BOOK REVIEW: Josie Griffin is NOT a Vampire by Heather Swain

Josie Griffin is NOT a Vampire 

by Heather Swain

Published September 13th 2012 by Speak

A hilarious take on the paranormal trend--Twilight meets The Breakfast Club!

When former good girl turned rebel Josie Griffin gets busted for what was in her mind perfectly acceptable revenge on her cheating dog of a boyfriend, she lands herself in anger management therapy. It could be worse: it could be juvvie, or she could be a zombie cheerleader like the rest of her former friends. But there's something strange about therapy--these are not normal kids. There's the wannabe ladies man with a weird accent, Johann; the blindingly gorgeous Helios; Avis with his wild dreads; and Tarren, the sprite of a girl with a wicked temper. And all of them keep talking about "powers." Josie knows that has to be impossible, but strange things start happening, and nothing weird ever happens in Indiana. After all, there's no such things as vampires, werewolves, Greek gods, or fairies . . . right?

Rate: 3.5 out of 5 stars

My Thoughts:
     This book was super small! Only 272 pages. Yet, it took me a while to completely read the book.. 2 weeks to be exact. Why? It wasn't a very well known book.  It didn't have many written out reviews on goodreads, so I blew it off a ton! 
     I specifically remember looking at it at Barnes & Noble, picking it up, then calmly setting it down thinking, "Hmm...maybe not this one". Then, my mom took me to the bargain store, and there it was......for only $1.99. I thought, "HEY, WHY NOT?!?!" (Funny how my mind completely changed, once the price went down. LOL)
     Anyway, the book was actually quite good.
     Josie is just a regular (human) girl, who just went throw a tough breakup. By tough, I mean her boyfriend hooked up with her best friend, & her other best friend knew about it the whole time and didn't tell her a thing. And bashing in his windshield, didn't do anything but land her in anger-management therapy. 
     Just when her life couldn't get any worse (or weirder for that matter), all the kids in her anger management class seem to think they're make-believe creatures. And they think Josie is too.
     The book starts off with Josie going to court. I didn't really know how I felt about Josie at first. she explains how she used to be a "good" girl. She used to be a cheerleader, got good grades, followed the rules and did what her parents told her. But that all changes when she catches her boyfriend cheats on her.  She quits the cheerleading team, stops wearing the same clothes, starts doing what she wants, and I kinda felt like she was.......fake? The way she does a 180 on her personality confused me, and made me wounder, which one is the real Josie? 
     As I read on, I started warming up to her. But My favorite character has GOT to be Johann. He is super hilarious. But I loved all of the characters. Helios was charming, yet he had a bit of bad boy in him. Avis, the wear, was awesome as well,(SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER) and I couldn't stop laughing when it's revealed that he isn't a werewolf, but instead is a were chicken. And who couldn't love the little read-headed Terran. All her spells were funny and left me wishing I had magic.
     I just wish there was more romance in the book. Josie and Helios don't actually start there little crush until about the middle of the book, and even then, all they did was kiss. JUST.ONE.KISS. I WANTED MORE! LOL
     All in all, this book was a funny and I loved.  I deducted a point and a half for Josie's weird stars, and because of the little romance this book has. But this book was great! Keep in mind this book is lighthearted, so don't expect any super serious stuff. 

Quotes:

“There goes the world's wimpiest vampire.” 
― Heather Swain, Josie Griffin is Not a Vampire