The Radleys

The Radleys
Matt Haig
370 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Goodreads win!
★★★★★

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

The Radleys are a family of vampires living in the small English town of Bishopthorpe.  Everything is going along swimmingly until daughter Clara is overcome at a party and accidentally kills a boy who tries to attack her.  Now the Radleys must tell their children the truth - they are vampires - and they must clean up the mess Clara has inadvertently made.

STOP!  I know what you're thinking!  "OMG, another vampire novel?  I'll pass."  Don't pass!  Yes the book is technically about vampires, but the bigger picture is that The Radleys is a novel about family dynamics and interactions.  The only thing is that the family in this case just happens to be vampires.  It's really unlike any other "vampire book" that I've read.

I LOVED this book!  I loved everything about this book.  The characters are realistic and relatable - the children are outcasts at school and I think everyone who ever went to high school can relate to that.  The chapters are short and sweet, which makes it easy to just keep reading, even when it's 3:26 am and you know you should be sleeping (personal testimony).  I really enjoyed the different points of view, also.  Usually when a book has more than two points of view I don't care for it, but this book had at least five points of view and I loved it!  Each character had a distinct personality so it was easy to know which chapter belonged to whom.

Seriously, five stars.  I can't rave about this book enough.  One of my favorite books of the year and I'm thrilled to have won it.

PS: Amazon has this book listed at Young Adult, as do several Goodreads users, but I would classify this as adult novel that would also appeal to young adult readers.  There is one tiny sex scene that's only a few paragraphs long.  Aside from that there is, obviously, a lot of blood.  Not recommended for a twelve year old, but recommended for everyone else!  READ IT!