Team Human

by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

[Amanda]

A young adult paranormal novel is a big switch from the historical romances I've been reading lately, but Team Human was the perfect palette cleanser---and far more entertaining than the usual "Let's watch the Minnesota Vikings lose" Sunday afternoon. Ahem. The downside to binge reading within the same genre is that after a while, everything starts sounding similar. It's why tossing books like Team Human into the mix is so important.

Plus, Team Human is good enough to stand on its own too and not just because it's an atypical vampire story. It's funny and lighthearted. It's frustrating in your typical YA fashion. It's got just enough of a mystery to be intriguing. And it has enough general non-preachy life lessons to make it worthwhile. Friends change. You can't control your life or decisions other than your own. Don't rush into a decision---and don't do something just because it's what's expected of you. All good stuff.

I'm almost a little sad Team Human is a standalone. I would've picked up its sequel in a heartbeat. That said, hooray for standalones! Team Human works perfectly as a standalone, with just enough world building to make it real to us without bogging us down. It's not necessarily a place I'd want to live, but I was intrigued. And that's good stuff.