Vampire's Assistant Giveaway!

Okay, I'm sure you've seen this all over the place. Well, I'm involved too! First and foremost, I'm sure you've noticed the widget at the top of my blog. Here's your chance to vote for your favorite Cirque du Freak t-shirt saying! Just cast your vote and every vote on my blog gives me a change to win an iPod! Help me win and get some great t-shirts out!

I have to say that I only support contests for books that I totally support. And I totally support anything that involves Cirque du Freak. And I'm really excited for the movie to come out!

In theaters October 23

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, based on the popular series of books by Darren Shan, is a fantasy-adventure about a teenager who unknowingly breaks a 200-year-old truce between two warring factions of vampires. Pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night, one teen will vanish from the safety of a boring existence and fulfill his destiny in a place drawn from nightmares.



CIRQUE DU FREAK has been rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13) for sequences of intense supernatural violence and action, disturbing images, thematic elements and some language.

THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT and Other Tales from the Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

New movie edition features the first three books--Cirque Du Freak, The Vampire's Assistant, and Tunnels of Blood-- bound up in one volume!

Do you love to be scared? Then don't miss the terrifying adventure that begins when Darren and his best friend, Steve, get tickets to the CIRQUE DU FREAK, a wonderfully bizarre and creepy freak show. Brace yourself for thrills and chills as the boys witness a parade of grotesque creatures and face their deepest fears by entering the darkest world of the vampire. In the blood-curdling tradition of Anne Rice and Stephen King, CIRQUE DU FREAK will have you shrieking for the next horror show!

Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers


Be sure to visit Vampire's Assistant's official website!

And if you have a Facebook account, be sure to fan Cirque du Freak over there!

Now for the good stuff - the contest -

What TWO winners will receive -

• Cirque du Freak book Set (see the information above)
• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant Locker Mirror

What you have to do to get it -

Leave a comment with your email to enter answering this question -

If you could be one of the freaks in a freak show, what/who would you be?

No answer, no entry. Period.

+2 for new followers
+3 for current followers
+3 for linking (up to 3 links for a total of 9 extra entries)
+5 for voting in the poll and telling me which line you voted for

The contest is open to US residents only and will end on November 2nd at midnight, EST. Good luck!

Shipping Guidelines:
The Vampire’s Assistant giveaway is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of October 1st. Prizing is only available to United States mailing address only. (International readers can enter if they have a friend in the States who can accept their prizes by mail.)

Cirque du Freak - The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan

First published in 2006.

Darren was just an ordinary schoolboy -- until his visit to the Cirque Du Freak. Now Darren joins the powerful vampire Mr. Crepsley. As he struggles with his new life as a vampire's assistant, Darren tries desperately to resist the one temptation that sickens him -- the one thing that can keep him alive. (www.bn.com)

SPOILER WARNING!!!

Holy crap, is Darren Shan afraid of nothing?

The Vampire’s Assistant continues with the story of Darren Shan as he adjusts to living with Mr. Crepsley as his half-vampire assistant. It’s a difficult ride for him, especially since he really can’t have any friends his age (what with the shin-cracking incident and all) so they decide to join back up with the Cirque so Darren can have friends. Evra Von, the snake boy, becomes one of his closest consorts along with a mere mortal named Sam who is desperate to join the freaks.

Another unlikely and fair-weather friend comes along named Reggie Veggie, or RV as he prefers to be called. He’s an eco-warrior (or environmental terrorist, however you want to put it) that likes the boys but sours when he finds out how the Cirque “treats” animals, especially the wolf man.

RV proves nothing but serious and deadly trouble for everyone at the Cirque, but most especially Sam. Shan isn’t afraid in the slightest to have loss in his books. Real, genuine, gory loss. I’m sure a lot of authors would have shied away from such things, especially in a series that’s geared towards the younger end of YA and the older end of MG. It’s violent but it’s real and most importantly believable. I found myself a bit nauseated a few times throughout the book.

Not only does Darren have to suffer through the loss of yet another friend, he has to make a decision that would allow his friend to live on within him, but it would also entail Darren drink human blood, something he’s been fighting against since Mr. Crepsley turned him. The fight has been progressively detrimental to his health ever since and Darren has been adamant to fight it, and even considers welcoming death for real in order to avoid drinking human blood.

The reality with which these books are written, despite the fantastical creatures in the tales, is a driving point for me. Even though Darren is a half-vampire, he’s still very much a reluctant boy (still not sure just how old he is) and acts as such. I’m glad Shan kept that attitude grounded in reality and it still consistently showing what it could possibly be like for someone to have to deal with being a vampire. It’s not all acceptance and blood drinking and sex. Especially not for Darren. I’m so entranced with the struggle (that’s not pining, long-winded or evokes a feeling of ‘go get a tan already’) that I can’t help but keep reading. I haven’t read anything like this before, not really, and not with a character so young.

I’m sure I’ll end up having this entire series on my shelves because I really can’t get enough of it. Not to mention they’re pretty fast reads. The only thing that kind of irks me are the pseudo-cliff hangers at the ends of the chapters. Not every chapter but I’ve noticed chapters ending in very obvious (I’m thinking intentionally) foreshadowing and dun-dun-dun but there isn't a resolution for a few chapters after that. That was kind of getting on my nerves because it happened a lot. Perhaps it’s just me but when I see a cliff hanger or blatant foreshadowing at the end of one chapter, I expect it to be answered or resolved in the following chapter. Not so here. Granted it only kept me reading on but it was still irksome.

Other than that, I can’t wait to start the third book!