Youngblood

Two queer teen bloodsuckers attending an elite vampire-only boarding school must go up against all of vampirdom when they uncover a dark conspiracy on campus.Kat and her mother can barely make ends meet living among humans. Like all vampires, in order to survive, they're forced to pay the exorbitant costs of buying Hema, a synthetic blood substitute, to avoid drinking the blood of humans-because nearly all of humanity has been infected by CFaD, a blood-borne virus that's fatal to vampires. Kat isn't looking forward to an immortal life of barely scraping by, but when she learns she's been accepted to Harcote Academy, a prestigious prep school that's secretly vampires-only, she knows her fortune is about to change.Taylor's grown up in the wealthy vampire world, but she's tired of its backward, conservative values-especially when it comes to sexuality, since she's an out-and-proud lesbian. She only has to suffer through a few more years of Harcote before she'll be free. But when she discovers her new roommate is Kat Finn, she's horrified. Because she and Kat used to be best friends, a long time ago, and it didn't end well.The two girls agree to a sort of truce to coexist peacefully for the school year, but between vicious classmates and a budding attraction, they find themselves growing closer than they'd anticipated. And when Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of her favorite teacher, and Kat uncovers some chilling information while working on a school project, the two realize that there are deep secrets at Harcote-secrets that link the most powerful vampires not only to the mysterious death on campus, but also to CFaD itself.

VAMPIRES NEVER GET OLD: After taking on witches, Sasha Laurens is turning to vampires, another YA staple that's been exploding in popularity! With the recent announcement about the Vampire Academy TV show, vampires-especially vampires at prep school-are having a(nother) moment.TWISTY MYSTERY: This book combines the dark and magical world of vampires with the equally dark, twisted world of YA thrillers by authors like Karen McManus or Jessica Goodman.PITCH-PERFECT TEEN VOICE: Sasha's writing is engaging, clever, and absolutely, perfectly teen. From the hilarious insults to the bashful confessions, she nails the YA voice.QUEER REPRESENTATION: Between Taylor, a proud lesbian; Kat, dubbed a "cishet ally" by her best friends back home but coming to terms with a sexuality that isn't quite so clear-cut; and some major supporting characters that fall under the queer umbrella, this book handles queer identities with nuance and care.COMPLEX FEMALE RELATIONSHIPS: Kat and Taylor were best friends as children, before a deep betrayal that severed their relationship, and they find themselves unexpectedly grappling with those feelings again as roommates. Plus, Taylor has a complicated, difficult relationship with campus queen bee Evangeline.