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Sweetblood

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2003 book by Pete Hautman

Sweetblood
First edition cover
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication dateJune 1, 2003
Pages192
ISBN0-689-85048-4

Sweetblood is a 2003 young adult novel by American author Pete Hautman. It is the story of a teenage girl's encounter with the vampire subculture. In 2004, the Young Adult Library Services Association named it among the year's Best Books for Young Adults, and it won the Minnesota Book Award for Best Youth Literature.

Plot summary

"There are only two races that matter: the Living and the Undead.
And with every year that passes, the numbers of Undead grow. It is inevitable."

So says 16-year-old Lucy Szabo. She has a theory: hundreds of years ago, before the discovery of insulin, slowly dying diabetics were the original vampires. Lucy, a diabetic herself, counts herself among the modern Undead. As Sweetblood, Lucy frequents the Transylvania room, an internet chatroom where so-called vampires gather. But Draco, one of the other visitors to Transylvania, claims to be a real vampire—and Lucy's not entirely sure he's kidding. As Lucy becomes more involved with the vampire subculture, the rest of her life comes to seem unimportant. Her grades plummet, her relationship with her parents deteriorates, and her ability to regulate her blood sugar worsens dramatically. Then she meets Draco, face to face, and he invites her into his strange world. Lucy realizes that she needs to make some difficult choices—if it isn't already too late.

Background

Pete Hautman has type 1 diabetes like the main character. Lucy, who was diagnosed at the age of six, believes she developed diabetes after receiving excessive amounts of rabies shots. Lucy's vampire theory is based on author Pete Hautman's own ideas on diabetes and vampirism which he first wrote down in 1978.

Many vampire forums actually exist.

References

  1. "Sweetblood". Kirkus Reviews. June 1, 2003. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  2. "Sweetblood". Booklist. May 1, 2003. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  3. "SWEETBLOOD by Pete Hautman". Publishers Weekly. June 2, 2003. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  4. "Best Books for Young Adults honors 84 books | Young Adult Library Services Association". American Library Association. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  5. "Sweetblood by Pete Hautman (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003)". NoveList Young Adult Book Discussion Guide. NoveList/EBSCO Publishing. 2007. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  6. "Sweetblood Essay". Pete Hautman. Retrieved October 15, 2024.


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