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    Team Human
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    Team Human
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    Team Human
    Audiobook8 hours

    Team Human

    Written by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

    Narrated by Julia Whelan

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she stays in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!

    On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

    Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9780804121644
    Unavailable
    Team Human
    Author

    Justine Larbalestier

    JUSTINE LARBALESTIER is the author of the award-winning Magic or Madness trilogy. She wishes she had a clothes shopping fairy instead of the procrastination fairy she battles with almost every day. She is married to author Scott Westerfeld and divides her time between Sydney and New York City.

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    Reviews for Team Human

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      teen angst between human teen and vampire teen.
    • 4/5
      Light, frothy, non-serious vampire fun that still manages to touch on some thought-provoking concepts. I liked the mystery; the amateur sleuthing wasn't ridiculously beyond typical teenage abilities. Mel wasn't perfect, but her errors were in character and she was still likeable. I love that Mel's racial background was present and a part of her life without being the point of the book. The vampires are full characters too - some are dangerous, some are good, some are kind of boring. The world-building was well thought out; the fact that vampires don't laugh really stuck with me. Good depictions of friendships, too.
    • 5/5
      Despite being a YA fantasy novel, this book contains no dystopias, nor are there any love triangles. It has vampires, yes, and even some zombies every now and then, but it's more a parody of the Twilight type of paranormal romance than a clone. Overall, it's a light, quick read, with just enough threat in it to give it some realism and depth, and I enjoyed it without having read all those vampire novels it's probably parodying (the sign of a good parody, I figure, is when it stands well on its own).
    • 5/5
      Mel is firmly on Team Human. Sure, she lives in New Whitby, a town renowned for being vampire-friendly, but Mel has no desire to meet vampires, hang out with vampires, or (especially) become a vampire. She'd rather die. On the other hand, her best friend Cathy has always been fascinated by vampires. When a hot vampire guy enrolls in Mel and Cathy's high school, Mel fears the worst. Cathy is smitten with the newcomer, and he seems to return her interest. Mel is determined to save Cathy from a fate worse than death, whether Cathy wants to be saved or not. Mel is also investigating the mysterious disappearance of another friend's father, so she has a lot on her plate. Life gets even more complicated when she meets Kit, a human raised by vampires. Between Kit and Cathy, Mel is starting to rethink her position on vampires -- perhaps they're not all completely evil -- but she's still not about to let her best friend make the worst mistake a human can possibly make!First of all, this book does bring the funny. There's the obvious question of why a centuries-old vampire would want to attend high school, and plenty of humor surrounding Kit's quirky adopted family. What really impressed me, though, was Mel's character development, and the way she comes to grip, over the course of the novel, with her own prejudices. It's handled lightly, of course, and that's all for the best -- the book would have been ruined if it came over all message-y. So, kudos to the authors for both writing something that gently mocks vampire romance, but is also worth reading in its own right.
    • 3/5
      Team Human is about a girl named Mel (not short for Melanie, mind you) who lives in a town called New Whitby which was actually founded by vampires. Yes, vampires. And yes! They co-exist side by side! Well, sort of. On like different sides of the city but still, it's pretty darn close, right? Anyway, Mel isn't exactly vampires' biggest fan so when Francis (the vampire) shows up to school one day and totally makes Mel's best friend Cathy (who happens to obsesses over vampires) swoon, she knows something bad is going to happen. Oh and she also uncovers a pretty disgusting and depressing secret about her other best friend Anna.I'm not a fan of vampires but I am up to read anything Sarah Rees Brennan writes after I absolutely fell in love with Unspoken. I'll admit, I was on the fence about this but everyone kept talking about how snarky Mel was so I mean, who am I to not give it a go?!The idea of people living with vampires in the same city is sort of strange. I guess I would be like Mel and freak out too and be way less excited if one of them showed interest in my best friend... and vice versa. It's just ew, dude, do you get how much OLDER he is than you? By CENTURIES? It's just a really really weird thought. I mean once you get passed the whole he-needs-blood-to-survive thing. I'll admit, the plot didn't drive me enough to want to finish this book. It was just strange and while I was interested to know where the mystery was leading to, I wasn't driven to. Does that make sense?I did like Mel, she had the same sort of humor that Kami has in Unspoken and she had the same detective drive and urge to break into buildings and I liked that! But I thought it was weird how hell bent Mel was on how vampires couldn't laugh or smile like it was her make it or break it reason or something. Also her obsession with stopping Cathy was also a bit irritating. Like okay, I get you don't want your friend to make a choice she may (literally) regret for eternity but at the same time, it is HER life and if she wants to give that up, that should be on her. Harsh but you know, true. I also really liked Kit (though the origin of his name made me sad). He was an innocent, shy, funny, typical inexperienced teenage boy and I really really liked that. He was just so cute because he didn't know anything really. Awww! I also really liked Kit's mom Camille. She may have came off as scary at first but her reaction to Kit's big news made me shed a tear. Seriously. While there were some pretty cool characters in this book, there were also some really strange ones. Like Cathy's mom. And Anna herself. I don't know, I personally found her strange. Speaking of Anna, my heart broke for her the whole time, poor thing! What an awful thing to go through!Overall I did enjoy the book mainly because of the characters and not really because of the plot. It was nice to see someone who wasn't drooling over the hot vampire in school!
    • 5/5
      New Whitby was founded by vampires, but no one ever really sees them. They stay in their shad neighborhood and humans stay in their neighborhood. Many people romanticize them and their existence, but Mel Duan definitely is not one of them. She was perfectly happy being basically oblivious to vampires' existence until Francis enrolls at her high school. Of course it causes excitement with the students and for some reason Francis has glommed on to her group of friends to hang out with. Cathy, her best friend, seems to have a crush on Francis, but over time it turns into a horrifying and sickeningly sweet romance between the two. Meanwhile, Mel's other friend is freaking out because of the vampire and the fact that her dad ran away with a vampire client. Her mom who is also the principal acts really weird around Francis, leading Mel to believe he is either threatening her or knows something about the missing husband. Then things get so much worse when Cathy and Francis declare their undying love for each other and Cathy wants to turn into a vampire. So it's Mel's responsibility to save her best friend from a lifetime with a creep and figure out her friend's mystery.Team Human is a brilliant parody of typical vampire novels (like Twilight and other such clones) by two very clever and very awesome YA authors, Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan. It addresses questions brought up in those ridiculous, melodramatic vampire romances and goes beyond that to create a realistic story that has something real to say. It seems really ridiculous for a vampire who is over a century old to go back to high school and spend time with people who are over a hundred years younger than him. High school is boring for teenagers and must be a thousand fold more tedious and boring to vampires. Francis' excuse is writing a book about humans and following around various students, peppering them with questions. It's also pretty creepy for a teenager and someone about 10 times her age to be in a relationship together, which is also never addressed anywhere else. This instalove vampire romance is compared with a normal romance between Mel and a boy raised by vampires. Their love story grows out of getting to know each other and basing the relationship on something real. The very rude voice of reason that brings all of these truths to light is Mel Duan, the best character in this book. For the most part, the vampires' lives are romanticized by everyone around, but Mel exposes the drawbacks and truths about wanting to change into one, namely dying, becoming a zombie and then dying, and losing the ability to laugh and cry if the process is successful. It was nice to see someone in a supernatural novel that wasn't blinded by the beauty and mystery of vampires and never lost sight of the fact that vampires are dangerous and we are their food. Mel isn't perfect. She feels that it's her responsibility to take care of her friends, but also gets super bossy and rude if they disagree. She has their best interests at heart, but she has some growing to do. In the end, she realized that she has to accept her friends and their life decisions even if she doesn't agree with them. Team Human is a great book that pokes fun at vampire romance tropes while both using them and subverting them. Justine Larbelestier and Sarah Rees Brennan worked wonderfully as a team. What could have been just the poking fun of a bloated and tired genre, they took the opportunity to tell a real story that people can relate to and that actually says something. This one is for vampire lovers and haters alike.
    • 5/5
      The first thing you'll notice about Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan's TEAM HUMAN is the voice. The protagonist, Mel, is sassy, cool, and hilarious -- a Whedon-esque narrator who gives you the giggles on every page, even when you're face-palming over her egregious misinterpretations of the people around her, stepping on her own toes, and sticking her nose in everyone's business.But Mel has good reasons for being so nosy. There's a vampire enrolled in her school and, worse, her BFF Cathy is head over heels for him. She's on a mission to do anything she can to save Cathy from herself. Plus, her other BFF Anna lost her dad this summer -- he's a psychiatrist for vampires, and he ran away with one of his patients, leaving Anna's mom, Principal Saunders -- and Anna -- high and dry. Anna thinks her mom has been acting super weird since the school year started, and she knows Mel's snooping skills might help her figure it all out.There are a lot of things Mel doesn't expect while investigating Cathy's new beau and Anna's mom, though. First of all, there's Kit, a boy raised by vampires who, is, admittedly, totally hot. And there's the fact that Dr. Saunders' disappearance may not be the way everyone is telling it. Part mystery, part romance, and 100% hilarious, TEAM HUMAN is a book not to be missed by fans -- and haters -- of paranormal romance. There's something for everyone here. If there's only one paranormal book you read this summer, make it TEAM HUMAN.
    • 5/5
      My sister recommended this book as we are both huge fans of Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon Lexicon. I read the first chapter on Justine Larbalestier's blog and was hooked.Team Human by Justine Larbalestier is a very unique vampire book. It pokes fun at all the books and movies that have come before, but in an endearing way (somewhat like Enchanted the movie did for fairy tales). We are introduced to a fun protagonist, Mel, whose best friend, Cathy, falls in love with a vampire. Mel is completely against this union, but other sinister happenings come to light with their other friend Anna and her missing father. While this book pays homage to all things vampire, it is not only that-- it is a complete novel in its own right.I laughed so hard through the first few chapters-- and I don't normally do that. Mel is such a fun character-- and yet, she is also flawed, and has to come to an understanding by the end. This makes it a good YA book. I loved the character of Kit, and that of the police vampire woman Camilla. Some of the plot lines were obvious, but I welcomed these twists and enjoyed reading every page.Terrifically funny, moving, and enlightening YA novel. A must read for vampire lover and hater alike.
    • 4/5
      Team Human was just what I needed. I used to be a huge vampire fan, but the over-saturation of the vampire genre over the last few years has left me feeling very ambivalent toward the children of the night. It wasn't until I read The Immortal Rules that my interest was renewed. When I first saw this book I was hesitant, but the synopsis intrigued me, and I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did!Within the first few pages I knew I was in for a crazy ride. The authors set the tone of the book perfectly, and the reader knows this will be more tongue in cheek than serious, and I loved that. It's very much a parody of the recent vampire craze and totally hilarious.In the world that Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan have created, vampires are alive and well in New Whitby. In fact, the town was founded by vampires years ago, and humans and vampires have found a way to co-exist.When the book begins, we meet our MC, Mel and her best friend, Cathy. When they arrive at school, they see a mysterious guy dressed in full motorcycle gear (helmet included) who turns out to be a vampire named Francis. Mel isn't as excited as everyone else in school that a vampire has enrolled, but Cathy is completely smitten with Francis. When weird things begin to happen at school, Mel can't help but think Francis is behind them, and she's going to do everything she can to keep Cathy from falling under Francis's spell.I loved Mel. She is a little spitfire. She's very straight-forward, and takes no beef from anyone. Had the book not been told from her point of view, she may have seemed a bit harsh, but we learn through her internalization that she's just very protective of those she cares about, often putting their safety and happiness before her own. She's a great character and a wonderful narrator. I also enjoyed the supporting characters. Cathy is a trip, led by romantic ideals, and I also liked Ty, Mel's ex-boyfriend. I especially liked Anna (Mel's friend) and her mother (the school principal) story. Anna's father ran off with a vampire client and her mother is slowly losing it. Mel is determined to help Anna find out what really happened to her dad which adds a nice mystery to the story. Another thing that I liked was the addition of zombies. In this story, zombies are people who didn't completely turn after getting bit by a vampire. The addition of this kind of upped the stakes for anyone who thought about becoming a vampire -- you're not actually guaranteed you'll turn into one.While the book is fairly light in tone, and a lot of fun to read, it also carries a great message. There's a lot of diversity in the book (race, sexual orientation, class, etc) and while not the primary focus, there is a message of tolerance which is buried into the story enough that it didn't feel preachy.The writing is very fluid and well-done. I never once felt that the voice or the style shifted which surprised me. I figured there may be some minor quirks, or habits that would come out to identify which author had written what, but that didn't happen. It flows very nicely.Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan have done a bang up job of taking the tired vampire in high school story and turning it on its head. If you are a vampire lover, or if you used to be, I encourage you to check this one out. You won't be disappointed.
    • 5/5
      I'm in love this book. I do love a book that pokes fun at something with good humor just as much as I love a nice, dark paranormal read where the characters must protect the world and themselves from something big, bad, and terrible. From the first pages, the humor is apparent in this book. You know there's going to be humor and fun when you recognize a vampire in the first chapter because its walking in broad daylight in a Hazmat suit. This novel is a parody of all things vampire and team-related. There are the vampire groupies who practically worship them, and there are the vampire haters who think its sacriligeous and downright idiotic to risk your life for immortality. In short, vampires are trending in New Whitby with near equal supporters and haters. Mel falls near the middle, being chill with vampires until they get close to her and her friends.Mel captured my heart from the beginning. She's pushy and opinionated, set in her opinions, and judgmental. She takes charge of situations and always tries to do right by her friends. Despite claiming that Francis, the vampire Cathy falls in love with, is racist against her for being Chinese and Ty for being African-American, she is discriminating against Francis for being a vampire. Yeah, not the best way to endear yourself to someone. What makes Mel so real and endearing is that she acts the way she does because she wants to protect her friends. Because she is so strong, however, we have to witness her break down at times and learn to be more flexible, or she'll lose what she's trying to protect.The world building is fabulous. At first, the vampires seem distant and aloof because of Mel's prejudiced views, but as she learns more about the vampires, and we with her, they become more humanized despite their forever poker faces. I enjoyed learning more about vampires, their relation to zombies, and how their world has been co-existing with ours for quite some time. There is romance--it's funny and over the top, the kind I could totally see happening in a manga--but it doesn't overtake the plot. It's a side thing that happens along the way and actually contributes to its development.There is also great diversity in this book. Groups include skin color, sexuality, and vampirism. The diversity is far from the focus of the novel, excluding vamp prejudice--something impossible given how one of Mel's two main missions in the book is to separate Francis from her best friend. (The other mission being to find out the truth behind the disappearance of Anna's father.) Team Human is about the grey space between the black and white. Each character has his or her own story to tell in relation to the team they play. This is a parody of vampires, but it is also about how one doesn't have to be strictly one team or the other. As Mel learns, it's perfectly fine (and recommended) to follow your own path, but be understanding of others' thoughts and desires. This isn't a book for everyone, but if you appreciate good humor, poking fun at vampires in good fun, and diversity, I'd recommend picking up this book.Note: One of the most fun parts of this novel, besides Mel's overabundance of sarcasm and humor, was reading the title of the chapter and guessing how it relates to the chapter.
    • 3/5
      This book is a quick fast paced read that sweeps the reader off their feet.What I enjoyed most about this book is the fresh aspect of it. Let's hear it for Team Human!!!!For once, there is a smart girl not falling for the predatory smiles of the undead. She smart and does not hang on his every word. Mel quickly catches on to what really is going on. Mel is selfless in all of her actions to help/save her best friend Cathy. I liked that Mel is rational in all of her decisions. Her snarky attitude constantly made me snort.The love interest definitely took a different turn than what I thought. A human raised by vampires, with the choice to change. I loved how well both sides of the story played out. Mel learns a lot more about vampires but she also teaches them more about humans. My only gripe about the story is that I wanted more fighting. It has enough suspense and mystery to keep the reader going but I kept waiting for that moment of kick-buttery. You know what I mean? Still, the book has enough entertainment to keep me reading.Team Human raises all the points about why being human rocks. It's not just about seeing the sun rise, but more about your humanity. The feelings of emotion, love, excitement, passion, joy, and laughter. Team Human is a great story!
    • 4/5
      Mel is your typical teenage girl who lives in a town known for its vampires. Still the vampires are a relatively rare site so when a vampire named Francis enrolls in Mel's high school it causes quite an uproar. Mel claims she isn't prejudice against vampires but she most certainly wants her boys to be breathing, laughing, and able to enjoy a day in the sun at the beach. She is Team Human for sure. So she doesn't really understand the allure of Francis. He is older than dirt, dry, and painfully polite. Plenty of the girls at school adore Francis. And Mel just doesn't get it. Unfortunately Mel's best friend Cathy is immediately infatuated with Francis and he seems to be returning her affection.Horrified, Mel begins a campaign to convince Cathy that vampires shouldn't be dated. As Cathy and Francis grow closer they begin talking about taking drastic steps. Mel becomes more desperate to show Cathy that she is not thinking clearly and making bad decisions in regards to Francis. Mel meets a teenage human boy named Kit who has been raised by vampires. Will he show her that vampires aren't all bad? In addition to the Cathy drama, Mel wants to help another friend, Anna. Anna's father has recently ran off his patient, a vampire woman. He left without a trace and has been in contact only infrequently by text message. It is beginning to look more and more like he left against his will. Can Mel and Kit help Anna? Can they convince Anna that dating a vampire just isn't right?The first few chapters had me concerned. I thought Mel was far too prejudiced against vampires and it annoyed me. I wasn't engaged by the story or the characters. It almost felt like the story wanted to be a parody and I didn't like that. But as I continued to read I found myself more and more drawn into "Team Human". I liked Kit a lot so once Mel met him the story really picked up. Also the mystery of what happened with Anna's father was really intriguing. I never really understood Mel or why she was so desperate to get Cathy away from Francis. There was some kind of desperation there that spoke more of Mel's problems that it did Cathy's. I wanted to yell at her to butt out several times. So did the other characters. She did love her friends though and by the end of the book that really came across. I loved the ending of the book. It was very strong and emotional. I ended up quite liking this book. I also want to add that it is very clean and I think it is appropriate for both younger and older teens.
    • 4/5
      I don't read a lot of YA books, but I'm a fan of Sarah Rees Brennan. This collaboration works just fine, with all the gentle humor I've come to expect. What if your best friend is in love with a vampire? That's only part of the story...
    • 3/5
      I read this a while ago, and it took me a while to remember it. It's a vampires and humans coexist universe, where people can choose to become vampires. It's always kind of interesting because a lot of characters have big moral objections to becoming a vampire, and I wonder how that would work out in real life. In this one a girl is trying to convince her friend to stay away from vampires and definitely not become one to be with her boyfriend, and her friend does not agree. So this is a vampire love story not told from the lover's perspective, which is an interesting twist.
    • 3/5
      I chuckled through half of this book, I swear. Because I am that person who yells out "Team Bella Learning to Love Yourself" instead of falling all over super-romantic vampires and weres. So I completely understood Mel when her best friend fell for their school's new student, the super handsome vampire guy and Mel was so very against it. She's hilarious and a good friend and this book was fun.
    • 4/5
      Francis the vampire has decided to attend high school, and Mel's best friend Cathy is smitten. This is not okay with Mel, who has never been a fan of the room-temperature blood suckers. However, in her efforts to pull the two apart, Mel stumbles upon a much bigger story, one that leads her right into the heart of the vampire neighborhood. This book is clearly written by lovers of the vampire romance who fully accept and embrace its flaws. It pokes fun at all the tropes and gave me quite a few giggles, but it's never a mean-spirited takedown of the genre as a whole. In short, if you like vampire stories but don't take them too seriously, this is a whole lot of fun.A note on this edition: I found this at the dollar store, where the books are pretty much all overstock. I think the cover art did this one in. It was just stock photos of teenagers who didn't look at all like the characters (I assume) they were supposed to represent. If I didn't read the backs of so many of the books at the dollar store (far more than I do books at a bookstore with a larger inventory), I would have passed it over too.

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    • 4/5
      This is an odd book for me. I'm not a fan of either of these authors individually. I picked it up because I wanted to see what they'd do with the genre and because at least one of my friends enjoyed it. I poked at a sample, decided I had to have it straight away, valiantly struggled to be sensible about my finances and finally caved when I needed something to cheer me up this month. I spent so much of my time reading this laughing or talking back at the book. Or giggling. I giggled a lot too.That's not to say the book is perfect. It isn't. The snark in the narrative sometimes felt forced and there were a few small spots I thought could've been cut and saved for the sequel. They made the book feel crowded.And yet... I laughed and giggled my way through the book. That's because when the narration did work for me it worked amazingly well. I almost wish it hadn't worked so well because I'm pretty sure it's why the times it failed stood out so starkly. Mel is a fantastic character. She's got snark; she's got smarts; she's got blind spots; she's got loyalty; she's got a life; she's got friends; she's got prejudices (and yes she does and yes she still struggles with them at the end of the book, but she grows and oh she tries). Kit is, if possible, even more fantastic than Mel and they make a fantastic team. And the way they interact with Francis is hilarious. I loved every moment of Mel/Francis scenes.Cathy is... She's everything you'd expect and oh so much more. As this is Mel's story we only see Cathy and Francis' romance peripherally and I do half wish we'd seen a little more of it. I'd enjoy seeing what they'd do with it. Granted, I probably wouldn't want a whole book's worth of it, but a short story or a novella would be nice to flesh out that aspect of the story just a tad more. (Yes, my general complaint with this book is pretty much summed up as "Want moar!" More, prz!)So, yes. Despite having some fairly big issues with the narrative itself, I fell head over heels for this book. It's snarky; it's lively; it's vibrant; it's sweet; it's got character growth; it's got romance; it's got mystery; it's got friendship. I had a blast reading this and I'm thoroughly glad that I gave it a chance.
    • 4/5
      I can clearly remember when Team Human was released because it was a book that definitely piqued my interest, not only because it seemed to poke fun at the typical YA vampire tropes, but also because I'd heard really good things about both authors. Needless to say, I will definitely be checking out other books by both Sarah Rees Brennan and Justine Larbalestier, because I found this book to be refreshingly different. I adored the very tongue in cheek nature present in the story, but also appreciated that this wasn't just a humor book; there is a surprising amount of depth to the story and the characters, and I found all of it extremely entertaining and even poignant in places.This book very much makes fun of some of the more common tropes seen in YA vampire books, particularly that of Twilight. I loved the fact that there are several folks who are concerned with the insta-love between Cathy and Francis, to the point where there are numerous comments about how they're rushing into things. Mel, of course, is the most vocal of these characters, and because she is our point of view character, the reader gets taken on quite the ride as she tries to convince Cathy to make different choices. Mel is brash, stubborn, and completely uncouth, and while I'm not sure I'd love a friend like this in reality, I had to love her devotion to her friends and the amount of love she has for Cathy in particular. I liked the fact that, throughout the book, Mel has to come face to face with her preconceived notions and admit that perhaps she doesn't really have the right to tell others what to do, even when she doesn't like their choices. Mel does a lot of maturing in this book, and I was very pleased to be able to go along with her on that ride.Team Human also has a really solid mystery at its core when it comes to Anna's dad, and I loved how Mel refused to accept the adults' answers to her questions and did her own digging. (And I agree that Kit is superb at sidekicking!). The mystery added a lot of suspense to this book, and kept it from being all about the romance or Mel's dislike of Francis and the impact his appearance has on Cathy. However, one of the best things about this book is indeed of the romantic variety: I found Mel and Kit's blossoming relationship to be incredibly well-written, complete with miscommunication of the normal variety and a definite "like" not "love" factor. To put it succinctly, they were adorable, as two people who like each other should be. I definitely approved!All in all, I found Team Human to be a great mix of mystery, romance and humor. Despite being laugh-out-loud funny in some places, the depth of emotion experienced by Mel and the others made this a fabulous combination of fun with a heavy dose of levity that made for an extremely enjoyable read. It's definitely a book that has a little bit of something for everyone!
    • 4/5
      Title : Team Human
      Series : -
      Author : Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
      Pages : 344
      Release Date : July 3rd 2012
      Publisher : HarperTeen / Harper Collins Canada
      Format : ARC
      Source :
      *A big thank you to HCC for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review*






      My Opinion :


      Team Human is a hilarious book that will make you snort very-unladylike.


      Team Human is written by two hilarious authors that formed a great duo. I would definitely read another book by them. They use A LOT (and when I say a lot, it's A LOT) of sarcasm in Team Human (which, I'm not complaining about :D)

      A great relaxing summer read you DON'T want to miss!

      Team Human is about Mel, who's Cathy's best friend. And, Cathy has fallen in love with a vampire (because in Mel's world, vampires are known to the world). But, Mel wants to save her friend. But, as she begins to fall slowly in love with the son of a vampire (don't ask, just read the book!), she finds out that maybe it'S not too bad of a thing...

      As I mentioned before, Team Human is written with a little A LOT of wittiness. I laughed and snorted and giggled A LOT. But, Team Human is not just a funny book, but also a bit of a mystery book, because one of the characters is having a hard time with something that is kind of a mystery.

      I am SO glad it's a standalone, because I don't know how the authors could pull off a sequel qwithout stretching the story too much.

      Mel (which, her complete name is NOT Melanie :D) is the most funny of all the characters, followed closely by Kit.

      And even though Francis is a bit cold, I think that's what is funny about him.

      Team Human is a book you REALLY need to read.
    • 4/5
      An easy and generally fun read, with teeth. Clearly bouncing off the Twilight series but informed much more widely. The mystery was on the perfect level for me of having just enough of a twist to keep me interested, but being predictable enough that I could feel clever working it out before the protag. :-)
    • 5/5
      Team Human was a refreshing vampire novel filled with humor and wonderful dialog. The narrator is Mel who is American Born Chinese and the person in the group who is the problem solver. (She is the problem solver whether or not her friends think they have problems.) Her best friend Cathy is smart, interested in history and literature, and shy. When Francis, a vampire, comes to their high school, Cathy is fascinated and falls in love with him. This is a problem for Mel. She has a lot of prejudice against vampires even though they no longer prey on humans. When Cathy says that she has accepted Francis's offer to turn her to vampire, Mel is determined to make her friend change her mind. Meanwhile, Mel's friend Anna is hurting too. Her father, a vampire therapist, has abandoned his family to run away with one of his vampire patients. Both Anna and her mother are very changed by this experience and Mel wants to find a way to help. But something about Dr. Saunders' leaving seems very odd to Mel. How can a caring father leave his family and not communicate with his daughter except by sending a few text messages? Why is Mrs. Saunders afraid of Francis? Is Mel making up difficulties or is something really going on?And then there is Kit, a young human raised by vampires, who challenges most of Mel's assumptions about vampires. Together they try to find out what happened to Dr. Saunders and have lively discussions about whether or not Cathy should go through transition and become a vampire. Kit, who had assumed that he would go through transition and become a vampire as soon as he could, has some decisions to make too after spending time with Mel.This was a great story about friendship and choices and about growing and changing. I laughed and I cried. I can't wait to add this one to my high school media center collection and share it with my teen readers. I also look forward to anything else Ms. Larbalestier and Ms. Brennan write together.
    • 3/5
      TEAM HUMAN

      I think everyone’s sort of wary about co-authored books. I am myself, but I’m not sure why, really... I’ve only read two [non-fiction] co-authored book aside from this one, which doesn’t seem to be a big enough sample size. Maybe it’s just that it’s hard to imagine just how one would go about co-authoring a book. Writing one seems hard enough, even without another author to work with. I can’t really say how having two authors affected Team Human. It’s very different than anything else I’ve read by Sarah Rees Brennan, but then again, it was a very different genre. There were definitely lines, especially in terms of dialogue, where I seemed to recognize SRB’s trademark style. Although I am aware of Justine Larbalestier, I’ve never read any of them, so I can’t say what parts of the book were ‘hers’. Reading the author’s note at the back however, made it seem like they had a lot of fun writing this.

      Which nice to know, because I had a lot of fun reading it. It’s about time we got a witty send-up of the whole ‘high school girl falling for vampire’ trope, because all the derivative YA books so far have been very serious and earnest. It was so much fun to see that couple from the best friend’s perspective. And the world-building was fun, and so were the characters. I love Kit. I loved how, in the end, the story was about choice, how to make our own and let other people make their own. Also, random maybe, but I really appreciated how Francis actually spoke in a old-fashioned manner, as opposed to most books where we are told that the vampire speaks like that, but the actual dialogue is modern.
    • 4/5
      This is a stand alone parody novel that pokes fun at a teenage girl’s obsession with vampires. It was cute and funny and all in all much better than I expected.Mel and Cathy live in New Whitby, a town founded by vampires. When a cute vampire shows up at their high school (in a biohazard suit to protect him from the sun), Cathy who is obsessed with all things historical falls immediately in love. Mel is determined to protect Cathy from her love-sickness. Additionally Mel has a friend named Anna whosse dd recently ran away with a vampire women under mysterious circumstances and Mel is trying to help Anna figure out what really happened. Mel is a funny character who is constantly trying to help her friends out but neglects to notice when she herself is being unreasonable. She truly believes she is doing the best she can to protect her friends...even if they don’t always want her protection and love. She is spunky, full of fun, and feisty. All in all a very fun character to read about.Cathy is smart, a bit of a dreamer, and loves history. So when the vampire Francis shows up at high school, Cathy is thrilled to meet a very handsome walking bit of history. Anna is deeply disturbed by her father running away with a vampire woman. Now Anna’s mom is acting really strange and Anna enlists Mel’s help to figure out whether Anna’s father’s disappearance is tied in with some other odd goings on happening at the high school.This book is hilarious at times. I was seriously laughing my butt off when Francis showed up in a biohazard suit to do a picnic on the beach. But surprisingly, the book wasn’t all silliness. There is a very heartfelt story here that deals with friendship, protecting those you love, and loving your friends enough to let them make their own decisions despite what you believe is right.The plot is well done. There are lots of little mysterious things going on that end up tying together nicely in the end. This book is probably best described as a paranormal sit-com with a good dose of mystery. Oh and I should mention there are zombies here as well, so you know, every book is better with zombies :-)I ended up enjoying the story way more than I thought I would. It’s a fun, light read. It is a parody, but it’s a parody that also provides a heartfelt and intriguing story. The book is well written and everything is tied up nicely at the end.Overall I enjoyed this book. It is a cute, fun, and heartfelt parody on all of those paranormal books where the girls fall head over heels with vamps. It had me laughing out loud a number of times. I enjoyed the likable characters; especially Mel who was so determined to help out her friends. Recommended to those who enjoy paranormal humor/drama. Not a lot of action here, but it was a good mystery.
    • 5/5
      I must admit that at first I was put off by this book’s writing style. Besides, I’m not much into parodies. However, as the novel progressed and the authors began to take their story seriously, their writing style improved. As many other readers, I was intrigued by Team Human’s original world which has people and vampires co-existing openly and peacefully. The action takes place in a fictional Maine town founded by vampires and humans trying to escape prosecution in colonial times. Vampires live in their own district, sans street lighting, blaring TV/music, and eating establishments. They do allow tourist tours, though, probably so that people could see for themselves that vampires aren’t really monsters. They have their own police force, since humans would be hard put to police them, but still people are advised not to go there alone after dark: most vampires are responsible and decent, but it takes just one who isn’t for a tragedy to happen. I very much enjoyed the descriptions of the vampire neighborhood where everybody wears clothes from different time periods. Creation of new vampires is controlled by the government which gives very few licenses. Accordingly, some people get turned illegally, despite the fact that these transformations have a considerably higher chance of going wrong. The only thing that I found unrealistic about this scenario is that vampires in this novel get blood from hospital blood banks. It’s one thing to donate blood for people who might need a blood transfusion, but I doubt that many people would have donated blood for vampires to drink. I think the authors should have gone with an artificial substitute, to make their world more believable. And I was a bit irked by the idea that vampires are physically unable to laugh, since there’s no reason whatsoever why somebody who can talk wouldn’t be able to laugh. Of course, biologically, there’s no way anybody could talk without breathing either, but since the vampires-don’t-breathe idea is so old-established I was prepared to overlook it. But the vampires-don’t-laugh thing is totally new, as far as I know, and I wasn’t too happy with a new invention that doesn’t make any sense biologically and seemed like an artificial add-on to skew the balance more towards humans. I must also admit that it took me a very long time to warm up to the narrator, Mel Duan, who is your typical contemporary teenage girl heroine: smart, but snarky, and strong in the I-don’t-need-anybody-to-accompany-me-through-the-vampire-district-at-night and chivalry-makes-me-gag ways. Mercifully, I haven’t met any girls like that in real life, but YA novels seem to abound with them. To make her even more off-putting, Mel is sure she knows better what kind of life her best friend should lead – a trait most teenagers find annoying in parents, let alone peers, but something Mel’s best friend Cathy puts up with with an angelic patience. Mel is also constantly and deliberately mean to the vampire Francis – behavior he also puts up with with an unflinchingly gentlemanly demeanor. Only by the end of the book, when Mel finally comes to accept that she was wrong about vampires, Cathy, and Francis, and that her friend lacks neither strength nor judgment and actually knows best what kind of life she wants to lead, and that as a friend she should support her in her decision, did I finally begin to find Mel likeable. However, refreshingly, this novel provides a more unusual (in YA lit) female heroine in the person of Cathy who is strong, but doesn’t feel the need to constantly demonstrate it in every petty or silly way she can or to tell other people what to do. She is mature enough to appreciate good manners and good books, make decisions based on research and a good understanding of herself, and not let other people, including her two girl friends, affect her decision. Even after meeting people who lost their minds and were slowly dying as a result of a transformation gone wrong, Cathy stayed calm, saying that she hadn’t really learned anything she hadn’t known before, her only emotion that of dismay that these people were allowed to suffer for years to a bitter end, just so that they could serve as a visual education aid. (And indeed, why couldn’t a videotape suffice?) Cathy’s reaction contrasted amusingly with that of Kit – an abandoned human boy raised by vampires – who left the tour in a few minutes and needed a bucket to throw up into. I also liked it how after Cathy became a vampire she joined Francis in writing his monumental work on human and vampire emotions, becoming his coauthor, despite the fact that he’d been a vampire for a century and a half and had already written several volumes of his "opus." In general, I’d have preferred more of Cathy and/or Francis and less of Mel and Kit because the former sound like more pleasant and more interesting company. (I was quite disappointed when Francis started talking about his research, and Kit interrupted him to make a silly joke.) I will admit, though, that I found Mel’s interactions with Kit considerably more entertaining to read about than her interactions with her other friends: since he gives as hard as he gets, teasing her back and calling her on her prejudices and rudeness, her behavior doesn’t come off quite as bullying, and I could enjoy their exchanges. Still, I wish that the other vampires, besides Francis and Kit’s adoptive mother, had been allowed to be more than walk-in caricatures; the best that can be said about these characters is that we see very little of them. There’s also an interesting mystery involving Mel and Cathy’s other girl friend, but the friend herself also remains rather bland, despite considerable "screen time."On the whole, however, the fantasy world and the characters of Cathy and Francis sold the story to me, and I’ll probably be rereading it in the future.
    • 4/5
      Mel lives in a vampire town in Maine. Okay, only half vampire, but she’s not a big fan of them, and when her best friend gets hot and heavy with the new vamp in high school and announces her intention to turn, despite a not insignificant risk of death or zombification, Mel knows she needs to act. If only Kit, the cute boy raised by vampires, were more help in her project. Also, her other best friend’s father left her principal mother for a vampire, and now the principal seems terrified of something … Enjoyable YA; I don’t have much to say about it.
    • 4/5
      My thoughts:What a delightful read! Quick, fast-paced and lots of fun, Team Human is a treat for vampire lovers and readers who’ve had enough of vampires alike. An all around awesome read!:)You know those books where the naive heroine falls in love with the supernatural being, despite him being all scary, dark and deadly, and there’s the best friend who tries to wake her up to reality and make her realize that what she’s doing is all sorts of wrong and dangerous? Well, this book is told from that BFF’s POV, which was unique, refreshing, interesting and oh, so hilarious! We get to see the romantic, dreamy love story as well as the outsider’s take on it. Like I said, lots of fun!Despite being a tad different and having different interests in life, Mel and Cathy have always been best friends. All’s nice and good in their normal high school life (well, as normal as life can be in a vamp city). They keep to themselves and the vamps stay in their creepy side of the city. And then along comes Francis (I know, right?*) – and everything changes. Cathy’s little obsession with vampires becomes too much – she falls in love with him instantly (insta-love? check!): he’s handsome, an old school vampire and likes the same things she likes. They’re so perfect for each other and she’s sure she’s finally found her soul mate! *face palm* Their relationship and adoration is so out there and sweet and um… cheesy (and a bit cliché), it’s almost nauseating to watch (and I'm not saying that in a bad way). Of course, the authors put all this in such a way that you can’t not be thoroughly amused by it!:))“Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” That was all he said. He gave yet another tiny head bow, then turned and walked away to the principal’s office or the little vampire’s room or wherever. I didn’t care. I had other things to worry about. Namely Cathy, her big dark eyes open wide and glowing as if she had fireflies trapped inside her head. “This year is going to be amazing,” she said with deep conviction. Yeah. We were in trouble.Except Mel is not amused. She’s disappointed. Aggravated. Annoyed. Incredulous. She can’t believe her BFF falls for all that old school nonsense. And she’s set to do her best to make her see things her way – the right way - before it’s too late and she makes something stupid she can’t reverse. Cathy’s eyes were bigger and shinier than ever. There would be no switching classes. I was going to have to keep watch over Cathy. I wondered how her mom would feel about me moving in.But the more Mel tries to point out Francis’s flaws and to keep her away from him, the more Cathy loves him and becomes engrossed in that dreadful, obsessive relationship. It’s all so irritating (but so damn hilarious to read!). “He could be a vampire.” “Yeah, I can see it,” I said. “He moves with the predatory grace of a penguin."He had the kind of looks that made normal sensible thoughts turn into stupid poetry: hair like sunlight trapped in shadows and eyes that were an insane cornflower blue. A face like a sculpture on a tomb, all clean white perfect lines. On top of that, she gets caught up in a crime mystery and before she realizes it, she’s way over her head. There are vampires, zombies, a may be murderer and possibly Francis and his vamp family involved – yikes!Thanks God there’s this funny, nice, sweet boy that seems to be as disturbed all this vamp nonsense as she is – despite him living with them and all. Maybe there’s a chance for thing to work out, after all. (that's all I'm saying about him, but I LOVED him! I mean, for once, I was Team Human as well. :D)This book was like a parody of all the vamps books out there, that’s why I’m saying you can’t not enjoy it! Plot-wise, there’s not much going on (of course, there’s that mystery and a possible murder, but still… It’s lighter that your usual vampire story). Anyway, that’s not the point of this story. It's supposed to be light and fun! He did sound English, but it was hard to tell with older vampires, because in the past lots of rich Americans sounded English. Most vampires claimed to have been royalty or one of the Astors or something equally snotty. Astonishing how few peasants and regular people got vamped back in the olden days, when it wasn’t regulated.Mel is such a great heroine, I loved reading from her POV! She’s smart, witty and she has the best lines. Of course, she’s also determined, caring and very loyal to her friends – she’d do anything to help them. There’s a little romance for her as well, a romance so much nicer and easier to take! LOL I shot to my feet and grabbed her hands. “I’ll kill him.” Cathy’s shoulders shook. “I—I—” “I’m taking the un out of undead. I swear,” I said.So if you want a quick, different, highly entertaining read about vampires, give this book a try - you won't be disappointed!;)*The vampire inclined his head to both of us in a way I knew Cathy would shortly be describing as “courtly.” “Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Francis Duvarney.” “Heh, Francis,” I said. The cornflower eyes iced over. “Not funny,” I continued. “Obviously. Not a funny name. Does anyone ever call you Frank? Frankie?” “No,” he said, the word coming down like an icicle dropped on my head from a height, though he wasn’t all that tall.And one of my favorites: Let’s examine what a prize that [becoming a vampire] is one more time: no more direct sunlight ever again, no more laughter. You get eternity, but you don’t have the sense of humor to enjoy it! Also, vampires don’t eat food. You never get to eat chocolate again. Ever. I’d rather die. All the vampire wannabes and vamposeurs mystify me. Who would choose the possibility of immortality over chocolate?Go Team Human, right?:))
    • 4/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: This parody is laugh out loud funny, with a good mystery to keep it interesting! They tried very hard to make it different from other vampire romances while still making fun of them! Opening Sentence: I wasn’t feeling very enthused about education the day the vampire came to school.The Review: There are a lot of really horrible parodies out there. Team Human is not one of them. That being said, it is a parody — do not make the mistake of taking it seriously! Mel Duan hates vampires. Her best friend Cathy, however, is in love with one. While Mel tries — really tries — to be rude and unsympathetic to the woes of loving one of the undead, Cathy and Francis’s affection will not be stopped. Cue hilarity, because our 150-year-old brooding vampire and his one true love fit perfectly into the paranormal romance trope — desire to be made immortal and all. Mel took a little while to get into, because she’s over-bearing and annoying, but funny to the point where you eventually give up and decide to like her. The town this story takes place in has some great world-building. Vampires are completely normal, since it was a town founded during colonial times by vampires. Everyone is used to having a vampire or two around, even if there isn’t much mixing between them and humans. Mel hates vamps and loves the species separation. Believes wholeheartedly in it, in fact. People who want to transition to become one have to be educated, etc. and the government has a whole system set up just for the eager wanna-be vampires. The thing I adored about this? Not all transitions are successful. Something like 10% of people die, which is something I’ve never seen before in a paranormal. There’s a lot in this book I’ve never seen before, actually, because the authors tried really hard to make it more than a parody. As I emphasized, it’s a parody, but it has a mystery. Mel wants to find the principle’s ex-husband, who’s supposedly run off to be with a hot vampire, but Mel doesn’t htink that’s the real story. And she wants to separate Cathy from Francis at the same time, leaving her hands a little bit full. In comes Kit, a human who was raised by Camille after being left for dead by his real parents. Camille is his mother in everything but blood…and a vampire. I absolutely loved Camille and Mel together. Kit’s adorable, too, but reading his mother and crush together was brilliant. Which leads me to my next point, which is that Brennan and Larbalestier make an excellent team. Their writing flowed and synced up with each other, churning the book along at the same pace as Mel’s narration — that is to say fast and kind of crazy. Mel has a way of acting before thinking — probably not an asset in a world of vampires, huh? — and there are moments when it jerks the reader around. Overall though, I enjoyed this book. Anything that can make me cry laughing not once, but a dozen times, deserves a recommendation. Notable Scene: “Permit me to accompany you home,” Francis said. “We’re cool,” I said. “You’re so kind,” said Cathy. Guess who Francis the Selectively Deaf paid attention to? I cast an imploring look at Kit and Camille. “I’m sure Francis has things to do around the house,” I said. “Like his chores? Maybe somebody needs to scrub the toilet?” “Vampires don’t go to the bathroom,” Kit said gloomily. “So guess whose turn it always is to scrub the toilet?”FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of Team Human. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 3/5
      I’ve been slowly dipping my toes back in the vampire genre and I was really intrigued by the premise of Team Human. Vampires and humans co-exist in the world, but our narrator isn’t in love with one of the undead, in fact she is pretty much against them. When her best friend falls in love with a vampire, as far as Mel is concerned, it’s the worst thing that could possibly happen.Mel is a pretty awesome character. She’s opinionated, so funny, and fiercely loyal to and protective of her friends. I liked her right from the start and I really enjoyed seeing everything unfold from her point of view. The vampires here are pretty typical. They can’t go out in the daylight and they drink human blood, but they also try to co-exist with humans peacefully. There is even a vampire police force. So cool. One thing that sets them apart, though, is if the transition to vampire doesn’t work some people turn into zombies. Shuffling, mumbling, and decaying zombies. A Terrible side effect of trying to become a vampire, but a seriously cool aspect to the story.This book isn’t really action packed, which I was concerned about when I first started read, because I wasn’t sure how it would hold my attention. The thing is, before I realized it, I’d read a hundred pages and it had felt like twenty. It’s so well written and full of so much humor, I just kept flipping the pages to find out what was going to happen next. The mystery that drives the story is a good one, and while I pretty much had it pieced together before it was solved on the page, I still wanted to see how the characters solved it and what the ramifications would be. As far as I know, this is a standalone, and it works perfectly that way. Everything is wrapped up nicely and the mystery has a satisfying end. If you are someone who loves the vampire genre, someone who doesn’t really care much for it, or someone who is trying to get back into it, I think this book is perfect. It’s just a cool book that was so much fun to read, whether you’re Team Human or Team Vampire :0)