Thirsty occupies similar
ground to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: a teen finds that he has
supernatural powers but worries that this will interfere with his getting a
girlfriend.  Chris does a lot of worrying, especially about whether other
people will discover he is a vampire, and whether he is trusting the right
people.  He lives in the present time, but his world is slightly different from
ours, because they have public executions of vampires, which explains why Chris
is not keen to share his secret with his friends. 

Set in a rather anonymous American
town, Thirsty shows the fear of other people thinking you are
different.  Chris is just a normal teen, not very popular and very shy in front
of girls who he has crushes on, and so he does not feel very suited to the job
of saving the world.  But he also does not feel that he has much choice when a
powerful creature from another dimension (who says to call him
"Chet") approaches him with an offer: help destroy the leader of the
vampires and Chris will be cured of his vampirism. 

Anderson writes with humor and
insight, mixing horror with teen comedy with a pleasing combination.  Chris is
the narrator of the novel, and he maintains the reader’s sympathy all the way
through.  His fears about his own nature of course parallel many other fears
that teens have about themselves: are they normal or different from other
teens, and if they are different, how should they cope with it?  So Thirsty has
strong psychological themes, and it is a quick enjoyable read. 

© 2006 Christian
Perring. All rights reserved.

Christian Perring, Ph.D., is
Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island, and editor
of Metapsychology Online Reviews.  His main research is on
philosophical issues in medicine, psychiatry and psychology.

Categories: Children