Bite Me! »

Born and bred in Arkansas, Melissa Francis is a small-town southern girl with big-city dreams. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock allowed her to graduate with an English degree, but many of her friends wonder how when she uses words like y'all, dunno, gonna, and fixin' to. Her first novel was Bite Me!

AJ Ashe isn't your typical seventeen-year-old vampire as if there is such a thing! She's stuck in the middle of a huge fight between her two BFFs. Her ex-boyfriend whom she's still totally in love with, by the way is now her stepbrother. A former classmate who, um, she may or may not have turned into a vampire is stalking her. And now, apparently, the fate of humankind lies in her little undead hands. What ever happened to the good old days, when all a vampire girl had to worry about was the occasional zit and hiding her taste for blood?

Publishers Weekly

First-time novelist Francis presents a tasty story that uses humor and a light touch to rise above typical teen vampire fare. Seventeen-year-old “good girl” AJ may be a closet blood-drinker, but that's the least of her problems. Her mom's remarriage has just turned her boyfriend into her stepbrother (“Momma's exact words to me were, 'Ariel Jane, if you so much as look at that boy with fangs in your eyes again, I'll bite you myself.' ”), her AP Lit teacher is already out to get her on the first day of school, and she might have accidentally turned her rebound guy into a vamp who is now threatening her family. On top of that, she's been accused of cheating on a quiz, and compromising photos have appeared on her Facebook page—someone has to be setting her up. But who? Francis keeps things moving, creating an absorbing and refreshing page-turner with a solid mythology, sympathetic heroine and appealing characters that readers will want to invite back to their own homes (well, almost). Ages 14–up. (Aug.)