Peeps - Monica Paraz

Paraz, Monica

English Period 5

11 / 20 / 08

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld

The book I choose to review was Peeps by Scott Westerfeld. At first, I wasn't too keen on reading Peeps. After scanning the back of the book, the only thing that grabbed my attention was the mention of parasites. Biological thrillers have always caught my attention, even at young age. The thought of something that is all too real, something that can happen to just about anyone without any hope of stopping it, because it's just that small, is enough to make my heart jump out of my chest and enough for me to want to read and never ever stop. Plus, the author, Scott Westerfeld, is one of my all time favorites, right up there with J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, and Lemony Snicket. He is also the author of another series favorite of mine, the Uglies and its sequels. The only thing that really held me back from diving straight into the book after I picked it up off the shelf was one and one word only that I saw when reading the back: vampires. Now, don't get me wrong, I, like many of the population of teenagers in America, have been bitten by the Twilight saga bug. It's just that, after a while, the whole vampire vibe has started to worn off on me, you know? After some deliberation, Peeps has found its way into my list of books read, and not a moment too soon. I decided that Peeps was the book to read for this book review because Peeps has not only taught me a whole lot of things about I can't see but should still know exist, it will teach everyone a lot as well. I choose this book because everyone needs a good jolt of fear and adrenaline when they read a story. Everyone needs a story that will make them jump and squirm and bite their lips out of fear, and both fear for yourself and fear for the main character. Peeps, I'm very sure, is that book.

First and foremost, you must, must, must know that Peeps is set up differently from most books. You see, every even chapter is a chapter about all about an all too real parasite. Each and every one of these parasites described in the book is real. One hundred percent, non fiction and no matter how mind-blowing, no matter how unreal, no matter how just plain crazy they seem, they're out there and they're waiting. These parasites are waiting for you. Anyways, Cal Thompson is the main character of the book. He's just your average everyday, 19 year old guy who's just been introduced to the big bad world. The world Cal lives in is controlled by us. Sure, we humans technically rule the world, but in this case, the world fights back. The world fights back in the form of a parasite. This parasite is something that turns once normal people into monsters. It doesn't turn them into just any monster no; it turns them into what we know as vampires. These vampires are no ordinary vampires, and no, they aren't really bloodsucking monsters that turn into bats or anything like that. Truth be told, no one really calls them vampires, instead, they stick with the name parasite positives, or peeps, for short. After meeting a strange woman one dark night, Cal has become one of them, one of the peeps. Only, he has none of the symptoms, so he doesn't turn into the monsters, because instead, he's a carrier. Unknowingly, he's infected all of his former girlfriends with the disease and lo and behold- they've turned into the monsters. It's now Cal's job to track them down and cure them, or at least return some of their sanity before more of their kind comes forth. Peeps has a great balance between fear, action, and the thrill and mystery of this dreaded disease.

The quote I choose sums up the whole book in a couple of sentences.

"The main thing to remember is that there's no magic involved. No flying. No transforming into bats or rats either. We're talking about a disease. "

- both on the back of the book and page 19

This quote tells you the whole theme as well as the story and what the books about in a mere twenty five words. The world of Peeps revolves around this disease and many others that work like it, eating at its host's minds and bodies from the inside out before moving to the next. It also follows the idea that everything that seems too out there to be true just might be real. This quote implies and reiterates one fact that people always want to dismiss, this one fact that people just don't want to admit is real. It's the fact that the misconceptions of human nomenclature can be broken all too easily with just a drop of truth and that with that drop, waves of chaos and enlightenment can come forth.

I give Peeps five out of five pocky boxes with five being the most absolutely mind blowing book I've ever read and one being not even worth a scan of the summary at the back of the book. Pocky is a sweet treat that is one of my favorites. It's a cream covered biscuit stick that comes in many flavors. The reason I chose pocky boxes as a rating system is because if I was infected with the parasite and if I was a peep, pocky would be one of my strongest anathemas. An anathema is something that someone once loved so very much before they contracted the disease and turned into a peep. This anathema is something that you utterly despise once you've been infected. The parasite works up into your brain and flips some switches in your brain that change and open and break chemical pathways. When those switches are flipped, you hate everything that you once held close to you and everything and everyone that you cherished. Those things and people are the anathemas. Peeps has been such an inspiration and has taught me so much about the things that we should look out for. It's been a great learning medium and is unarguably one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long, long time.

If you're someone looking for a different take on vampires, this is the book for you. I recommend this book to anyone looking for chills to run down their spine and anyone looking for an overall great and unique book. This book will teach you a lot, and its lessons and the opinions you can pick up are truly enlightening. Also, you will be able to read on a new and certainly different outlook on how vampires might have come to be. Any and all vampire lover is sure to adore this book, and even those whom are into the bloodsucker scene are sure to get some thrills and chills form this biological fiction novel. Peeps is directed mostly to kids in the age range of twelve and higher. The scientific content might be a little too advanced for anyone under that age. WARNING: this novel contains hints at sexual activity, mild cursing, and things that make your skin crawl at the mere thought of their existence.