Review: Communion by B. Patterson

Today I am reviewing Communion, a Young Adult Urban Fantasy book by B. Patterson. (Spoiler alert for the review: I loved the book! It was amazing!) You can find more on B. Patterson on his blog, or you can follow him on Facebook or Twitter. 

About the Author:
B. Patterson is a 25 year old writer and a graduate of North Carolina State University,  where he majored in Psychology and minored in Japanese.  He currently live in Maryland.

B. Patterson wrote a lot as a kid.  He began a new story (or 3 or 4) every school year, but rarely finished them. He finally finished one when he was 16.  It was about ninjas.  It was really bad.

Communion, his first completed novel worth publishing in his eyes, will be released October 1st. He has that and many other works coming down the pipeline.  He plans to be writing for many years to come.  

B. Patterson's values as a writer include:
Writing high-quality books
Diversity
Integrity
Entertainment

About the Book:
Lester Fuller knows isolation well.  It has been his only friend since Jadarius Singleton humiliated him last year. But one night after Jadarius's taunts go too far, Lester stumbles upon Gwynn's body.  He's sure she's dead.  Until she bites him.

Vampires are extinct.  There are only the dhampir.

Now something more than human, Lester struggles to determine where he fits in this new society.  Just what secrets about the dhampir are his friends keeping from him?  And what will he do when a notorious figure from dhampir history sets her eyes on him?




My Review:
I love everything about this book, from the main character Lester's voice as he narrates to the twists and turns along the way and the surprise ending.

Usually, in vampire books, you have a main character who is eventually going to be faced with a choice of whether or not to become a vampire. But in Communion, B. Patterson starts Lester's journey with a bang. When he gets attacked and turned, he discovers a whole new world. Vampires are extinct, but dhampir still exist--which are sort of in between humans and vampires--and now he has the choice to become one of them.

Lester isn't the typical main character, for many reasons. First, it is refreshing to have a first person narrative from a teenage guy's POV. I have to say that most of the books I read have female POVs, so it is nice to have a change. And a good one at that. But also, Lester is a believable outcast. He has issues, but never ventures into melodramatic or emo territory. And even though he is bullied, I never viewed him as weak or a victim. He was strong in his own ways, and showed that by how he stood up to the bully, even when he knew it would mean getting his ass kicked.

What also sets Lester apart from typical main characters is that his journey is anything but simple and stereotypical. Lester is faced with some tough decisions, and makes some hard choices along the way. My heart breaks for some of the things he is forced to do to keep the people he loves safe. Usually, we see the hero of the story built up through the trials and tribulations they face. With Lester, we see him constantly broken down by the choices he is faced with. But then an amazing thing happens that makes me root for him even more: He gets back up. Over and over.

B. Patterson did an amazing job of taking something so common (vampires) with the usual plot points played over and over and over again, and turning it into something unique that he can call his own. Not only is the concept different from what I've seen, but the actions the main character takes along the way are also so different from the norm. I never knew what to expect with this book. Just when you think you know who the bad guy is and what the stakes are that the dhampir are up against, the plot takes a completely different turn and you are thrown for a loop.

Great writing, compelling and unpredictable story full of twists and surprises, and a main character that I can sympathize with and really truly like. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to what is ahead not only for Lester and the dhampir, but I can't wait to see what else the incredibly talented B. Patterson does.