Ma and Pa Dracula

One night, as Jonathan Primave wakes up to have breakfast as usual, he is struck by how odd his life is. His parents work nocturnally at the local blood bank, and while the family moves often, Mother and Dad assure Jonathan that this is how ordinary people live. But when he disobeys his parents one day and ventures outdoors in the sunshine, Jonathan discovers that things are not as they seem. His adoptive parents are vampires, and they don't actually work at the blood bank. The boy insists on starting school, and wants his parents to seem more normal. Numerous complications ensue--How can Jonathan invite friends home?--with many droll touches: Dad swears on Dracula's honor, Jonathan knows his parents are awake when he hears their coffin lids creak. Martin's (best-known for her Baby-sitters Club series) latest novel is a wacky look at an unusual set of domestic troubles and Zimmer's amusingly scary drawings provide zany comment on this less than flesh-and-blood family. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)