Review: The Vampire Stalker by Allison Van Diepen

in a sentence or so: Amy is head over heels in love with a boy from a book. when their worlds collide and danger crosses over from fiction to reality, Amy will have to rely on the boy who's stolen her heart to protect her from the vampire trying to destroy her world.

Amy is obsessed with The Otherworld series, which is about two cousins trying to save the world by stalking and killing some seriously dangerous vampires. while most fans swoon over the sweet and charismatic James, Amy finds herself writing fan fiction centered around the dark and brooding Alexander. when Alexander comes through a portal between Otherworld and our world, Amy is caught between total fangirldom (hello, she's only been obsessing about him for YEARS) and fear with knowing the most dangerous vampire ever  has crossed over as well. can Alexander stop Vigo from terrorizing the entirety of Chicago? will Alexander live up to all of Amy's expectations? and how is it that Otherworld turned out to be a real place, and not just a place of fiction? can Amy be helpful in restoring balance, or will she only get in the way of Alexander's stalking of the most dangerous vampire EVAH?

while it definitely started off feeling like YA, by the end i was convinced it is more in the middle grade camp. the idea of having fictional people become real is a fun one to explore, but it never really get's deeper than "oh, that's cool". the relationship between Amy and Alexander is comfortably predictable. something that surprised me in a oh-so-awesome way was the relationship between Amy and her friends, her teacher, and her mom/sister. i love getting to know characters through their relationships, and this was a great way for us to learn more about the situation and plot. it didn't totally redeem the book for me, but reading this certainly wasn't a waste of time either.

on a fun note, this book gives some serious nods to the bookish community. Amy writes fan fiction and comments on forums. she attends book signings. she attends release parties. the hip librarian asks for advance review copies of books to help diversify the school library. if you're a book blogger, or even just an avid reader, you will get these winks and nods and love them up.  for those of you who aren't totally immersed in the bookish community, i think you'll still appreciate the insight into the bookish world. while heavily referenced in the beginning, the plot shifts on to What Are We Going To Do About The Vampire Situation, so that works out nicely.

an original idea accompanied by predictability and bookish shoutouts make for an easy and enjoyable read, if you keep your expectations in check.

fave quote: "I hated when I was stupid in dreams." (55)

fix er up: the relationship with the dad was so loosely tied in and clunky, it would have been better to just omit the whole shebang.

title: The Vampire Stalker
author: Allison Van Diepen
genre: Fantasy, Vampire, Romance
publishing information: June 2011, Scholastic Point

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[ftc notice: i received an advance copy of this book from the publisher for a non-biased review. i was not compensated in any way.]