A 2024 Sydney Taylor Honor Book!

Two vampire brothers must set aside their differences to solve a series of murders in this humorous and delightfully spooky novel for young readers. For fans of Too Bright to See.

Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it's morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They're vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family.

Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in his life (well, immortal life) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it’s too late?
DEKE MOULTON is a writer currently living in the US Pacific Northwest. They are a former US Army drill sergeant and trained as an Arabic linguist during their time in service. Deke is the author of Don't Want to Be Your Monster, which was a 2024 Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf. View titles by Deke Moulton
  • LONGLIST | 2024
    Bram Stoker Awards
  • NOMINEE | 2024
    Maine Student Book Award
  • HONOR | 2023
    Sydney Taylor Book Award, Association of Jewish Libraries
  • NOMINEE | 2023
    Cybils
A Kirkus Reviews’ Best Middle Grade Book of 2023
An Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids, 2023

PRAISE FOR Don't Want to Be Your Monster:

"Members of persecuted minorities unite to fight crime: icky, impish, and thematically rich. Readers fond of nocturnal whodunits festooned with sly twists and tweaks from opening page to terrifying climax are in for a treat — but Moulton has much to offer here besides gore and glory. . . . [T]his story . . . thoughtfully pushes back against significant antisemitic elements in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and vampire lore in general." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will root for these two bantering brothers as they fight to defeat the evil lurking in their town and, after the last page is turned, will long to spend more time in their world." —STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

“A book about vampire siblings should not actually be this good. This, folks, is why one has to look past genre from time to time, because a great writer can take any topic and make it absolutely jaw-droppingly good.”  —School Library Journal

"Fans, young and old, of classic vampire stories should sink their teeth into this fresh take." —School Library Journal

"Fans of the supernatural intersecting with the mundane will find this intriguing interpretation of the vampire mythos refreshing.” Publishers Weekly

"Two vampire brothers attempt to put aside their rivalry to solve a string of murder cases before they’re blamed in this debut that both pays homage to and subverts classic vampire lore." Booklist

“A bloody good time. Clever and heartfelt, Don’t Want to Be Your Monster expertly deconstructs vampire mythology, offering a new, fresh take that will leave readers with big, important questions about how it feels to be made into a monster.” —Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Marvellers
 
Don’t Want to Be Your Monster is the adrenaline shot the vampire genre needed! Wholly original and gripping until the end, it sank its fangs in me and didn’t let go until the very last page.” —Joel A. Sutherland, author of House of Ash and Bone
 
“A heartfelt tale about the importance of standing up for one another that doesn’t shy away from its message: there will always be more that unites us than divides us.” —Ally Malinenko, author of Ghost Girl

"Deke Moulton's Don't Want to Be Your Monster is the game-changing vampiric middle-grade novel readers have been waiting for! Moulton expertly combined the scares we expect of the genre with deep compassion, love and beautiful Jewish rep. A wonderful debut to begin a long career!" —Esme Symes-Smith, USA Today bestselling author of the Sir Callie series

About

A 2024 Sydney Taylor Honor Book!

Two vampire brothers must set aside their differences to solve a series of murders in this humorous and delightfully spooky novel for young readers. For fans of Too Bright to See.

Adam and Victor are brothers who have the usual fights over the remote, which movie to watch and whether or not it's morally acceptable to eat people. Well, not so much eat . . . just drink a little blood. They're vampires, hiding in plain sight with their eclectic yet loving family.

Ten-year-old Adam knows he has a better purpose in his life (well, immortal life) than just drinking blood, but fourteen-year-old Victor wants to accept his own self-image of vampirism. Everything changes when bodies start to appear all over town, and it becomes clear that a vampire hunter may be on the lookout for the family. Can Adam and Victor reconcile their differences and work together to stop the killer before it’s too late?

Author

DEKE MOULTON is a writer currently living in the US Pacific Northwest. They are a former US Army drill sergeant and trained as an Arabic linguist during their time in service. Deke is the author of Don't Want to Be Your Monster, which was a 2024 Sydney Taylor Honor Book, and Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf. View titles by Deke Moulton

Awards

  • LONGLIST | 2024
    Bram Stoker Awards
  • NOMINEE | 2024
    Maine Student Book Award
  • HONOR | 2023
    Sydney Taylor Book Award, Association of Jewish Libraries
  • NOMINEE | 2023
    Cybils

Praise

A Kirkus Reviews’ Best Middle Grade Book of 2023
An Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids, 2023

PRAISE FOR Don't Want to Be Your Monster:

"Members of persecuted minorities unite to fight crime: icky, impish, and thematically rich. Readers fond of nocturnal whodunits festooned with sly twists and tweaks from opening page to terrifying climax are in for a treat — but Moulton has much to offer here besides gore and glory. . . . [T]his story . . . thoughtfully pushes back against significant antisemitic elements in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and vampire lore in general." —STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will root for these two bantering brothers as they fight to defeat the evil lurking in their town and, after the last page is turned, will long to spend more time in their world." —STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

“A book about vampire siblings should not actually be this good. This, folks, is why one has to look past genre from time to time, because a great writer can take any topic and make it absolutely jaw-droppingly good.”  —School Library Journal

"Fans, young and old, of classic vampire stories should sink their teeth into this fresh take." —School Library Journal

"Fans of the supernatural intersecting with the mundane will find this intriguing interpretation of the vampire mythos refreshing.” Publishers Weekly

"Two vampire brothers attempt to put aside their rivalry to solve a string of murder cases before they’re blamed in this debut that both pays homage to and subverts classic vampire lore." Booklist

“A bloody good time. Clever and heartfelt, Don’t Want to Be Your Monster expertly deconstructs vampire mythology, offering a new, fresh take that will leave readers with big, important questions about how it feels to be made into a monster.” —Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Marvellers
 
Don’t Want to Be Your Monster is the adrenaline shot the vampire genre needed! Wholly original and gripping until the end, it sank its fangs in me and didn’t let go until the very last page.” —Joel A. Sutherland, author of House of Ash and Bone
 
“A heartfelt tale about the importance of standing up for one another that doesn’t shy away from its message: there will always be more that unites us than divides us.” —Ally Malinenko, author of Ghost Girl

"Deke Moulton's Don't Want to Be Your Monster is the game-changing vampiric middle-grade novel readers have been waiting for! Moulton expertly combined the scares we expect of the genre with deep compassion, love and beautiful Jewish rep. A wonderful debut to begin a long career!" —Esme Symes-Smith, USA Today bestselling author of the Sir Callie series

2024 Middle and High School Collections

The Penguin Random House Education Middle School and High School Digital Collections feature outstanding fiction and nonfiction from the children’s, adult, DK, and Grupo Editorial divisions, as well as publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Peruse online or download these valuable resources to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: English Language Arts,

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PRH Education High School Collections

All reading communities should contain protected time for the sake of reading. Independent reading practices emphasize the process of making meaning through reading, not an end product. The school culture (teachers, administration, etc.) should affirm this daily practice time as inherently important instructional time for all readers. (NCTE, 2019)   The Penguin Random House High

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PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

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