Twelve-year-old human Sophie Dawes is pretty happy living with her two moms in Hopetown, Pennsylvania. Sure, they’re vampires (Sophie isn’t), but ever since vampires decided to “step into the light” and live openly among humans, the two species have co-existed peacefully, with vampires following a strict set of rules meant to make humans feel safe. When normal, law-abiding vampires begin going rogue, though, there are curfews and regular visits from child protective services. Sophie is annoyed, but knows it’s the price she has to pay to stay with her family: her sweet Mama, who once was part of Marie Antoinette’s court, and her protective Mom, aka the Duke, a former Viking shield-maiden who once masqueraded as the Duke of Anjou. Sophie loves them dearly, and is conflicted about whether to respond to a letter from her birth mother, asking to meet.
When even Mama goes rogue, however, Sophie decides it’s up to her to find a cure, even if it means defying a secret vampire council, shady politicians, a powerful government agency, and a corporation with questionable motives. Part of what drives Sophie is her fear of abandonment, stemming from her perception that her birth mom “abandoned” her years ago.
Sophie has the help of her best friend Delphine, who was turned into a vampire at age 12 and will be that age forever, even though she has lived for hundreds of years. This gives her a unique perspective on the world. Delphine now lives with two human parents.
There’s plenty of action and suspense as Sophie and Delphine track down clues and uncover a plot more terrifying than either could have imagined (yet still appropriate for a middle-grade book). While the book doesn’t fully resolve Sophie’s feelings that she was abandoned by her birth mother (which I sense and hope are wrong on her part), it at least hints that Sophie is willing to entertain different motives to her birth mother’s action. That’s good, because parents who place children for adoption rarely just “abandon” them, but make the decision only after deep reflection. I’m hoping there’s a sequel in which author Maria Tureaud will further clarify this, since I’d love to see more adventures with this fun and original cast of characters.
While on one level, this is simply an exciting vampire tale, with creative worldbuilding, intriguing characters, and always fun action-adventure tropes (secret government facilities! political machinations!), it also explores deeper themes of what it means to be a family and to belong—and who the monsters among us really are.
Sophie, Delphine, and their families read as White.
