It’s both appropriate and awkward for my first review to be about a book my very best internet friend wrote.
Okay, background time.
Half a lifetime ago (quite literally, I believe I was 14 when we started chatting), Jeff Sampson and I “met” on America Online. We, along with a band of other miscreants, frequented the Animorphs Message Boards on the AOL Book Forums. Through this, Jeff and I got to know each other. We two, along with another dude, David, ended up running the most popular Animorphs fansite, Morphz.com, for about three years or so.
My claim to internet fame.
Anyway, we had this Animorphs thing going on for a while, but then we grew up, Jeff and I. I went to college, got my degree, went to college again, got another degree, married and had a puppy. (You totally thought I was going to say baby there, weren’t you?) Jeff concentrated on his writing, and wrote a number of books under the Dragonlance label. (Aside: Jeff definitely is one of the most stand up gentlemen I’ve ever met. I think he promised me at age 16 or so that he’d dedicate his first book to me – and when it was published at age 23 he did. He’s awesome.) Finally, he got some highfalutin writing gig, for his talents were appreciated. Thus, Vesper.
(By the way, David ended up being a TV Producer and Kelly Osbourne’s BFF. I feel totally lame compared to these two. I guess I just wasn’t meant for fame. Ugh, that hurts even thinking it. *insert very audible sigh here*)
The reason that it is appropriate that my first review be of Vesper is because, well, I started reading it on my birthday. That was the day it came out.
Best unintentional bday present ever.
So, now that you know our history, you will realize that this is probably going to be an extremely biased review. I will sing Jeff’s praises until the very end. I will have a hard time being critical.
That being said, Vesper is actually a really good book.
I’m not one to candy coat sugar sweet marshmallow fluff things over. I give it to people like it is. I am Real, capital-R. *makes some sort of fabulous hand gesture indicating realness* I would definitely tell Jeff if his book sucked. And it does not suck.
Vesper is about Emily Webb, your average pop-culture geek who hides behind her thick glasses, and doesn’t do anything outrageous to draw attention. We all know the girl. She was ultra quiet, only spoke up every once in a while, almost always had the correct answer, and faded into the background, a perfect wallflower.
The main plot of the book opens with Emily trying to climb out the window. Dressed in a short skirt and high heels.
This is not something the wallflower tends to do.
A phone call from her best friend interrupts her sudden self-defenestration. A girl from their class – also named Emily – was murdered, on New School Year’s Eve. Shot in the head. Seemingly random.
That’s when Emily realizes that what she was doing was way outside the norm for her usual self, freaks out slightly, and thus begins the mystery of Vesper. What causes shy, geeky Emily Webb to transform into a wild child when the sun sets? Does it have something to do with Emily Cooke’s murder? And can we please get a “hells yeah!” to all the Buffy references in the book?
(I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer… Come to think of it, that’s actually Jeff’s fault. He bothered me every day for a year into watching it. I don’t remember when exactly I started watching, but I was hooked right away.)
The book started out a little oddly for me, but maybe that’s because when Emily is speaking… I don’t know how to say this other than maybe because Jeff and I grew up IMing each other, he and I have similar writing characteristics and it seems almost as if Emily is narrating almost exactly like I would write? Here’s the passage that got to me:
Okay, so whoa. Let’s stop for a second, flip it, and reverse it, because listen: As you’ve likely guessed by now, I was not the type of girl who gets dressed up in tight clothes and sneaks out of windows. I’d never snuck out of anything in my life. I didn’t have any place to sneak out to. My idea of a fun night was diving into the massive To Be Read pile of books stacked near my dresser, or draping myself in a Slanket and marathoning old sci-fi shows on DVD. No latest fashions, no parties, no football games — I was the girl with the big sweatshirts who loved everything geeky.
Yeah. So that… was my high school life. Except replace “Slanket” with “couch sack.” (Look it up, it’s way better than a Slanket. [Sorry, Jeff, it IS. Evidence here.])
I also say, “Strike that. Reverse it,” on a regular basis. Willy Wonka. Classic, man. And a classic man. Hm.
There I go off in my own head again. Dangit. I guess, this blog isn’t called, “Alas, I digress…” for nothing.
Right, the review.
Well, anyway, we find out that Emily starts having these crazy fits every night which get weirder and wilder. She suddenly has two personalities: Daytime Emily, the geek; and Nightttime Emily, who goes on adventures and loves dressing in her stepsister’s fashionable clothing and adventures.
Then we find that Emily Cooke’s murder might not have been so random after all… and the murderer wants Emily Webb next.
Jeez, that took a long time to recap the main plot of the book. I’m terrible at staying on topic.
Because I spent so much time on the background between myself and Jeff and the main plot of the book, I won’t bore you with an elaborate description of why I think this book was good. Also, I’ve been working on this post for about 3 days now and I just want to publish it already!
- It is a quick read. There’s almost nothing better than instant gratification in reading.
- While there is definitely a solid “ending” to the plot line, the book leaves you wanting more, in a big way. I love books that make me want to keep reading.
- The contrast in voice between Daytime Emily and Nighttime Emily is very clear and very essential to the book. It’s almost as if you’re reading from the perspective of two characters. However, there are also some major similarities that tie the two voices together, so you’re never confused.
- There were some really gripping moments and some really laugh-out-loud moments. There were moments I envied Emily and moments I felt ashamed for her. In general, Emily’s character is extremely relatable. Maybe I speak this because I am a self-professed dork, but I definitely understood where she’s coming from, and why Nighttime Emily is the way she is.
In the end, Vesper was a great way to begin my challenge. I recommend reading it if you like action-adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, humor, or just general fun in Young Adult fiction.
Ebay rating for Vesper:
A+++!! Would read again. And *will* read again!
