30 Second Books: Still Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley

This charming sequel to Kimberly Pauley‘s debut SUCKS TO BE ME picks up where the first left off, with Mina a newly-minted vampire being relocated with her family to Cartville, Lousiana. The Vampire Council here is a lot more friendly- in fact, everyone’s pretty friendly- except for Kacie, the wannabe girlfriend of the boy that won’t leave Mina alone.

Still, it’s hard to make friends when you’re a vampire, and Mina’s been secretly messaging boyfriend George and best friend Serena over and over, in an attempt to make contact with her own people. She’s shocked when Serena turns up in Cartville, determined to become a vampire now that her own family has fallen apart. Unfortunately, another would-be vampire has her sights set on taking Serena out- permanently.

STILL SUCKS TO BE ME is laugh-out-loud funny and fast-paced. The narrative is engaging, and Mina continues to be a sympathetic and charming lead character. The design of the book is also delightful- featuring lists of reasons it still sucks to be Mina, and vampire myths and truths at the front of each chapter.

A real treat for those who are already fans, STILL SUCKS TO BE ME is a perfectly good starting point as well. The basics of the first book are distilled painlessly, leaving the reader an opportunity to get to know the new, more vampiric Mina in her brand new home town. I thoroughly enjoyed this!

Available May 2010 from Mirrorstone/Wizards of the Coast.