Alex hopes to win the kickball home-run record. When a new playground monitor appears, Alex begins to sneeze—great, big sneezes that make it impossible to kick the ball. Alex realizes that he’s allergic to the new playground monitor. Alex and his cousin Sara set out to discover what type of monster the new monitor is and how they can make her go away.
Although Vampire Trouble is not as suspenseful or humorous as the first book in the series, there is still a lot to like about the story. The plot is interesting and revolves around kickball. In the end, Alex learns that sportsmanship is more important than winning. Another positive aspect of the story is how the cousins in Vampire Trouble work together to find a solution to Alex’s monster allergy problem. In order to uncover the truth about vampires, they think like scientists, and through their search, readers will learn that not everything that is on the internet is true.
Sexual Content
- None
Violence
- A boy hits Alex with a ball. “As I walked away, the ball smacked the back of my head with a loud POING!”
- The vampire, who has rats that hang around her, threatens Alex and Sara. She tells them, “They will chase you off. And then a picture burst into my mind. I could see the rats leaping towards me.”
Drugs and Alcohol
- None
Language
- None
Supernatural
- A vampire is a playground monitor at Alex’s school. Rats hang around the vampire.
- The vampire can communicate by talking into people’s minds. When she communicates with Alex, “The words drifted into my mind, echoing like it had been spoken in a tomb.”
Spiritual Content
- None
