In Nightfall

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Listen, Nonna is the best character in this book but she’s also the worst. I get wanting to protect your friend, but literally… this was all her fault. Nonna, you’re a badass, but you should’ve been a badass years ago and killed your BFF. But still, I loved that she was the old woman keeping secrets, especially since it helped build this divide between her and the grandchildren she’s never known, so once all her secrets are out, her and her grandchildren are able to connect. I loved seeing that progression! Lastly, I am chanting for Nonna for being the best badass grandma I wish to have! She’s legendary! You’ll understand me completely when you devour the entire premise! Theo and her brother, Marco, threw the biggest party of the year. And got caught. Their punishment? Leave Arizona to spend the summer with their grandmother in the rainy beachside town of Nightfall, Oregon--population 846 souls. Who is this book supposed to be for? Because when the blurb is using comps like The Lost Boys and Buffy, are today’s teens going to know what any of that is? Probably not, unless they have parents with taste. Those comps are for people my age, because this YA book isn’t really being sold to teens, now is it? Says the teen librarians themselves, books like this are being written for the adults who buy them, not the teens who read them. The thing is, IN NIGHTFALL is actually a great book to fit in that space. The MC doesn’t even have her license yet. This is actually a fantastic YA book FOR TEENS. But the marketing is targeting the nostalgia of the people with the bank accounts. I’m sure teen readers, especially younger teen readers, would love this book, but it has nothing to do with The Lost Boys or Buffy. I was really rooting for Parrish and Theo. Who among us doesn’t want a good vampire romance?! Alas, it was wishy-washy, and the good guy vampire thing never lasts. Would I have liked some smooching and forbidden love? Yes. But all you get is a couple lingering looks and some sweet gestures. Blah.

I thought Young did a great job with developing Theo and Marco. I got that they were two siblings struggling with their parent's divorce, and their mom moving on without them. I also loved the other characters we get to meet and Theo's mysterious grandmother. Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. However, I also didn’t feel there was much Buffy the Vampire Slayer­-ness to it other than fighting a bunch of vampires in a prom dress. Perhaps I’m missing something because I’m over 20 years late watching the television show, but I honestly don’t think so. I liked the podcast and mystery ideas within the story, but I didn’t feel they were utilized to their potential. I didn’t really understand what the point was of her even listening to the first episode of the podcast focusing on the town if she had already met the podcasters and formed a relationship with them. I also didn’t understand why they mentioned episode two would drop and then that never went anywhere. Overall, this book is alright. I don't regret reading it, and it had some fun moments. I just didn't find it to be spectacular. And when you compare it to The Lost Boys, it does seem even less unique. I wish the author had used the film as more of a general inspiration, rather than as an outline of her plot. I do think teens will like this one, though. It's moderately well-written, and there are some interesting aspects of the story. If they haven't seen The Lost Boys, I predict they might even like it more. I'd recommend this to people looking for a gender-swapped retelling of the movie, to teenagers stepping their toes into supernatural books, and to folks who want a light, moody vampire read.

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In the quaint town of Nightfall, Oregon, it isn’t the dark you should be afraid of—it’s the girls. The Lost Boys meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this propulsive novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Treatment. In addition to the new summer setting, they got to meet Nonna who seems very cautious, blunt, and superstitious about her own town. Theodora and Marco’s first impression of Nightfall was how welcoming the townspeople were. Right away she and her brother had acquaintances who wanted to invite them to the beach. However, the stark contrast between Nonna’s strict rule to come home before dark and her obsession with doll charms made her abnormal. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. Only relief for their nightmarish summer holiday to meet with young and friendly townies! Both of the siblings make friends in short time and they don’t care much about their grandmother’s threats and warnings till Theo meets with her favorite podcasters and realizes there’s nothing as it seems at this haunted town and something more dangerous is lurking around to put their lives of danger!

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Theo is very into true crime podcasts, and what a coincidence that she meets two of her favourite podcasters on the beach, who help her unveil Nightfall’s secrets. The small town is cute, when it's not raining, but their grandmother is superstitious and strangely antisocial. Upon their arrival she lays out the one house rule: always be home before dark. But Theo and Marco are determined to make the most of their summer, and on their first day they meet the enigmatic Minnow and her friends. Beautiful and charismatic, the girls have a magnetic pull that Theo and her brother can't resist. Suzanne Young’s In Nightfall breathes life into the vampire genre. Female villainess vamps reign supreme with the wittiest dialog since Buffy. Move over, Sunnydale: Nightfall is about to become the vampirecapital of the world.”—Diana Rodriguez Wallach, author of Small Town Monsters and Hatchet Girls Dragging your kids across 2 state lines to live with you and the grandmother they never met is a torture all on its on. But knowing the dangers of after-dark activities and allowing them to go out is the most irresponsible thing a fictional father has done in a while. Especially when you don’t even try to help. A+ human being *heavy sarcasm*The writing was good, though the flow dragged towards the end. One reason why I gave this four stars was that by the time Theo figures things out, there's still like 40 percent of the book to go. I just thought it could have been cut down a bit more here and there. What I didn’t figure was the book would feel like someone took The Lost Boys and made it into a Mad Lib for the author to fill out. It was especially hard to ignore in the first couple of chapters that this was a gender swapped, shot for shot remake of the film at times. Instead of the references being a “cool! I get that one!” they were very …cringy. Maybe if I hadn’t just watched the movie 2 weeks ago, I wouldn’t have caught as many of the comparisons and my thoughts on this would be a bit different? Theodora ‘aka Theo’ and her brother Marco throw the biggest party of the year and get caught. Their punishment is to leave Arizona and go to a mysterious little town that has a population of over 800 souls. Their father grew up in this town, and after the divorce, he needed a change. Theo must endure this summer, her superstitious grandmother Nonna, and the rainy beachside. Overall this was a fine read. I just went into it with high expectations and ended up not being satisfied with the amount of vampire content in the book. Yes, the vampires are there all along. But I wanted more time with Theo being aware of what was going on.