Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/07/20/chapter-books-whats-good/ (July 20th release) ( )

This one goes under "Decisions I regret." The author could have picked a new name and made the story about one of the potential Slayers. Like a "What if" this girl had been Chosen? Or she could have made it a middle-school story about the Slayer before Buffy. But transplanting Buffy into a new middle-school setting and giving her new friends is just lame. Buffy was just irritating, and I missed Willow and Xander and Giles, who made Buffy's story so much more interesting! ( )

A cute, unique take on Buffy that's aimed at younger teens. Buffy Summers has moved to a new town and that means she has to start at a new middle school. Is there anything worse for a teenager? She's having trouble making friends and the librarian is being really weird around her and won't stop calling Buffy "the chosen one." When Buffy encounters a vampire, she knows that she might actually have to turn to the weirdo librarian for help. Soon Buffy becomes friends with other preteens with oddities of their own. Sarafina is learning witchcraft and Alvaro becomes a werewolf once a month; but together the trio will help keep the vampires at bay. Now only if they had time to keep up with their homework and get some sleep in. Cute and told in comics, doodles, and diary entries. The only character that is "the same" from the original Buffy universe is Buffy herself, everyone else is reinvented. A lot of fun and a good way to get the younger generation interested in a classic. ( )

This reboot has preteen Buffy starting her vampire slaying in a Cleveland, Ohio, middle-school with a whole new Scooby Gang and Watcher supporting cast. Her mother is present, and Spike and Dru are mentioned briefly, but the rest of the movie and TV cast members have been ditched.

I picked this up because I was intrigued by the potential I saw in Nowak's [book:Girl Town|38469986], and I have been a long-time Buffy fan. And while this book is okay, I'm afraid it is not a peak performance for either of them.

Mostly, I am not the audience for this material. It is one of those middle school books that alternates comic pages with diary pages. It also does silly stuff like changing the name of the Hellmouth to Heckmouth, because we wouldn't want to offend readers who are otherwise untroubled by all the vampire slaying? It will probably work for the younger readers it is obviously targeting. ( )

A good starting point for anyone who has not seen or read the previous Buffy The Vampire Slayer seasons. This would technically be a reboot or alternate history. Buffy Summers is starting a new middle school in Cleveland and finds out she is a vampire slayer. It’s hard to be a teen let alone a slayer but with her new female watcher and two best friends, a witch and a werewolf, she is not alone.

Buffy and the slayer mythology is about the only thing familiar with this graphic novel if you are a fan of the past Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Now, I do not know if this is going to match the reboot that will be taking place on tv. I think probably not since the book has the blonde haired and white Buffy because it is rumored that the new tv series Buffy will be African American. ]

The art is quaint and there is nothing too racy for young kids. Since there are new characters interacting with Buffy it is all new to me, which did make it hard to put down and fun to read.

The story is cute and action-packed but as a Buffy fan, I did miss Willow, Xander, and Giles from the original group. I think is great that Buffy is coming back in some way, I just wish it a continuation or a new slayer rather than use Buffy again.

As Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a creation of Joss Whedon, I will probably support this version of Buffy and any others. So “Long Live Buffy!”... I guess. ( )