpected when you think about all of the other YA books with rich kids whose parents have no idea what they're doing (if they're even in the country) and go to boarding schools in the woods. I liked the fact that these teens felt like real people and that I could identify with them more than normal.

I enjoyed most of the humor in this book, though the prose is nothing to write home about, and for the most part I liked the story even though the mystery and romance got a bit frustrating as they both went around in circles at times. Two stars is "just ok" and that's how I feel about this one; I don't regret reading it but I'm glad it's not a series. I have a feeling this isn't these authors' greatest work since the ratings and reviews aren't overwhelmingly positive, so I'll probably check out another book they've written (by themselves) sometime in the future, (I'm excited for Unspoken in particular.) Parody and satire can be a lot of fun, but unfortunately this book doesn't outshine any of the original material, though I'm sure it's still a better love story than Twilight.(less)

33 likes · like · see review

Jul 06, 2012 Serenity rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya

Hate vampires. Hate love triangles. Hate teen paranormal romances. Hate this cover.

But you know what? I absofuckinglutely cannot WAIT to read this book because if SRB wants to remake twilight, you can bet your ass it will be better than anything you ever imagined a vampire story could be.

Edit - THOUGHTS AFTER READING:
It was as fun and cleverly written as I hoped. Somewhat more thought-provoking than I expected. And I am happy to report that there are no love triangles or annoying teen angst! But...more

22 likes · like · see review

Jul 10, 2012 Experiment BL626 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, paranormal

Pre-Read Reaction

Guys. Honestly. It's being written by Justine Larbalestier. Get your Cullen undergarments out of a knot and realize this isn't supposed to be taken seriously. FFS.

— Sarah Hayes (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...)

What she said.

How the idea for this parody of book came to be...

Blogpost by Justine Larbalestier: click here
Blogpost by Sarah Rees Brennan: click here

...parody, people. ^_^

A girl and a vampire fall madly in love... The girl's best friend is deeply unimpressed.

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 11, 2013 Kristalia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone who wants good laughing with vampires :D

Shelves: lol-lol-lol-make-me-stop-loling, reviewed, me-likey-mucho, laughed-like-a-maniac, best-couple-award, be-my-hero-plz, young-adult, kick-ass-heroines

Final rating: ★★★★☆/★★★★★

Made by Street-Angel - click the img to go to the original fanart

I am totally team ~~vampire~~ oops, i mean, team human . This was so hilarious. I really mean that. I laughed a lot, and it was highly entertaining book. I love Sarah R. Brennan, and i had to read this book as well, since i love all of her books. I think i might also check out Justine Larbalestier now, because she really is good writer :D (and i think the collab between the two was high amount of epic win :D). I actually didn't know that this was a parody of Twilight, no...more

10 likes · like · see review

Sep 09, 2012 jo mo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, 3-stars, creatures-of-the-night, immortals, laugh-out-loud, moments-of-hilarity, mystery, non-caucasian-character, school-life, series, series-i-ll-continue, young-adult, tough-heroine, vampires, zombies, reviews, kindled-it

everything is fine and dandy for mel. she has good grades, a supportive family and two best friends to share everything with. that is, until a vampire --the first ever-- decides to attend their school. everything changes and there is nothing mel can do about, or is there?

where vampires and mel are, disaster follows and hilarity ensues thereafter. as a rule the sidekick character most commonly fills out the goofy and/or supportive role for the main lead. in team human the american born chinese (!...more everything is fine and dandy for mel. she has good grades, a supportive family and two best friends to share everything with. that is, until a vampire --the first ever-- decides to attend their school. everything changes and there is nothing mel can do about, or is there?

where vampires and mel are, disaster follows and hilarity ensues thereafter. as a rule the sidekick character most commonly fills out the goofy and/or supportive role for the main lead. in team human the american born chinese (!!yay!!) sidekick already is the main lead and oh, what a treat! not only is she witty and loyal, she's sensible to boot too. one of her best friends strongly believes herself to be in love with the aforementioned vampire (francis) after only a few days and is ready to be transitioned into one herself at the age of 17, mel is understandably upset about this revelation and fights tooth and nail to prevent this from happening. because even though as a vampire one is granted immortality and eternal youth, sunlight will be an aspect you will never again be able to enjoy and also .. vampires cannot laugh o.0 (yes, therefore they can only brood and meet the criteria of the "brooding" vampire).

a world were humans and vampires more or less peacefully cohabit a planet, but still prejudiced against another, might as well be a placeholder for lgbt or non-caucasian people. poking fun at familiar ya tropes, team human is a delightful combination with food for thought and a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, keeping the reader entertained from the first to the last page.

p.s. also, am i the only to draw character similarities between pride & prejudice and team human?
p.p.s. my first book ever to read on a (sadly only borrowed) kindle touch!


------------------------------------------
    team human   |  pride & prejudice
------------------------------------------
      cathy   <---->   jane
    francis   <---->   darcy

****** ******** ********* *********** ******** *******
"look, mel. can you admit that you might be a tiny bit biased against vampires? don't you feel that you might have judged them a little quickly? what if i asked you to learn more about them?"
"we could read a book about them together if you wanted," i said, with visions of highlighting all the bits that said POTENTIALLY FATAL.
cathy smiled. "you know how i love books. but i was thinking about a more hands-on experience."
"you want me to put my hands on francis?" i made a face. "isn't that kind of a best friend no-no, cath?"

(45%)

****** ******** ********* *********** ******** *******

"no problem," i said, patting him below the knee. he shot me a strange look. "um, no," i told him. "my touching your knee does not mean i want to have sex with you."
kit blushed. "i didn't--"
"you know, when you're a vampire, you won't be able to blush anymore."
he went even redder.

(50%)

****** ******** ********* *********** ******** *******

"your family's not that into soccer?"
"well, no," kit said. "not that we don't do activities together. francis taught me how to waltz."
i burst out laughing. "i'm sorry -- what?"
his voice warmed. i could imagine him being delighted he'd made someone laugh, even over the phone.
maybe not just someone. maybe delighted he'd made me laugh.
"yes, well. at first he tried to instruct me and mom together, but mom said she'd never liked waltzing much herself [..] and in the end francis said that we were all impossible and nobody was properly dedicated to the child's education or ever thought about how i would conduct myself in society and how it would reflect on them all. so francis ended up waltzing with me himself."
"are you a credit to francis?" i asked, solemnly.
"oh, i'm an excellent waltzer. sadly, i don't actually know how to lead ..."
i thought of several excellent jokes about kit's first ball gown and also his dance card, but i pulled myself back.

(54%)

(less)

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Oct 17, 2012 Lynne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who don't take themselves too seriously

Shelves: ya, paranormal

How can one resist a book with the tagline, "Friends don't let friends date vampires"?

Larbalestier and Rees-Brennan's seriocomic treatment of the vampire love story is refreshingly original, spoofing vampire romance while paying homage to it at the same time.

These writers must have read just about every vampire story produced since the 1840's. They did leave out John Polidori's 1819 short story "The Vampyr,"and an 1870's novel called Carmilla (featuring girl-on-girl vamping), but I digress.

The...more

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Dec 01, 2012 fяσzєη rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vamps, 2012-faves, amazing-authors, badass-heroines, believable-romance, books-i-want-to-marry, deserves-the-hype, faves, all-time-faves, hilarious, heroines-i-adore, heroes-i-adore, its-so-fluffy-im-gonna-die, made-me-smile, owned-ebooks, zombies

This review is also available over at my blog.

____________________

Picture Twilight, but imagine that the Bella character has a best friend—who just so happens to be a badass bitch—and the book being told from her point of view instead of Bella's.

That's what you'll get with Team Human.

New Whitby, Maine, is a city founded by vampires, with the humans and vampires living separately. Mel is perfectly fine with that, until a vampire enrolls in her school, and immediately sweeps her best friend Cathy...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Taneika (Flipping Through The Pages...) marked it as to-read · review of another edition

At first I laughed at this, because I didn't know it was a parody. Since being informed (I've now decided to actually change me pre-review) and so I might actually seriously consider it now! I'm interested in reading a parody about Twilight, or vampires and whatnot because alot of the parodies aren't actually that funny. I've actually heard Justine is a brilliant writer and I actually have a lot of respect for her since learning more about her and since I came across this blog post. So whilst I...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jul 09, 2012 Lexxie (un)Conventional Bookviews rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, look-forward-to, pre-ordered, paranormal-ya, read-in-2012

This and other reviews can be found on my blog:(un)Conventional Bookviews

I liked quite a few things in this book, but I didn't connect that much with the MC, Mel was acting like a spoiled brat for a lot of it, and she thought she was helping her friends, but really, she was looking out for number one.

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 26, 2013 Sherwood Smith added it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which obviously began as a satire of Twilight but then seems to have taken on some gravitas, with its look at prejudice and gender expectations. Mel. who rather bulldozes her best friends in 'taking care of them' is horrified when her besty Cathy falls for a vampire who begins attending their high school. Francis the vamp may look seventeen, but he's over a century old, so why is he at high school? Mel quite reasonably figures he can't be up to any good.

As Mel unr...more

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Aug 26, 2012 cEe beE rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, monster-mash

A paranormal book that doesn't feature a hot supernatural stud and/or a girl with hidden super powers? How refreshingly unconventional and unique!

Team Human stars Mel Duan, a regular 17 yr old human girl, who with her BFFs, Cathy and Anna live in New Whitby, Maine a city founded by vampires. Unlike Sookie Stackhouse's world, the vampires here have been living as citizens since the founding of the USA, and live separately in their own community called The Shade.

Mel herself has never met any of t...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Snail in Danger (Sid) by: katayoun Masoodi

Shelves: children-ya, fantasy-fiction

More like 3.5. This is clearly a response to Twilight, though the authors may not have consciously started out intending to write a response. It's got daywalking vampires, but actual efforts were made to have worldbuilding. (Sorry if you liked Twilight. I didn't. My god the sparkling. But I digress.)

Anyway, the characters in this book are pretty convincing as real teenagers. The only thing that bothers me is ... it's not enough for them to be teenagers who more or less have their heads on straig...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Newengland rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-in-2012, ya

A lightweight romp with a sense of humor. It makes fun of vampires and even has some zombie action thrown in for good measure. As it is YA, love is in the air, too. You might think it's Team Human vs. Team Vampire, but the friendliness between the two is fairly evident throughout. Setting is Maine, but that's inconsequential. There's nothing Maine about this, unless it's "Maine-stream" vampire genre for sales you're thinking.

For me, the issues were verbosity and a 90/10 ratio of dialogue-to-narr...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Jesse Bookends rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, supernatural, romance, ya-2013-book-challenge

By the first sentence of the blurb I am hooked. For the longest I've been tired of hearing "ooooh, mysterious boy moves into town, comes into the school in the middle of the year and I, the ever spunky, full of girl power _insert name here_ suddenly like him despite not liking ANY other boy in school or up till this point in my life. I wonder why he's so mysterious and dark? WHOA! He's a _insert popular paranormal/supernatural creature_! I love him!"

This just sounds awesome and even though I, l...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bloomsbury-allen-unwin

Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

Team Human caught me by real surprise. After my initial hesitation at reading a vampire book that sounded heavy on the romance, I realised it was actually a parody of the paranormal insta-love that's not unusual to find in YA these days! We've all seen them before… And you know those awful books which try to be funny but fail? Well, Team Human certainly doesn't fall into that group. It had me in stitches and I was shocked by how witty Mel was! Full...more Originally posted at Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me

Team Human caught me by real surprise. After my initial hesitation at reading a vampire book that sounded heavy on the romance, I realised it was actually a parody of the paranormal insta-love that's not unusual to find in YA these days! We've all seen them before… And you know those awful books which try to be funny but fail? Well, Team Human certainly doesn't fall into that group. It had me in stitches and I was shocked by how witty Mel was! Full credit must go to the authors for providing me with such entertainment and I now know that I'll happily read more from them both in the future!

Mel Duan is the vampire-hating, rude and unsympathetic best friend of Cathy, a typical teenage girl who's fallen head over heels in love with Francis Suvarney. He's over 150 years old, silent, brooding, mysterious and chivalrous. Hmm, right... How very unique of him! Let's not forget that he's easily scandalised by the forward behaviour of modern females too! Cue the eye rolls now because Cathy and Francis get sickeningly sweet from here on out. Mel obviously feels the same, as she tries relentlessly to discourage their affections for each other but to no avail . Although Mel is overbearing at times, she has good intentions and it eventually became humorous and very justified. I love her! Brennan and Larbalestier do a wonderful job at poking fun at the over the top human/vamp relationship and were able to show us the not so ideal and glamorous side of it.

I really enjoyed the mysteries found in Team Human. The vampires in this book are traditional for the most part but there are a few fun changes that play an important part in the events that occur. As well as preventing Cathy from turning into a vampire (RISKY!), Mel's busy investigating the whereabouts of the principal's ex-husband. He supposedly ran away to be with a hot vamp but…what if that's not the case at all? Mel also thinks Francis is up to something shady, so many aspects of this book do overlap and we're left to wonder how they all relate to each other! The action amps up during the final section of the book but I found it to be too short-lived and the resolution too simple! However, it can be forgiven because of everything else that's great about the book.

During one of her stalk sessions, Mel finds herself in Francis's house and meets Kit, a human boy who was raised by vampires after being abandoned by his real parents and left for dead. His "mother" Camille is a badass cop and this trio of characters were my favourite to watch together. They had an amusing yet sweet bond with each other and the male banter…where do I start? For all that she preaches, Mel is completely oblivious to Kit's affection for her. I must have 'aww'ed a million times at his cuteness. He smiles whenever she giggles and always looks to please her. I obviously liked this pair, despite the fact that there was never really a romance shown between them in the book. Team Human doesn't focus on the romances themselves very much but the ending definitely leaves things open for interpretation! ;)

Overall, these two authors make a wonderful team and write extremely well together. I would've liked to have explored Mel and Cathy's friendship more, as well as between them and the boys, but Team Human isn't a book to take too seriously. It's hysterically funny and will put a smile on your face in the short amount of time it'll take you to fly through it! I bow down to the authors for their bottomless pit of jokes and willingness to create some seriously kooky characters, while still providing some heart-warming and more serious moments too. The book covers all the bases!
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Aug 07, 2012 Caitlings rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fun-funny, paranormal, read-in-2012, romance, ya, own

Originally posted at whatchyareading.net:

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I’m not sure why.

It was fun, the characters were enjoyable. The world was interesting. I liked how it ended and how it made a lot of the characters question what they believed and I liked how it made me laugh.

But, I don’t know. I have loved other works by these authors. I highly enjoy their online personas and the views the have about young adult fiction and such. But I just couldn’t shake the feeling that...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Ashley - Book Labyrinth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-books

So much fun!! I am definitely Team Human, so it was fun to see a book based on this premise. I love how it was parody and was making fun of the genre, while still completely paying homage to it.

Mel was such a great character. She was stubborn and loyal, and totally snarky, but in a cute/fun way. Kit was also all kinds of adorable (omigosh, his real name. I won't spoil it, but it's hilarious/cute and terrible all at the same time), and I loved the interactions between Kit and Mel.

Most of this w...more

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May 21, 2012 Sarah (Head Stuck In A Book) added it

I loved this book it was a totally different aspect to your normal everyday vampire book, ever since this appeared on Goodreads I've been dying to read it and so I was really happy when I received this arc.
Best friends Mel and Cathy are walking to school one day when they are distracted by somebody in a hazmat suit, knowing that it could only be a vampire inside it Cathy is extremely excited having been interested in them her whole life.
You see New Whitby is described as Las Vegas but with vampi...more I loved this book it was a totally different aspect to your normal everyday vampire book, ever since this appeared on Goodreads I've been dying to read it and so I was really happy when I received this arc.
Best friends Mel and Cathy are walking to school one day when they are distracted by somebody in a hazmat suit, knowing that it could only be a vampire inside it Cathy is extremely excited having been interested in them her whole life.
You see New Whitby is described as Las Vegas but with vampires who have their own section of town patrolled by their own policeman, they live in houses that are from centuries past and some of them even dress in clothes from the olden times.
So straight away Cathy is smitten with Francis (the vampire) but Mel is not a fan especially since another good friend Anna's father ran away with a vampire patient he had.
So while Cathy is trying her best and finally achieving to get close to Francis, Mel is totally against them being together and after threatening Francis with some information she found out about why he was enrolled at school he leaves without a word to Cathy so she turns up at his house, Mel realises where she's gone and after breaking into his house they are caught by the owner of the house Camille a vampire cop and her human son Kit.
After professing their love to each other Cathy and Francis after only being together not even a month decide that they want to be together forever and so Francis asks Cathy to change into a vampire and she agrees.
The problem is there is a 10% chance that Cathy could become a zombie, yes in an original idea in a vampire book, in turning a human if it doesn't work you die or turn into a zombie who then gets destroyed.
So Mel teams up with Kit who has some classic lines in never having associated with humans before he knows only what he's seen on t.v and his reactions to things had me laughing out loud, to change Cathy's mind.
We also have a subplot in which her friend Anna is worried about her mum who is the school principal acting suspicious so Mel investigates sometimes with Kit tagging along.
I loved Mel as a character she was a tough tell it to you straight kind of person who would do anything for her friends and I can't wait to continue on with her other adventures in the next book being released next year.
I highly recommend you pick up this book it puts a spin on your classic vampire stories and it's full of action and humour and may even get you thinking that if you had the chance to become a vampire would you take it?(less)

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Jan 31, 2012 Chandra Rooney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is hilarious; some chapters, I laughed once a page. Do you love vampires? Whether you answered yes or no, you should read this book. It's a great story about that moment when you realize you and your friend are different people who want different things in life. Also, I enjoyed how beneath the humor and fantastic dialogue is an undercurrent of social commentary about prejudice and racism.

Adored the characters. Can't wait for the sequel!

*Read an ARC as provided by Harper Collins Canada.

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Jan 21, 2013 Anna Stukenborg rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

* review originally at apageofthisandthat.blogspot.com *
This book...there are no words to describe my complete and total adoration of this book. Mel was a riot (I'd expect nothing less from Sarah Rees Brennan) and Kit...oh my God, I love Kit!
*fangirls hard then comes back to reality*
So basically, Mel is a human, and actually a vampire racist-and when a vampire named Francis shows up at her school and seems to be falling in love with Kathy (Mel's BFF)...well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Alicia Scully rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, gr-10-12, young-adult-lit

Mel isn't necessarily against vampires--she just likes them to stay on their side of town. This philosophy gets a little complicated when Mel's best friend, Cathy, falls in love with the new vampire at school. Now Mel must use all of her detective and argumentative skills to figure out what the new vampire is really thinking while also doing her best to keep him away from Cathy. It may be more difficult than it sounds.

I wasn't expecting this book to be wonderful because it's obviously meant to...more

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Jan 04, 2013 Lynn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this book. I did recommend it to my son for he is in love with zombies and this book does a great job of explaining where zombies come from (and it isn't the cabbage patch!). Is it my favorite book ever? No. Will I read the next one in the series? Yes, definitely yes! Am I in a quandary about the whole 3 star or 4 star rating yes and I may very well change my mind by the time I finish posting this.

New Whitby is designed as a vampire community: special tinted windows so vampires can be o...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Whatchyareading added it · review of another edition

Shelves: caitlin, paranormal, young-adult

The book that asks the question, “What would you do if Bella Swan was your best friend?”

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I’m not sure why.

It was fun, the characters were enjoyable. The world was interesting. I liked how it ended and how it made a lot of the characters question what they believed and I liked how it made me laugh.

But, I don’t know. I have loved other works by these authors. I highly enjoy their online personas and the views the have about young adult fiction and su...more The book that asks the question, “What would you do if Bella Swan was your best friend?”

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I’m not sure why.

It was fun, the characters were enjoyable. The world was interesting. I liked how it ended and how it made a lot of the characters question what they believed and I liked how it made me laugh.

But, I don’t know. I have loved other works by these authors. I highly enjoy their online personas and the views the have about young adult fiction and such. But I just couldn’t shake the feeling that they were making fun of young adult fiction.

Vampire books in generally. And, I know even if they were it was all in good fun and they like vampire books and all. But I don’t know. It just rubbed me the wrong way. And that sort of hovered over the rest of the book.

Also, and with an Australian lady and an Irish lady writing a book about American teenagers there was bound to be some slang mishaps and two really stood out to me. Though, I read an ARC so they might have changed it. But I really don’t think an American teenager would use the word “corridor” or call washing the dishes “washing up.”

And, yes, I’m being VERY nitpicky with this. But as one of these authors use to write Harry Potter fanfiction, I’m sure she knows the importance of getting the local slang right.

Now I feel like a jerk. Really, I enjoyed this book. It made me laugh and it pointed out all the ridiculousness that paranormal fiction likes to say is normal and it did it all while having it’s own unique plot and character arcs. And that can’t be easy.

There was a good mystery that had a rather tragic edge to it and Mel was relate-able and normal and I really liked her. And I really liked the idea of putting this every day girl in the middle of a paranormal romance and seeing how she would really react. I liked that idea.

And I thought the ending was perfect. The mystery was solved and the characters were forced to see things from one another’s point of view.

This book was reviewed at WhatchYAreading.net on August 3, 2012.(less)

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Dec 27, 2012 Ori rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural-things, reviewed

I like a lot of things about this book and happily, most of it is about the protagonist. I like that she is fiercely loyal to her friends, even when they're shutting her out. The genre has a decided lack of positive female friendship portrayals, shunting them off to the side to give the spotlight to romance, but what is so nice about Team Human is that it's primarily a book about the trials undergone by and for friendship, and secondarily about romantic love.

I also love that Mel is Chinese -- no...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Gillyb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was a huge fan of Sarah Rees Brennan’s UNSPOKEN, so buying TEAM HUMAN for me was a no brainer. I’ve never had the pleasure of reading any of Larbalestier’s books, but after the great fun that TEAM HUMAN was, I will be sure to in the future. This book had it all: a fierce, fiery lead who may actually be me in book form, a really cool “what if?” world, romantical entanglements, and friendship. Beautiful, painful female friendship. It begins almost as a satire of vampire-human relationships (it...more I was a huge fan of Sarah Rees Brennan’s UNSPOKEN, so buying TEAM HUMAN for me was a no brainer. I’ve never had the pleasure of reading any of Larbalestier’s books, but after the great fun that TEAM HUMAN was, I will be sure to in the future. This book had it all: a fierce, fiery lead who may actually be me in book form, a really cool “what if?” world, romantical entanglements, and friendship. Beautiful, painful female friendship. It begins almost as a satire of vampire-human relationships (it almost goes out of it way to poke harmless fun at one Bella Swan, though never by name). I love that the book developed into something deeper though, while still being funny.

The fierce, fiery lead: Mel is ten different kinds of awesome. I seriously love her. She is laugh out-loud hilarious, and best of all, she knows it. She’s an Elizabeth Bennet “dearly loves to laugh” kind of girl, with a huge heart and a fearsome temper. Plus she’s got a bit of the amateur sleuth in her, and I love that. She thinks becoming one of the undead would suck because you couldn’t have chocolate. Her greatest joys in life include taking care of her friends and making fun of the absurdly pompous Francis, an a hundred and fifty year old vamp who is easily scandalized by her unladylike ways.

A really cool “what if?” world: In TEAM HUMAN, vampires and humans coexist pretty peacefully. It comes after centuries of bloodshed and disaster and zombies, of course, but society has developed in such a way that things work out pretty well. Vampires and vampire transitions are regulated and every public building must have UV proof windows. Obviously, things go awry. Crazy things. CREEPY things. Things I do not dare spoil. Although there is the mystery of Mel’s friend Anna’s dad, who has run off with a vampire lady and has not been heard from since

Romantical entanglements: Oh, Francis. What a delightfully absurd creature. I adore him. He is old-fashioned, priggish, and utterly, hilariously unsexy. He is a member of the undead, and yet he shows up one day to attend high school. And Mel speaks for the ages when she says: “A vampire who wants to go to high school? That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.” But of course, Mel’s romantic and serious best friend Cathy is instantly smitten. And so begins the part where I cheer Mel’s every word and want to shake Cathy very hard.

See, Mel’s a staunch member of Team Human, meaning she’s so not okay with the whole trading-in-your-mortality-just-to-be-beautiful-and-live-forever thing. She is everything most vampire novel heroines are not. Not even when she develops a (admittedly hurried) relationship with jokester Kit, a human raised by vampires who’s never really hung out with humans in his life. He has all the social graces of Nell, and it is so endearing.

Beautiful, painful female friendship: It was lovely to read a book where the main focus was on a relationship between three best friends. This book was all about how to love and respect your friends and what it truly means to be human. What you’re willing to give up, and what you’re not willing. Mel, Cathy, and Anna made a sweet trio. They cared very deeply for one another. It was clear Mel was prepared to go above and beyond for either one of them.

Obviously, I loved this book. I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning till I finished, alternately cackling and getting a little misty. If I had to levy any criticism, it would be that at one or two moments, the dialogue revealed itself to be written by two non-Americans, as in the slang would veer into inauthentic (we don’t say loads much, do we? As in “having loads of fun”? Well, I do, but I’m strange like that). But the dialogue was so funny and witty and quippy that I really just did not care. Another slight critique might be that Kit and Mel’s relationship developed awfully fast. I adored them together– the chemistry was definitely there– but I thought maybe there was a step or two missing.

I suppose I could see why some wouldn't enjoy this book (no I can't). If you want something swoonily romantic, this book won't supply that. (I would argue it's more romantic, in a way, that some characters value life more than anything but I won't get into that lest I Spoil Things). Apparently some people don't find this book funny, and humor is a very subjective thing. I hotted (sic- leaving this typo in because it makes me giggle) and hollered but you may not.

But I highly recommend this book. I knew going into this that Rees Brennan’s humor is precisely my cup of tea (I DEFY you not to laugh when Mel starts explaining keggers to Francis) and I’m delighted to have discovered a new author in Larbalestier. If you’re sick of teenage heroines mooning after vampires, read this book. If you’ve ever wanted to smack Edward Cullen in the face, read this book. If you ever wanted to kiss Edward Cullen on his face, read this book. Basically, read it, you idiots. GO NOW.

Originally posted at Writer of Wrongs (less)

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Dec 16, 2012 Anna rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally from my blog here

So this is the second book I’ve rated only two stars (out of three books!). I feel kind of bad. Honest, I’m not this judgy when it comes to books, not usually.

It’s just…

The characters.

Mel is violent and rude. She punched her best guy friend so hard he almost retaliated by punching her back. She knocked the wind out of some beach volleyball player she’d never met. She randomly starts screaming at people. And no one calls her out on it. She hates vampires with her obvio...more Originally from my blog here

So this is the second book I’ve rated only two stars (out of three books!). I feel kind of bad. Honest, I’m not this judgy when it comes to books, not usually.

It’s just…

The characters.

Mel is violent and rude. She punched her best guy friend so hard he almost retaliated by punching her back. She knocked the wind out of some beach volleyball player she’d never met. She randomly starts screaming at people. And no one calls her out on it. She hates vampires with her obvious prejudice against them, but insists she has no problem with them – as long as they stay away from her human side of town.

Not to mention, Mel is outrageously clingy. Half the book she moans and gripes about her best friend Cathy (who I will get to later) becoming a vampire. I can understand being upset, but her level of “NO CATHY WILL NOT BECOME A VAMPIRE ILL MAKE SURE OF IT” was a bit too Buffy with no bite.

Mel’s BFFL Cathy insists in one passage that Mel is always doing what Cathy does, including signing up for all the same classes. Mel insists to herself a bit later that she “doesnt care about school” but still makes a lot of reference to her nearly perfect SAT scores and which college she wants to go to and what to do with her life.

Blah, moving on.

Cathy. Who I keep spelling Catchy and having to go back and redo it. Cathy falls in love with a regal sounding vampire who talks like he stepped out of an Austen novel (quote from the book, not from me). I can get being a romantic. My best friend believes in soulmates and all that jazz, and it’s cool. But Cathy has a death wish, so compassionate she’d let a zombie munch on her if it told her it was hungry. And deciding to become a vampire two weeks after meeting some guy, even though if the transition didn’t work (a possibility), she could either end up a flesh eating zombie or dead. Sorry, dude, I don’t care if you have the abs of Ryan Gosling, it’s not worth turning into the walking undead for.

I don’t know if it was just me missing very, very subtle clues, but Ty turning out to be gay/bi on the very last page? A bit off. I have nothing wrong with gay/lesbian/alien-vampire-hybrids, but that wasn’t much a needed passage. It was more of a random afterthought to fork in at the very end of the book.

All in all, it wasn’t my favorite, and I couldn’t really identify with any of the characters. In the slightest. You could’ve killed every last one in some gruesome vampire/zombie rage, and it wouldn’t have made any difference to me.(less)

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Nov 12, 2012 BAYA Librarian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Larbalestier, Justine and Brennan, Sarah Rees. Team Human. HarperTeen, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2012. 343 p. ISBN: 978-0-06-2089649 $17.99 AT ***
Justine Larbalestier, who co-edited 2010’s Zombies vs. Unicorns with Holly Black, and Sarah Rees Brennan, author of The Demon’s Lexicon trilogy, are no strangers to campy, creepy, cutting edge dark humor. This well-paired duo come together in Team Human to create a world like ours in every way, except for the irritating and sometimes leth...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

Mel lives in New Whitby, a town founded by vampires. That doesn't mean she likes vampires--exactly the opposite. She doesn't see the appeal of becoming a vampire or really, having anything to do with them. The same can't be said for Mel's best friend, Cathy.

When a vampire, Francis, starts at their high school, Cathy is enthralled--along with most of the girls in the school. Mel can't stand the guy, who speaks proper English and acts like he's from the 1800s...which he is. Cathy can't seem to ge...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Amy Raby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From the beginning, I really enjoyed this book. It opens as a Twilight parody, when a hundred-year-old vampire enrolls in the heroine's high school, and her best friend immediately falls in love with him. Mel (the heroine) is concerned about her friend and suspicious of the vampire's motives--why would a hundred-year-old vampire go to high school?--and she sets out to learn the truth so she can remove her friend from danger.

It soon progresses beyond a mere Twilight parody, as the worldbuilding i...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Abbe Hinder rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: good, adventure, contemporary, fantasy, female-pov, funny, harpercollins, reviewed

Team Human is told from the perspective of Mel. We learn a reasonable amount about her life and how much she hates vampires. I have to say that I thought this book was going to turn out completely different from what it actually is. Vampire stories have been popular for quite a while now, so I thought this one was going to be the same as the others. It's different because instead of Mel liking the vampire, it's her best friend, Cathy who actually likes him. There was a lot of repetition of how m...more

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About Justine Larbalestier

Justine Larbalestier is an Australian young-adult fiction author. She is best known for the Magic or Madness trilogy: Magic or Madness, Magic Lessons and the newly released Magic's Child. She also wrote one adult non-fiction book, the Hugo-nominated The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction (Best Related Book, 2003), and edited another, Daughters of Earth: Feminist Science Fiction in the Twentiet...more

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“Personally, I'd prefer a guy who wants to see my boobs.” — 14 people liked it

“Also, vampires don't eat food. You never get to eat chocolate again. Ever. I'd rather die.” — 14 people liked it

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