When I first saw this book at Chapters, I hadn't really heard anything about it. I read the tag line and I read the flap and I thought to myself "really? more vampires? like this?" and put it right back on the shelf where I thought it belonged. The YA market is over saturated with vampire novels. Some are good, some are jokes, and some try to hard and end up crashing and burning before page 100. I made a snap judgement and thought Team Human would be one of the latter books. How silly of me! When I got home I saw a few people say how great it was, people whose opinions on book I trust, so I thought I might as well give it a shot. At worst it'll be a waste of time but a good laugh, right? Then I found out it was a parody of sorts. A realistic spin on Twilight. A book that focuses on the best friend as opposed to the girl so blindly in love with cliched handsome, gentlemanly old vampire. Not 20 pages in, I was in love with Mel. She doesn't like vampires. No, she really doesn't like vampires. The vampires in Team Human can't laugh. They can't go out in the sunlight. They can't do much of anything except brood, drink blood and stick to their side of town called the Shade. However, she never really met a vampire until Francis enrolled in her school. He's every cliche you can think of: handsome, broody, chivalrous and perpetually stuck in the 1800s, with old school manners and an old school mindset. Eyeroll, right? To top it all off, Mel's head-in-the-clouds, serious minded best friend Cathy falls in love with him. Cathy and Francis are hopelessly, sickeningly in love - think Edward and Bella. Mel is Not Amused. She tries and tries relentlessly to tear the couple apart, to get Cathy to see the light so to speak but it just doesn't work. Mel is great. She is the very human contrast to the vampires. She is loud, she laughs like he's her job. She jokes. She is the overbearing at times but she is loyal to a fault; she will do absolutely anything for her friends even if it might not be what they want (re: the Cathy situation). She has the best of intentions for Cathy, though, as well as her other friend Anna. Cathy's vampire romance isn't the only issue going on in New Whitby that Mel is tied up in. She is also trying to help Anna find out what's wrong with her mother and what happened to her father. I love how the authors juggled both situations; the very real and scary drama of what Anna was going through and the over the top vampire romance of Cathy. They were able to poke fun and show that vampire romances are not as glamourous and fun and romantic as people believe. There is a very real chance that you will die - or even become a zombie! - during the transition process. It was a nice twist on the traditional vampire lore. Not only was Mel fantastic, but the other characters were as well. Anna is the quiet, beautiful daughter of the Principal whose father went AWOL. Cathy is the head-in-the-clouds, serious minded best friend who is in love with a vampire and wants to become one. Kit is the guy who grew up with vampires. Ty is the ex-boyfriend but good friend. Even Mel's parents, brother and sister were fantastic and we only got to see them a handful of times. Team Human pleasantly surprised me. It has wonderful, face-paced writing with characters you cheer for. It has a fantastic, real and ballsy heroine that makes her mistakes but hey, at least she realizes she does in the end, right? It's not just a story about vampire/human romance. It is a story about friendship and the length that friends will go to help one another. I enjoyed it immensely. Originally posted at OMFG!Books @blogspot.ca

this book was dull. my daughter and i both love vampire and supernatural books. we both detested this one. it was so easy to guess what was going to happen next in the book. i even had to flip through it at some times just to get to the end. it was boring and absolutely awful. i'm ashamed that i paid 20.00 for this piece of garbag. sure the synopsis sounds great but the book itself was a waste of time. my daughter warned me after she read it that it was awful but i decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. don't do what i did. sure there were some funny parts but over all, it was like watching the movie what about steve. so so awful. don't buy it. the only thing that kept me going was trying to find out what "mel"is real name was. You never do. Don't read this crap

Just when you think you know everything about the vampire genre, Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan write a novel together which completely proves otherwise! Team Human is a highly entertaining standalone novel that will leave you torn between choosing Team Human... or Team Vampire. When her best friend, Cathy, falls in love with a vampire named Francis, Mel makes it her mission to save Cathy's humanity before it's too late. Convinced Francis has started attending their school for a dark purpose, Mel does whatever she can to drive apart the smitten pair. And as if that weren't enough to keep a teenage girl busy, Mel must also help her other best friend, Anna, investigate why her mother has been acting so strange lately... To say that Mel isn't crazy about vampires would be an understatement. They may be immortal, but she shudders at the thought of never being able to feel the sun on your skin, enjoying the bliss of food like chocolate, or a life without any sense of humour. Mel is also a truly loyal person, always sticking up for her friends and trying to protect them in her own way. She can be tough, witty and quick to come up with a snarky remark, but she also has her vulnerable moments, not that she would ever admit it. Vampire satire aside, Team Human is also surprisingly thoughtful, showing that knowledge can help to overcome ignorance and discrimination. It's only after Mel meets Kit, a young man who's grown up among the living dead and lived his entire life in the vampire side of town, that she begins to see that maybe vampires aren't so bad as she'd always imagined, and in turn, she shows him what it's like to be human. Kit was adorable, sweet and totally clueless when it came to human customs, and the flirting between them was cute, making me smile whenever they were together. Team Human is absolutely hilarious and I couldn't resist laughing aloud at Mel's antics. Along with a touch of mystery and tons of laughs, it's also a heartwarming story of friendship too. It may be my first time reading a novel by either Justine Larbalestier or Sarah Rees Brennan, but it certainly won't be my last. I'll be looking forward to reading more novels by the authors in the future! You can also read this review at: http://midnightbloomreads.blogspot.ca/2012/07/team-human-by-justine-larbalestier.html

If you're looking for a different kind of book to read (and you're a tad tired from the same type of paranormals), Team Human is a perfect pick for you. I knew this was one book that wouldn't take itself too seriously, and would have some witty comments about the vampire genre in general; but what I wasn't expecting was such a deeply stimulating response to ideas of tolerance and discrimination. Team Human is much more than just another YA paranormal, but an excellent example of well-developed satire. Reasons to Read: 1.A vampire book- with a twist: I know the cover/description hint that this may be just another YA paranormal romance featuring vampires and a love triangle but it's NOT. There are vampires, and there is romance, and there's sort of a love triangle off to the side (but not in an annoying way at all- it's part of the plot for some secondary characters, I guess you could say). But there's also MYSTERY and HUMOUR and some real character growth and self-discovery. Vampires aren't complete monsters, but they aren't completely glorified either. 2.A real theme dealing with tolerance and discrimination: It's not secret that Mel doesn't trust vampires. And it's perfectly understandable why she's so hesitant to support her best friend Cathy in her romantic relationship with a vampire. But at the same time, she begins to realize how little she actually knows about vampires, and even that her own personal preferences and ideas may not be universally shared - an important lesson for everyone to recognize at some poin in their life. 3.A mystery/teen detective element: Mel ends up taking it upon herself to solve her friend Anna's mysterious disappearance of her father leaving, and her mother's strange reaction. I always find that it's a fun thing to add to a book, and it was handled really well in Team Human. I actually found this to be the best part of the book, and in particular the most exciting and suspensful. And also poignant. My one problem with this is that I think the overall message came on a little too strong and while I definitely appreciate it and think we can learn a lot from it as a principle, I still can't help but wonder if it's a case where we can go too far. It's a delicate balance to show Mel as a caring friend, yet one that is a tad too controlling and pushy about HER ideas; but I still couldn't help but feel that to a large extent she was being fairly honest and reasonable. If my friend was risking herself (and acting VERY focused on one youthful, new romantic relationship) and putting herself in danger I'd probably react in the same way. But I couldn't help but wonder exactly how far the book suggested we should go with this, and where we draw the line. Needless to say, I didn't LOVE that and I had some questions regarding it. I just wasn't left wholly satisfied. But overall, Team Human is a smart read, one that is an absolute breath of fresh air among YA paranormal books which are now dime a dozen. ARC received from HarperCollins Canada for review.

*Received by publisher for review* "Hi. I don't have an appointment. I mean obviously I don't, on account of I'm not a vampire. Not that there's anything wrong with that." -Quote from uncorrected proof of Team Human Reading a Sarah Rees Brennan book has many side effects; you will undoubtedly be completely pulled in, you will suffer withdrawal when you reach the very last page, and you will fall in love with her incredible writing and story building. Even so, I was a little worried when I was first pitched the premise of Team Human. Having had the absolute worst luck with vampire titles in the past (and I mean HORRIBLE luck, enough to completely avert me from the genre), I wasn't exactly sure whether or not Sarah Rees Brennan would be able to rehabilitate the pulseless creatures of the night. "Cathy looked uncertain and distressed, her long dark hair tumbled and streaming in the wind, like the heroine in one of those old gothic novels facing unknown dangers." -Quote from uncorrected proof of Team Human Having only read one title prior by co-author Justine Larbalestier (titled Liar), I wasn't sure whether or not the duo would be able to pull off a story about vampires that would hook and sink me in. Surprisingly enough, Justine and Sarah's duo combination of brilliantly descriptive writing, and often enough hilarious twists to this at first seemingly doomed plot made this novel incredibly enjoyable! Rude, obnoxious, and out of this world characters - I really don't see how a paranormal novel could possibly survive without them! Innocent, ignorant protagonists? No way! I'd much rather read about a real, straight to the point kind of protagonist like Mel from Team Human. Mel, as our lead character, was one realistic chick with a capability to sucker punch others with words - wow! As for Cathy - this girl was the epitome of boring female romantic interests commonly seen in vampire novels of the current day. With that said, I strongly felt that she fit perfectly in this human/vampire parody with a wicked twist. In addition to the exuberantly different on-goings of both lead characters Mel and Cathy, Sarah and Justine also thickened the plot with some rather excellent (and very much appreciated) secondary character development that continuously pulled me deeper and deeper into Team Human. Scary, on-the-edge-of-your-seat fun, dramatic, and romantic - Team Human sure sells exactly what you'd expect from a typical vampire/human romance novel, though with that said it pleasantly delivers you something completely the opposite and ultimately so much more worthwhile! Team Human - take it or leave it? I'd say take it, read it, then boast about it's quirky quotes to your friends. In fact, Team Human felt like the kind of read best enjoyed during a read along with friends (I hereby giveth you a reading project for the summer!)

So, Sarah and Justine are very funny. And I have STRONG FEELINGS about vampire books. And the tagline for this book is "Friends don't let friends date vampires". I guess I was kind of expecting something like "The Hunger Pangs"? And what I got instead was this amazing, fully realized novel, with developed characters and a plot that I adored and enough laugh/cries to fill an entire evening. The facts are these: Mel is an athletic, well-adjusted, reasonably clever girl whose best friend, the somewhat moony and romantic, very intelligent Cathy, falls for the only vampire at their high school (in this world, vampires are a Part of Society, but usually there is not tooooo much interaction). Francis, the vampire in question, absolutely sparkles with vampireness, except he can't laugh or cry or go out in the sun or eat, which is why Mel is not down with her best friend dating him. Also living in Francis's Shade is a human boy named Kit, who was left on the doorstep when he was an unwanted baby, and raised by vampires who treat him as an object of fascination/menace. Kit, by the way, has the moment in the book that made me have to set the book down, roll around on the floor for a while, cry, and then tweet Sarah Rees Brennan to tell her what she'd made me do. What really got me about this book was how MUCH of it there was. As I said, I was expecting a short, sardonic satire, not a full novel. And, just, SO MUCH NUANCE. I'm not even sure I can process it all. Everyone was just so REAL. It was amazing. You should totally read it. It's a perfect summer read, really. Or at least it is if you like amazing female characters and the boys who let them make their own decisions (and make decisions of their own). Mel, Cathy and Anna were all amazing in that regard, and the supporting cast (particularly Mel's sister and Camille, Kit's vampire-mother) were also fantastic. Also, brilliant chapter titles. Just...I love chapter titles! 10/10 for making me laugh, cry, laugh/cry, think for one second about liking vampires, decide that vampires are not for me and then read the whole thing in about three hours. I love books like that!