A-Argus Better Book Publishers, 2009
ISBN: 978-09823050-8-9
Available: New
Emily Reed is a teenage girl who attempts suicide when her life is turned upside down by the murder of her four-year-old sister. In order to get a fresh start, her parents decide to move from Dallas, Texas to Beckley, West Virginia. She soon makes new friends and falls in love with a fit and studious boy named Maxwell Snow. Their relationship grows to the point where Emily feels that she has found her perfect mate, until she spots Julian. He is the exact opposite of Max – rude, mean and cold hearted. Despite the difference she soon finds herself attracted by him. She doesn’t want to betray Max, but when she is forced to study with Julian things get out of hand and she soon finds herself caught between two young men who absolutely hate each other. Things soon get more complicated as Emily finds out that both boys are Hybrids, half-vampire and half-human.
Hybrid begins slow and stays that way for about two thirds of the novel. There is almost no sign of vampires, hybrids, or anything but day-to-day school life. It would be completely void of anything exciting if it weren’t for the recurring dreams Emily has about her murdered sister. The story focuses more on Emily making friends and her overly sappy relationship with her new boyfriend. Emily herself is also too focused on material things and herself, which is probably true of most teenagers, but it makes her much less sympathetic to the reader. The story does pick up in the last third of the book as Julian makes his appearance and the reader begins to see that the story is going somewhere. The Hybrid concept is also a good one and could make a fine book if it was done in more depth, unfortunately the Hybrid part of the book seemed to take a back seat to dating and hanging out with friends.
Contains: Violence
Review by Bret Jordan