Review: Peeps

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
Publisher: Sleuth RazorBill
Pub. Date: August 25th, 2005
Pages: 320
Age Level: 14+

Synopsis
One year ago, Cal Thompson was a college freshman more interested in meeting girls and partying in New York City than in attending his biology classes. Now, after a fateful encounter with a mysterious woman named Morgan, biology has become, literally, Cal's life.

Cal was infected by a parasite that has a truly horrifying effect on its host. Cal himself is a carrier, unchanged by the parasite, but he's infected the girlfriends he's had since Morgan—and all have turned into the ravening ghouls Cal calls peeps. The rest of us know them as vampires. And it's Cal's job to hunt them down before they can create even more of their kind. . . .

Bursting with the sharp intelligence and sly humor that are fast becoming his trademark, Scott Westerfeld's new novel is an utterly original take on an archetype of horror.

Review
I would like to begin my review by saying, "I love you Scott Westerfeld! Woooot!" *clears throat* Now, I will apologize for my unprofessional outburst and fan-girly-ness and continue on with the actual review. Ready? OK! Peeps is one of the best science fiction books I've read. It was both engrossing and gross, humorous and horrifying, real and surreal; in other words, Scott Westerfeld did not disappoint.

I'm not really used to reading books from a male perspective but I found myself loving Cal and his personality. I feel that he was the perfect character to tell this story; he was funny, in a sarcastic kind of way, witty, and very believable. As for Lace, she was smart and interesting, but I had just one teensy weensy problem with her. She said the word 'dude' a tad bit too often. Other than that, I really liked her and the other characters were just as cool.

Peeps is definitely more of a plot-driven book. I found it to be very fast-paced; it contained action, adventure, and even the slightest touch of romance. This is one of the few books out there that has sucked me in from page one. Everything was revealed in appropriate timing, keeping me guessing right up until the end. Something I found to be a very original aspect to this book was how all the even numbered chapters were short, informative but entertaining sections about various parasites. Now you may think, "Ew, gross." or "How dull." I will admit that, yes, they could be gross, but I found myself strangely intrigued by them. Another thing I loved about Peeps was the unique, and more scientific, take on vampirism that Westerfeld provided.

The writing wasn't really anything fancy or complicated yet I still enjoyed it. Everything was well described, leaving me feeling like I was actually there. The reasoning behind the peeps and the way he depicts them almost had me believing that they could actually be out there. And who knows, maybe they are. *makes spooky noises and wiggles fingers*

The ending left me wanting so, so much more. I can honestly say this was not a book I had easily figured out, so I was not really expecting the ending; honestly though, I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. In general, I thought the ending was great. It was left open and as I'm sure most of you know, there is a companion novel, The Last Days, that follows this one, but with different characters. I am really going to miss Cal, Lace and Cornelius, Cal's kitteh. Yes that's right, I'm going to miss the cat.

All in all, Peeps was a highly original, unforgettable, and exciting read that I absolutely adored. I think this is a story that could easily be enjoyed by both guys and girls, teen and adults; I highly recommend Peeps to those fans of sci-fi, apocalypse, Westerfeld's other great works, or anyone just looking for a new take on vampires. I'm so proud to own this book and am really looking forward to The Last Days and re-reading Peeps.

Grade
Characters: A-
Writing: B+
Plot: A
Ending: B
Enjoyment/Likability: A
Recommendable: B+
Cover: B+

Overall: A-