Re: [LM_NET] BOOK: Peeps by Paul Westerfeld

["Anthony C. Doyle" <tdoyle@MUHSD.K12.CA.US>]

The author is Scott Westerfeld, not Paul.  Don't know where I got Paul. 
  Sorry.
----
Tony Doyle, Librarian
Livingston High School, Livingston, CA
tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us
<Http://www.lhs.muhsd.k12.ca.us/library/index.htm>
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture.  Just get
people to stop reading them."-- Ray Bradbury

"One of the standard problems with the universe is that it's large 
enough that unlikely things happen pretty often."--Nigel Sharp, U.S. 
National Science Foundation


Anthony C. Doyle wrote:
> Peeps by Paul Westerfeld.
> 
> Cal works for the Night Watch, a secret, extra-governmental agency that 
> has operated in New York City since colonial times.  Cal's job is to 
> hunt down parasite-positives (a.k.a Peeps).  The parasite alters the 
> host's physiology and brain chemistry, making them stronger and faster, 
> giving them heightened senses, sensitivity to light and an extreme 
> hunger for meat-- the rarer the better.  The parasite is transmitted 
> through bites or an exchange of bodily fluids.  In other words, 
> vampirism is an STD.
> 
> As the book opens Cal is hunting down his ex-girlfriend Sarah.  Cal 
> finds her in a warehouse in Hoboken with her brood of rats.  He manages 
> to subdue her for the transport squad to take her into custody.  Cal has 
> to hunt down all of his exes because he infected them with the parasite. 
>  Cal is a rarity, a carrier who does not become a full-blown Peep. With 
> Sarah in custody Cal has found all the women he infected.  Now he must 
> find the woman who infected him, Morgan.  His hunt for Morgan leads him 
> to Lace, budding journalist, to whom he is drawn.  Their investigation 
> uncovers some bizarre goings on under the city and within the Night 
> Watch itself.  Is someone in the Night Watch protecting Morgan?  And are 
> there things worse than Peeps stalking beneath the city?
> 
> Westerfeld's take on the vampire story is original and refreshing, sort 
> of like a thinking teen's Cirque du Freak.  The fiction is mixed with 
> science as Cal gives occasional discourses on parasitology, some grisly 
> enough compete with main story.  The s@xual aspect of the story is never 
> graphic but the mature content makes it a better bet for high school 
> than middle school.  Kids who liked Klause's The Silver Kiss, Anderson's 
> Thirsty, Hautman's Sweetblood, and Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' books will 
> love this one.
> 

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law.
  You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings
  by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book.
To change your LM_NET status, e-mail to: listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the message write EITHER: 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET  2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL
3) SET LM_NET MAIL  4) SET LM_NET DIGEST  * Allow for confirmation.
 * LM_NET Help & Information: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/
 * LM_NET Archive: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/archive/
 * EL-Announce with LM_NET Select: http://elann.biglist.com/sub/
 * LM_NET Supporters: http://www.eduref.org/lm_net/ven.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------