The Vampire's Assistant (Cirque du Freak #2)

After being turned into a half vampire to save his friend, Darren Shan must cope with his new life. Now he has incredible strength and sharper senses. But one fact still bothers him—he must drink blood to survive. So far, he has been drinking animal blood, but Mr. Crepsley, the vampire who transformed Darren and who is also his vampire guardian now, informs Darren that he must soon drink human blood if he wishes to survive. Darren, sickened by this thought, refuses—after all, he still is half-human himself. With this dark, fate-determining choice looming over him and limited time, Darren will soon face the hardest choice of his life.

Darren does not hang out with kids his age because he does not want other to know what he is, and he does not want to accidentally hurt them. Lonely, Darren only has Mr. Crepsley for company, but Mr. Crepsley decides to help Darren out and bring him to the Cirque Du Freak, where there are kids his age. The Cirque Du Freak is a traveling freak show, with people like a snake boy, the wolf-man, Cormac Limbs (a man who can re-grow his limbs!), the Little People, and more! Upon arriving, the leader, Mr. Tall, allows Darren to room with Evra, the snake boy, and help with Evra’s chores. Mr. Crepsley has his own stunt in the show—his act with his pet spider, Madam Octa. Darren sees the ‘freaks’ and their gifts—from a man that can eat more than any human, to the wolf-man, who is half human, half wolf, but mainly beast. They even have to keep wolf-man in a cage!

Feeling better that he is surrounded by people like him and with a companion his age, things get better when Darren and Evra meet Sam, a human boy. The three of them hang out together, and Sam announces that he wishes to join the Cirque Du Freak. Evra and Darren try to dissuade him from this choice, and seem to succeed. They are momentarily distracted by R.V. who is a man obsessed with protecting nature and wildlife. The friendship seems to be nice until Darren invites them to see the Cirque Du Freak show. After seeing it, Sam wants to join more than ever, and R.V. is suspicious on whether or not the ‘freaks’ are treated right, especially the wolf-man.

Every day, Darren gets weaker from lack of human blood, and he is wasting away. With R.V. and Sam to deal with, Evra and Darren have to watch their step. Tragedy strikes when R.V. thinks the wolf-man is being abused, and he tries to free him. Darren is the only one who sees this, but with minimal strength left, how can he stop R.V. and the wolf-man? Who will suffer for R.V.’s bad choice? Will Darren find another way to survive without drinking human blood?

The Vampire’s Assistant, the second book in the Cirque Du Freak saga, has some violent scenes, but fans of the first book will not be disappointed with Darren’s adventure and his hopes to protect his human blood. Will he succeed? Or will he die from lack of human blood? Recommended for older readers.