Kalynn Bayron’s The Vanquishers is a spooky vampire adventure for 9 year olds about a girl whose parents still vampire-proof the house.<\/p>\n
Vampires are extinct. Everybody knows that.<\/p>\n
Twenty years ago a band of masked heroes called the Vanquishers wiped out the very last of them in San Antonio, Texas, in one great battle known as the Reaping. Now the whole city throws a week-long party every year to say thank you. There are parades and costumes, and they even dye the river red.<\/p>\n
Malika Wilson (everyone calls her Boog) has grown up hearing all about them. But her parents haven’t really moved on. Mum still washes the windowsills with a homemade repellent of garlic and real silver that stinks the whole house out. And Boog is not allowed off the porch once the streetlights come on. Ever.<\/p>\n
It’s embarrassing. The girl in her class who can’t stand her makes sure everyone knows about it too.<\/p>\n
Luckily Boog has her Squad. Jules, who lives next door, whose grandma used to be one of the masked Vanquishers. And Cedrick on the other side, who thinks about food most of the time and has an opinion on everything. Their families are all close, and there’s a lot of warmth here. Big dinners, barbecues, film nights in the basement.<\/p>\n
Then small things start to feel off. A new school counsellor won’t stop staring at Boog. There’s a rumour about someone found with two holes in his neck. And late one night Boog overhears her dad saying they might have to tell her something.<\/p>\n
Boog’s voice is the real treat. She’s funny, a little bit sarcastic and very honest about her parents (she loves them, she just wishes they’d relax). The spooky stuff creeps in slowly, so there’s plenty of time to get to know everyone first.<\/p>\n
It’s a good pick for a reader who likes their scares with jokes and friendship mixed in. Nothing too frightening happens early on. There are stakes and vampire rhymes and a few gross-out moments, but it’s more shivery than scary at the start.<\/p>\n
If they’d like another girl who grew up with vampire hunting in the family, try Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting. Serwa is twelve, her parents are slayers, and her birthday treat is finally being allowed to train with her mum’s throwing axe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kalynn Bayron’s The Vanquishers is a spooky vampire adventure for 9 year olds about a girl whose parents still vampire-proof the house. Vampires are extinct. Everybody knows that. Twenty years ago a band of masked heroes called the Vanquishers wiped out the very last of them in San Antonio, Texas, in one great battle known […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12428,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":8597,"lr_next_read_anchor":"Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting","lr_seo_hook":"Vampires are extinct. So why won't Boog's parents drop the garlic?"},"book_tag":[1050],"age_group":[24],"book_type":[1048],"book_author":[525],"class_list":["post-9504","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-action-books","age_group-books-for-9-year-olds","book_type-free","book_author-kalynn-bayron"],"yoast_title":"The Vanquishers by Kalynn Bayron | Read free on Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"Vampires are extinct. So why won't Boog's parents drop the garlic? For ages 9+. Read this book free in the Little Reads app. 3,000+ books.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n