Sweetblood

A diabetic teen’s obsession with vampires leads her down a dark path and leaves her vulnerable to real predators in this “tantalizing” (Publishers Weekly) coming of age story with bite. Lucy Szabo’s childhood diabetes diagnosis came only a few months after an encounter with an injured bat and the subsequent rabies shots. Those first injections were only the beginning of years of insulin dependence and blood monitoring. She’s one of the modern Undead—only kept alive by medical intervention. As a spiritual successor of the first vampires—who, with their pale skin, long teeth, and uncontrollable thirst, must have been diabetics, too—Lucy dyes her hair black, reads Anne Rice, and trawls vampire chat rooms. The more her parents and teachers worry about her, the further Lucy withdraws into her online haven, where people really understand her. But silver-tongued wannabe-vampires and late-night parties begin to consume Lucy’s life, causing her grades—and her health—to sharply decline. Can Lucy reclaim her life, or has she doomed herself to be one of the shambling Undead forever?