Sweetblood is the name Lucy Szabo uses when she visits the Transylvania Room, an Internet chat room for self-described vampires. Lucy scoffs at some of the participants, sure that they are merely blood-sucking wannabes, but one named Draco sounds convincingly real. Lucy has a theory about the origin of vampirism; an insulin-dependent diabetic herself, she postulates that many of the classic characteristics of vampires were based on the symptoms of untreated diabetes during the Middle Ages. Lucy feels misunderstood by her parents, is routinely angry, and hides her loneliness behind a wisecracking Goth façade. She begins to disregard the constant monitoring her condition requires and ignores serious warning signs. Meanwhile, she meets the real Draco; he is the adult host at a gathering of Goth teens. Although the middle-aged man is clearly a social predator and not a “real” vampire, he handily manipulates Lucy by appealing to her obvious intelligence. After reaching a severe state of potentially fatal ketoacidosis, Lucy begins to gain a new perspective on her diabetes, but retains enough of her prickly attitude to stay credible. The concept of vampirism as an ignorant interpretation of diabetes is an ingenious idea, providing a solid base for this highly original tale. (Ages 12–15)

A diabetic teen’s obsession with vampires leads her down a dark path and leaves her vulnerable to real predators in this “tantalizing” (Publishers Weekly) coming of age story with bite.

Lucy Szabo’s childhood diabetes diagnosis came only a few months after an encounter with an injured bat and the subsequent rabies shots. Those first injections were only the beginning of years of insulin dependence and blood monitoring. She’s one of the modern Undead—only kept alive by medical intervention.

As a spiritual successor of the first vampires—who, with their pale skin, long teeth, and uncontrollable thirst, must have been diabetics, too—Lucy dyes her hair black, reads Anne Rice, and trawls vampire chat rooms. The more her parents and teachers worry about her, the further Lucy withdraws into her online haven, where people really understand her.

But silver-tongued wannabe-vampires and late-night parties begin to consume Lucy’s life, causing her grades—and her health—to sharply decline. Can Lucy reclaim her life, or has she doomed herself to be one of the shambling Undead forever?