Viva la Vampire: Cirque du Freak and The Vampire Diaries
Joy Fleishhacker -- School Library Journal, 10/06/2009
At the Movies: Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
This motion picture adaptation (PG-13) of the first three titles in Darren Shan’s popular “Cirque du Freak” books series (Little, Brown) will be released by Universal Studios on October 23, 2009, just in time for Halloween. The story centers around 16-year-old Darren (Chris Massoglia), a typical suburban teenager who spends his time hanging out with his best buddy Steve (Josh Hutcherson) and pretty much feeling bored with life. When the two friends chance upon an ad for a traveling freak show, they attend the performance and Darren is mesmerized by the participants. He finds himself drawn to a mysterious individual named Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly), and soon falls under this vampire’s influence. As events unfold, Darren is forced to make difficult choices and is eventually initiated into the ranks of the undead. He joins Cirque du Freak and becomes part of an unusual ensemble that includes a snake boy (Patrick Fugit) a wolfman (Tom Woodruff, Jr.), a bearded lady (Salma Hayek), and a toweringly tall sideshow barker (Ken Watanabe). Though Darren now posses amazing powers and abilities, it’s not all fun and games. The teen soon becomes a pawn in a war between the vampires and their more deadly counterparts (the blood-thirsty Vampaneze). As the conflict escalates, Darren struggles to stop it from destroying the last bit of humanity that remains alive in his heart.
Vampire devotees can visit the movie’s Web site to “Meet the Freaks,” clicking on fortuneteller card icons to see brief video clips of the various characters and learn more about their remarkable personas. Teens can also watch trailers, “Get Freaked Up” by uploading and embellishing a personal photo, and play a round of “Vampaneze Attack.”
Little, Brown has published a media tie-in entitled The Vampire’s Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak with an inviting movie cover (cloaked in shadows and with eyes twinkling mysteriously, the protagonist holds out his hand to balance the book’s gothic-lettered title). This edition compiles the first three titles in Shan’s best-selling series—A Living Nightmare (2002), The Vampire’s Assistant (2002), and Tunnels of Blood (2003)—into one accessible volume. Display this offering to introduce movie fans to Shan’s spine-tingling work and to satisfy teens who want to go back and re-read the sequence. This page-turning series is not a shelf-sitter, and you might want to make sure that you have copies of all 12 volumes which are available in paperback with fabulously frightening covers from Little, Brown.
Movie and book fans, as well as comic book aficionados, may be interested in checking out Cirque Du Freak: The Manga, a series created and published in Japan and now making its 
way to the United States via Yen Press. Like the originals, the English language volumes read from back to front cover with a right-to-left page orientation. The storyline and characters transform beautifully into manga format, with well-paced panels and striking visuals adding to the suspense. Takahiro Arai’s power-packed artwork incorporates dramatic contrasts in shading, precisely drawn images, and vivid action scenes. Two volumes have been published with a third to be released in late October.
On TV: The Vampire Diaries
Featuring a hip cast of young actors, this horror-themed drama series from Alloy Entertainment recently premiered on The CW network. The plot, which is based on L. J. Smith’s book series of the same name (HarperTeen), revolves around a 17-year-old protagonist. Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), along with her 15-year-old brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), is still struggling with her grief over the recent death of her parents in an automobile accident and adjusting to the resulting changes in her life. As the school year begins in the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, Elena is intrigued by a mysterious and handsome new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). The attraction is mutual, but Stefan is hiding a secret. Elena soon finds herself caught between two vampire brothers—Stefan and his more menacing yet compelling older brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder)—who battle to win her heart…and her soul.
Earning status as the most-watched series premiere in The CW’s history, the show is currently airing on Thursday nights with more scripts recently ordered up by the network. Teens can visit the official Web site to read plot summaries, find out more about cast members, watch previews and full episodes, and follow the twitter. A link takes viewers to the HarperTeen site for free access to the first volume of Smith’s oeuvre, The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening.
HarperTeen has also re-issued the first two tantalizing titles in Smith’s series, 
The Awakening and The Struggle (both 1991), with eye-catching media tie-in covers featuring photos of the cast members posed against eerie-looking backdrops. The TV show will most likely stir up interest in the entire series, which will hook readers with it fast-paced blend of romance, supernatural elements, and delicious danger. If you’re looking to purchase the entire sequence, the books are paired together in trade paperback editions with teen-enticing covers: one volume contains The Awakening and The Struggle, while the other finishes up the series with The Fury and Dark Reunion. And there’s great news for fans of the book series (both diehard and newly bit): after almost a 20 year hiatus, Smith recently launched a new trilogy featuring the same trio of characters with The Return: Nightfall (2009).
Pub Info
SHAN, Darren. The Vampire’s Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak. Little, Brown. 2009. pap. $12.99. ISBN 978-0-316-05240-5.
SHAN, Darren. The Cirque Du Freak: The Manga. illus. by Takahiro Arai.
Vol. 1. ISBN 978-0-7595-3041-6.
Vol. 2. ISBN 978-0-7595-3038-6.
Ea vol: Yen Press. 2009. pap. $10.99.
SMITH, L. J. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. media ed. HarperTeen. 2009. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-06-196386-5.
_____. The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle. media ed. HarperTeen. 2009. pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-06-196387-2.
_____. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle. HarperTeen. 2007. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-114097-6.
_____. The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion. HarperTeen. 2007. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-0-06-114098-3.
_____. The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall. HarperTeen. 2009. Tr. $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-172077-2; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-172079-6.
