Just to warn you, if you’re going into this expecting a typical vampire novel, don’t. It’s much more science fiction than fantasy. When Westerfeld decided to treat vampirism as an illness, he went all out. There is detailed information about the parasite that causes it, and it’s incredibly well done. So well done, in fact, that I find it more believable than your average vampire novel. What really helps sell this is that the story is actually told in every other chapter of the novel. One chapter is the story, the next is an essay on a specific kind of parasite or illness. While reading the fiction, you are also fed facts on parasites in the real world. The biological information is pretty graphic in those chapters though. If you don’t want the mini essays, you can skip those chapters and just read the fiction. You won’t miss out on the story, though there are a few things mentioned in the story, specific diseases, that you can find more information about it those little articles.

I would have to recommend this for the older end of the young adult spectrum because there is also frank discussion of sexuality and biology in general throughout the book. The novel isn’t sexy in the way something like Gossip Girl or even Twilight is sexy. Sexual relationships are used to pass on the disease, and there is no graphic sexual content, but there is some discussion of it amongst the characters, especially with how attraction relates to their disease.

Ultimately, this novel is fascinating. I don’t know if its something I can call a fun read. As fans of Westerfeld’s Uglies series will know, he writes books that make you think, and this one is no exception. An interesting read, but not the kind of light, casual book to take poolside with you or anything like that.