Don't Want to Be Your Monster - by Deke Moulton

About the Book

Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it's morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat... just drink a little blood. They're vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family. Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in his life (well, immortal life) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it's too late?

Book Synopsis

A 2024 Sydney Taylor Honor Book!

Two vampire brothers must set aside their differences to solve a series of murders in this humorous and delightfully spooky novel for young readers. For fans of Too Bright to See.

Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it's morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They're vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family.

Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in his life (well, immortal life) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it's too late?

Review Quotes

A Kirkus Reviews' Best Middle Grade Book of 2023
An Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Books for Kids, 2023

PRAISE FOR Don't Want to Be Your Monster:

"Members of persecuted minorities unite to fight crime: icky, impish, and thematically rich. Readers fond of nocturnal whodunits festooned with sly twists and tweaks from opening page to terrifying climax are in for a treat -- but Moulton has much to offer here besides gore and glory. . . . [T]his story . . . thoughtfully pushes back against significant antisemitic elements in Bram Stoker's Dracula and vampire lore in general." --STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will root for these two bantering brothers as they fight to defeat the evil lurking in their town and, after the last page is turned, will long to spend more time in their world." --STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

"A book about vampire siblings should not actually be this good. This, folks, is why one has to look past genre from time to time, because a great writer can take any topic and make it absolutely jaw-droppingly good." --School Library Journal

"Fans, young and old, of classic vampire stories should sink their teeth into this fresh take." --School Library Journal

"Fans of the supernatural intersecting with the mundane will find this intriguing interpretation of the vampire mythos refreshing." --Publishers Weekly

"Two vampire brothers attempt to put aside their rivalry to solve a string of murder cases before they're blamed in this debut that both pays homage to and subverts classic vampire lore." --Booklist

"A bloody good time. Clever and heartfelt, Don't Want to Be Your Monster expertly deconstructs vampire mythology, offering a new, fresh take that will leave readers with big, important questions about how it feels to be made into a monster." --Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Marvellers

"Don't Want to Be Your Monster is the adrenaline shot the vampire genre needed! Wholly original and gripping until the end, it sank its fangs in me and didn't let go until the very last page." --Joel A. Sutherland, author of House of Ash and Bone

"A heartfelt tale about the importance of standing up for one another that doesn't shy away from its message: there will always be more that unites us than divides us." --Ally Malinenko, author of Ghost Girl

"Deke Moulton's Don't Want to Be Your Monster is the game-changing vampiric middle-grade novel readers have been waiting for! Moulton expertly combined the scares we expect of the genre with deep compassion, love and beautiful Jewish rep. A wonderful debut to begin a long career!" --Esme Symes-Smith, USA Today bestselling author of the Sir Callie series

About the Author

DEKE MOULTON is a writer currently living in the US Pacific Northwest. She is a former US Army drill sergeant and trained as an Arabic linguist during her time in service. Don't Want to Be Your Monster is her debut book.