Received “Dracula and Daughters” by Emma Carroll from @hweezbooks for an honest review. — Emma Carroll taught English for 2 decades before penning this book - and her experience in teaching writing evidently shines through in “Dracula and Daughters”.

You would think that a man in his mid-40s would have nothing in common with the 3 female protagonists - who hadn’t even graduated from primary school. But boy, was I hooked from the start to the end. This novel began with Mina trying to steal a corpse from a cemetery and concluded with her setting a vampire healing company with her younger sister, Buffy, and newfound cousin, Bella. This alone should give you a glimpse of how refreshingly novel her story ideas are. The conventional story mountain stipulates that writers write stuff that culminate in a climax, but Emma Carroll never eases up on throwing her three heroines into scary predicaments and empowering them with the smarts to get out of them. I appreciated how she respected the reader’s intelligence and patience. Each twist unravelled before my eyes and got itself resolved - before the next obstacle came along.

Lest you assume that this book served up challenges and resolutions like a fast-paced conveyor belt, I thought that Emma had incorporated some breathing space for us to get to know each character on a more intimate level. Mina was fiercely loyal to her friend, Varney (who nearly became a vampire - now that should get you intrigued to read it!) Buffy was fiendishly good with animals and empathetic with humans. Bella not only had superhuman strength but also remarkable poise. To read how these three ladies came together to leverage one another’s strengths was in itself a satisfying read. It could be the next epic tale of sisterhood for young (and young-at-heart） readers.

The book also boasts cool lines for Show Not Tell phrases. I actually sat one student down and got her to copy “Guilt, hard as a stone, lodges itself in my chest”. I have plans to show another student a cool line about how one character’s reaction caused Mina to respond. I learnt that describing the interaction 互动 between characters would help my students to elevate their essays.