Freaky Circus

I'd seen the movie, and therefore didn't really want to read this book.

But, my neighbor's Japanese exchange student told me that it was her FAVORITE book of all time. "Oh, so much better than Twilight."  
How could I not want to read and see what the fuss was about?

It was definately not Twilight. 
No romance, no handsome vampires (or werewolves.)  Just some selfish jerky teenage boys who want magic spiders, to be made vampires...
And a bunch of freaky freaks. 

Darren Shan tells his tale of how he came to be a vampire's assistant.  Two boys find tickets to a magical circus/freak show and sneak out.  Darren's horror-obsessed friend realizes that one of the performers is really an ancient vampire.  What transpires is a fast paced twist-of-fate.

Not for the faint-hearted, but probably okay for kids ages 11+ who like the scary stuff but have graduated beyond Goosebumps books.   I think the movie was a compilation of the first two books.  Looking back I think they really did a good job following to the book. 

It was a fast, fun read.   I have to admit even though it's not my thing I really did enjoy Darren Shan's writing style.  Think this is the answer to those who want the scary vampire books without all the mushy stuff.