Judy Silverman (Children's Literature)
This is an odd book. Fans of vampire novels will like it, of course, but it has an extra kick to it. “Peeps” is short for “parasite-positive,” and the parasite in this case is vampirism. “Parasite” is the operative word here. You may think you know how parasites work--how they infect and kill their host species, how they get carried around by another species that will transmit them without being infected themselves--but Westerfeld tells us way more than we ever wanted to know, about more parasites than we ever thought existed. Cal Thompson, the narrator, is a carrier; he can transmit the parasite but is not a full-fledged vampire himself. He has many of the physical attributes of vampires. His senses of smell and taste and hearing are enhanced. He is also constantly horny, which means that when he walks down the street he has to look at the pavement rather than all the beautiful women. Cal is also a member of the Night Watch. This group of (questionable) police officers are trying to track down Peeps, and Cal needs to find the woman who infected him and the woman he infected. Are you confused yet? Just wait until cats get involved. Yes, both feral and domestic cats can carry the parasite. They can even be vampires. And there is Something living under the sewers, an evil Something that is just waiting for the right time so that it can take over. The Night Watch, the Peeps, and some “normals” form an alliance to defeat their ancient enemy. Very readable. Recommended for fans of the genre. 2005, Penguin Young Readers, $16.99. Ages 12 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2006)
Nineteen-year-old Cal Thompson is parasite positive: a peep. But things could be worse. Cal’s just a carrier, so unlike full-blown peeps, who crave darkness, desire human blood, and slowly go insane, Cal has kept his wits about him, although he has a voracious appetite, occasional bouts of superhuman strength, and is sexually aroused by just about every female he sees. But Cal’s sworn himself to celibacy. It’s the only way he can make sure he doesn’t spread the disease. In fact, Cal’s a peep hunter, the youngest member of the Night Watch, a centuries-old organization dedicated to tracking down peeps. (“I don’t use the V-word,” Cal explains.) Cal was just a typical college-bound kid when he arrived in New York City the year before, until one too many Bahamalama-Dingdongs at a dingy bar led to a one night stand with the stranger who infected him. Now Cal’s assignment is to track down that unknown woman in Scott Westerfeld’s fast-paced story that is vampire tale, scientific thriller, and mystery all in one. Cal’s dry, hilarious first-person narrative chronicles his search, which is complicated when he meets Lace, an uninfected woman unwittingly caught up in the mystery to whom his attraction is more than just physical, making her that much harder to resist. Westerfeld incorporates fascinating scientific information into his story as each chapter opens with Cal waxing eloquent on the terrifying nature of parasites and disease. Brilliantly structured, the science that is gradually revealed parallels elements of the developing plot as the story unfolds, leading to a dramatic and satisfying conclusion that makes sense in both scientific and literary terms. CCBC Category: Fiction for Young Adults. 2005, Razorbill, 312 pages, $16.99. Age 13 and older.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 15))
Both medical thriller and science fiction, this fast-paced, captivating modern vampire story is enriched with biology and history. Nineteen-year-old Cal is a hunter. He works for the Night Watch, New York City's clandestine organization to capture "peeps," "parasite positive" people infected with an ancient disease that causes vampirism. They're cannibalistic, violent and wildly strong. Cal tracks his line of contagion: an ex-girlfriend, whom he unwittingly infected, and then his progenitor, the girl who gave it to him. Yes, Cal has the parasite, but he's a carrier rather than a full-blown peep. Forced into secrecy and celibacy but possessing peep-like superhuman senses and strength, Cal simmers with adrenaline. He succeeds at his job in the dank, oppressive urban undergrounds, but he discloses secrets to an unauthorized, uninfected girl his age who becomes inextricably involved. Conspiracy issues arise; the parasite's centuries-long history holds a profound revelation. Westerfeld intersperses relevant chapters on how various real-life parasites operate in nature. Entrancing throughout-but squeamish readers beware. (afterword, bibliography) 2005, Razorbill/Penguin, 320p, $16.99. Category: Science fiction. Ages 13 up. Starred Review. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Myrna Marler (KLIATT Review, September 2005 (Vol. 39, No. 5))
One pictures a high school science teacher looking out at a bored class and thinking, “Hmm…how can I make the theory of evolution interesting? I know. I’ll write a novel about vampires!” This author, however, has a long list of SF novels behind him and found his author calling in infancy, so the potential use of this book to teach Darwinian theory is perhaps a happy coincidence. “Peeps” is short for parasite positive, the “preferred” term for modern vampires because, yes, vampirism is the result of parasitic infection, with which the world abounds (as Westerfeld happily details in quirky but factual even-numbered chapters). The super powers (strength, the ability to leap tall buildings--but no flying, come on!--the uncanny sense of smell, the desire to eat meat, the horniness, the hatred of mirror reflections) are only resulting symptoms. Nineteen-year-old Cal arrives in New York City to attend college, but is seduced by too many Bahamalama Dingdongs into sex with a black-haired stranger and becomes a carrier of the parasite, making him the perfect vampire hunter because, like Typhoid Mary, his condition is rare. It may be hard to imagine from this plot summary how the novel demonstrates the theory of evolution, but it does, and entertainingly. Even non-vampire fans will like this one. Readers know they are not in standard vampire country when Cal makes his first capture by pasting pictures of Elvis on every door and window to prevent escape. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: S*--Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students. 2005, Penguin, Razorbill, 320p., $16.99. Ages 15 to 18.

Deborah Stevenson, Associate Editor (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2005 (Vol. 59, No. 1))
Nineteen-year-old Cal may seem like a normal guy, but he’s actually an agent of the Night Watch, a secret New York organization that tracks and hunts down individuals infested with a certain parasite. Parasite-positives, or “peeps,” as the cognoscenti call them, have been around for a long time in human history; their parasite-driven craving for protein, need to pass on the organism (through biting or having sex with others), and resistance to formerly loved people and things (such as crosses) gave rise to vampire legends and other folk beliefs. A carrier himself, Cal started his career by capturing the women he (unknowingly) infected, and now he’s going after the one-night stand who gave him his own parasite. Soon Cal realizes that his carefully learned lessons about peeps are mostly wrong, the peeps aren’t a problem but a solution to a much more dangerous threat, and that the solution has gone slightly awry. Westerfeld’s cunning take on the vampire legend brilliantly uses epidemiology and parasitology as its central focus, interlacing profiles of genuine real-world parasites with his story to shore up its credibility (and add to the shiver factor, since the parasites are often pretty creepy in their own right); the result is essentially the vampire as sci-fi, a legendary history scientifically explained: the famous lethal vampires are actually a variant of the carrier strain, whose abilities are necessary to fight a primeval underground menace that periodically threatens humanity. The book balances the scientific thread with some classic horror tension and havoc, then throws in heaping helpings of wit (the peep shrieking in terror at the Garth Brooks T-shirt will elicit some ironic sympathy as well as snickers), and then obligingly arranges things so that Lace, the cute girl Cal meets, is infected with the carrier strain as well (though not by Cal), so that she can end up as his girlfriend. Somewhere in between Anderson’s Thirsty (BCCB 4/97) and the movie Love at First Bite, this will be a book that many audiences, vampire lovers, young scientists, thriller fans, will want to sink their teeth into. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R* -- Denotes books of special distinction. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Razorbill, 320p, $16.99. Grades 7-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2006)
Cal's former girlfriend Sarah has become a flesh-eating vampire, a "parasite-positive," or "peep," and Cal is a peep hunter. Westerfeld adroitly intersperses the fictional story with chapters describing actual parasites, their hosts, and the nitty-gritty, often repulsive, details of their existence. A clever blend of adventure, horror, romance, and science text, Peeps holds great appeal for teen readers. Category: Older Fiction. 2005, Penguin/Razorbill, 312pp, 16.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Kristi Lainhart (The Kutztown Book Review, Fall 2006)
Peeps are people who have been infected by a parasite that turns its host into a cannibalistic and violent monster. Cal is a carrier of the parasite, but does not suffer all of the negative effects and is instead a hunter of those who have fully transformed. The book follows Cal as he searches for the person who infected him and tells what he learns about his disease along the way. Cal also shares bits of information about other real parasites throughout his story. This is a fresh twist on the vampire story. The reader gets a biology lesson while not realizing it, all the while learning more about Cal and his purpose. The parasite is transmitted through bodily fluids, so sex is mentioned, but is not the focus of the story. While the topic of the book is fairly unpleasant (parasites, yuck!), the story is humorous and engaging and should attract many students’ interest. Category: Science Fiction. 2005, Penguin Young Readers Group, $16.99. Ages 14 up.

Ed Goldberg (VOYA, October 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 4))
Subterranean Manhattan is a perfect habitat for millions of parasite-hosting rats and feral cats. Morgan, during a one-night stand, infects eighteen-year-old Cal with a parasite. He in turn, infects others. Night Watch, an organization commissioned to control the rat population, recruits Cal, classified as "parasite-positive" or a "peep," to locate and capture his sexual partners. While doing so, he traverses these subterranean areas. Merely a carrier, his symptoms are enhanced senses, strength, and horniness. The effect on ex-girlfriend Sarah is worse. As the story opens, Cal finds Sarah living in darkness among rats, emaciated, at times cannibalistic, and suffering from anathema, hatred of things/people once loved. While searching for Morgan, Cal meets and falls for Lace. It is she who ultimately locates Morgan, who amazingly shows no mental or physical degeneration. Why? How is the disease spread? What role do cats play? Is something worse afoot? Parasite and rat images usually trigger cringes and shudders. This novel's cringe factor, after chapter one, is low. Odd-numbered chapters relate the story. Informative, fun, and shiver-invoking are brief even-numbered chapters describing real parasites, their methods of entering hosts, and the results of their stays. Descriptive writing does not compensate for a dense, bland story; a predictable, sequel-signaling conclusion; slow pacing; and sporadic action. The fear factor does not match the book's eerie cover. An afterword outlines "dangerous parasite" avoidance techniques. A short bibliography lists books on rats and parasites. Geared for grades nine and up, this one is not up to Westerfeld standards. VOYA CODES: 3Q 2P S (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Razorbill/Penguin Putnam, 320p., $16.99. Ages 15 to 18.

Abbe Goldberg, Teen Reviewer (VOYA, October 2005 (Vol. 28, No. 4))
Peeps is the perfect book for a predominantly SF-oriented, male audience. For readers of more realistic books, however, it isn't a must-read. Westerfeld creates a likeable character but writes a book from which a reader could easily be distracted instead of enthralled. The even numbered, informational chapters about parasites were boring and created more of a desire to put the book down. The best part was the afterword, which combined the humor of the prose and facts. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P S (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2005, Razorbill/Penguin Putnam, 320p., $16.99. Ages 15 to 18.