Cirque de Freak: The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan

This book is the second in the Cirque de Freak series, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. In book one, Darren Shan, the main character, sacrifices himself by becoming a half-vampire in order to save his friend. In this second book, Darren's big conflict is to withstand the urge to drink human blood, even though Mr. Crepsley has told him he'll die without it. The two rejoin Cirque de Freak when Darren starts to feel lonely, and Darren becomes friends with Evra, a snake boy. Cirque de Freak is full of many unusual creatures/characters, and an actual wolfman is one attraction everyone stays a good distance from. The camp is joined by Mr. Tiny and some hooded creatures called Little People; they make Evra very nervous and require large quantities of meat for their meals. Things become a bit more complicated when Darren and Evra become friends with a local boy and meet an eco-warrior. Unsuspecting humans in this setting are entering a very dangerous situation.

The book was easy to read, and I enjoyed the plot. The author introduced new ideas frequently and kept the plot moving nicely. Darren's relationship develops with Mr. Crepsley, and the reader can infer that the vampire is actually acting in the best interest of his new assistant, even though it may seem a little gross. The suspense added by Mr. Tiny and the Little People kept me wondering, and I always had that wolfman in the back of my mind. The boys have some light-hearted moments, but the ending is not happy.