Drain You

by M. Beth Bloom

Overview

Every night I'd lie there in bed and look out at the hills behind our house, listening. I knew there'd be consequences.

Actions meant reactions. Sunrises meant sunsets. My fear was too permanent, lasting longer than eyeliner, something I wore every day and didn't wash off.

Quinlan Lacey's life is a red carpet of weird fashions, hip bands, random parties, and chilling by the pool with her on-and-off BFF Libby. There's also her boring job (minimum wage), a crushed-out coworker (way too interested), her summer plans (nada), and her parents (totally clueless). Then one night she meets gorgeous James, and Quinn's whole world turns crazy, Technicolor, 3-D, fireworks, whatever.

But with good comes bad and unfortunately, Quinn's new romance brings with it some majorly evil baggage. Now, to make things right, she has to do a lot of things wrong (breaking and entering, kidnapping, lying, you name it).

There's normal, and then there's paranormal, and neither are Quinlan's cup of Diet Coke. Staying sane, cool, in love, and alive isn't so easy breezy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062036872
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/24/2012
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	922 KB
Age Range:	13 Years

About the Author

M. Beth Bloom is a novelist and a screenwriter. Her fiction has appeared in StoryQuarterly and Dave Eggers's Best American Nonrequired Reading series. She is also the author of Drain You. M. Beth lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 9 Up—A contemporary vampire tale with a punk-princess protagonist and a heavy dose of pop-culture references. Quinlan Lacey is resigned to spending her summer working at the video store with Morgan, whose crush she takes advantage of when she's bored or lonely. After seeing Naomi blood-spattered and hysterical one night after closing, Quinn finds out that her classmate has a mysterious brother no one knows about. She falls hard for James and decides to stay with him even after finding out that he's a vampire. As she learns more about vampires and their culture, she realizes that her best friend's possessive boyfriend is one, too, and that Libby is in grave danger. Quinn may lose James in her quest to save Libby, but she will stop at nothing to get her away from the guy who's slowly draining her. Bloom's writing style is unique, blending traditional flowery verbiage with irreverent contemporary dialogue. The plot is also a pleasing blend of friendship, romance, and action with a paranormal twist. However, the lack of character development, unrealistic plot points, and blindingly quick romance will make for a lot of eye rolling on the part of most readers. The abrupt ending suggests a forthcoming sequel. If your library is not already overrun with lighthearted vampire novels, this one would likely be a popular additional purchase.Sunnie Sette, New Haven Public Library, CT

School Library Journal

Bloom debuts with a languid, stylish novel that reads like a love letter to cult vampire flicks like The Lost Boys, the work of Francesca Lia Block, and Southern California in the 1990s. The summer looms ahead for Quinn Lacey, 17-year-old slacker. She has a boring job at the video store, her co-worker has been crushing on her forever, and she’s losing her best friend Libby to creepy guys who dress like “classic Spader villain” in chinos and loafers. When Quinn meets sexy and enigmatic James Sheets, she learns that there’s more going on in town than she ever realized. Quinn works to rescue Libby and figure out her relationship with James while coping with the discovery that L.A. is crawling with vampires. The novel unfolds slowly—it’s like Quinn is sharing her story over Diet Cokes on the pool deck—as Bloom lets readers soak in details of muggy California nights. The choppy, disaffected narration is occasionally melodramatic but often funny. It’s a welcome change of pace from more conventional vampire books, and the post-grunge setting gives it strong adult crossover potential. Ages 14–up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Bloom debuts with a languid, stylish novel that reads like a love letter to cult vampire flicks like The Lost Boys, the work of Francesca Lia Block, and Southern California in the 1990s.” — Publishers Weekly

“Bloom’s writing style is unique, blending traditional flowery verbiage with irreverent contemporary dialogue. The plot is also a pleasing blend of friendship, romance, and action with a paranormal twist.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher