Seventeen-year-old Maggie Cunningham is tough, smart, and sassy. She’s also not like other girls her age, but then, who would be when the family business is monster hunting? Combat boots, ratty hooded sweatshirts, and hair worn short so nothing with claws can get a grip, Maggie’s concerns in life slant more toward survival than fashion or boys.
Which presents a problem when Maggie’s mother … mother informs Maggie that she can’t get her journeyman’s license for hunting until she loses her virginity. Something about virgin blood turning vampires into pointy rage monsters. Blood and gore and insides being on the outside and all that.
Maggie’s battled ghosts and goblins and her fair share of house brownies, but finding herself a boy-fitting in with her peers-proves a much more daunting task than any monster hunt. Did you know normal girls don’t stuff their bras with holy water balloons? Nor do they carry wooden stakes in their waistbands. And they care about things like “matching” and “footwear.” Of course, they also can’t clean a gun blindfolded, shoot a crossbow, or exorcise ghosts from a house. Which means they’re lame and Maggie’s not. Because Maggie’s awesome. The Awesome, in fact.
Just ask her. She’d be more than happy to tell you.
After she finds herself a date.
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This book was so much fun! Maggie had Buffy vibes, but if Buffy were a normal person with an even more hilarious attitude!
The concept felt original even though we’ve seen paranormal stuff before. The writing had kind of a Diablo Cody vibe, like if Juno and Jennifer’s Body had a baby. There was plenty of action, and the side character’s were awesome. A lot of people would probably criticize Maggie’s mom, but she was awesome! Ian was cute and had perfect swoon. Lauren was also awesome! So yeah, the book definitely deserves to be called The Awesome.
Overall the writing was smart, witty, and fun. I’ve read the Hollow Girl, which is from another one of the author’s pen names, and this was just as good even though the books are totally different! Highly recommended for some coolness!
OK – I REALLY shouldn’t like this book for a bunch of reasons, but I found myself hooked from the first page. An easy day read, and a guilty pleasure. Story is original, characters are likeable (even the bad guys), and the pace is good. Can see this appealing to teens, but parents may want to read this first because the content is pretty graphic.
Don’t read this in bed, you’ll awake your significant other with your laughing!
Unbelievably crass, but why should monster hunters be demure just because they’re ladies? I loved it.
Loved this book! Quick read, only problem, no sequel :/
This book definitely had an ending open enough to continue and the characters were lovable.
This book is … Different. A teenage girl is apprenticed to her single parent monster hunting mother. Totally convinced of her own awesomeness she has yet to convince her mother of it while going through all of the issues a self conscious teenager has to deal with. Ghosts, vampires, and a live-in zombie make this a fun read.
First, let’s talk about how awesome this cover is. Do you like it? Then you are the kind of person who will love this book. Snarky humor abounds, my friends. I love the open, supportive relationship Maggie has with her mother. If you want a monster-fighting, fun, sex-positive YA book, check this one out.
I’m going to preface this review by simply stating that I’m totally a feminist – I think women can and should rule the world, fight better in wars (we multitask and are far sneakier), and yes – God is probably a woman because have one’s reproductive parts hanging on the outside of one’s body HAS TO BE a joke on the male species at large.
I went to a historic all women Ivy League college. I wear tattoos. I can curse like the devil on crack.
Above all, I LOVE strong, hilarious heroines, which makes Eva Darrow’s, THE AWESOME, one of my all-time favorite, roll-on-the-floor-and-pee-myself, kick-butt girl power books.
Main character Margret is in a total pickle because, well – she needs a male pickle to pluck her virginity so she can hunt vampires. Why? Because Margret is a monster hunter in a world where monsters are the “well crap” norm, and vampires go a bit insane at the smell of virgin blood.
To Margret, this vamp-virgin stuff is BS, but her mother is basically like, “Suck it up and do the deed so we can get back to work.” Eventually Margret’s like, “WELL, FINE – I’m stuck at home and twiddling my fingers while Mom goes out with her uzi to smoke some dead guys,” so she ends up at a house party, filled with skunked teenagers, and almost has a solid stab (*cough cough*) at breaking her blasted virginity. Alas, the de-flowering dude passes out before he can finish the job.
The next morning, however, Weiner Boy is truly sorry and Margret and him start up a slow friendship.
ANYWHO, I bought THE AWESOME for that concept – this Monster hunter girl needs to roll some random male to get busy with the vampires. That concept is not, however, what made me absolutely adore the book.
Instead, I fell head over untanned-butt in stalker obsession with THE AWESOME because the characters were all fantastically fabulous! Margret is loud, fearless, flabby-armed, and curses left and right. Her view of the world is dead on, dry humored, and BRUTALLY honest. The boy in her life takes her in stride and really likes her, warts and all, and you can see why he does, because she’s, well, AWESOME (duh!).
Mom is a hair-dying hippie that probably smoked more pot than she should’ve and heads out with lesbian ladies to kill monsters for the government like she’s headed to a Tupperwear party. She also is rolling around having floor nookie with a vampire, which really horrifies Margret for so many reasons. Then you add in a duck-eating zombie with morals living in the basement (who steals scenes), a Russian ghoul who has boobs that need their own zip code, and a brilliantly twisted world where monsters are accepted, but are loathed sorta like tourists, and you’ve got a hit.
And not just any hit, but a knock-it-off-Pesky’s-Pole-and-brain-the-hotdog-vendor sorta of home run hit.
Loud, a bit raunchy, and wickedly funny, THE AWESOME is perfect for adults and OLDER teens (15+) who loved One Crazy Summer, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Breakfast Club, and yes – American Pie.
If you were a fan of those outrageous teen movies of the 80s and 90s, this is the book for you!
Totally THE AWESOME! Can’t wait for this author to release more books. From the get go, funny and interesting. The character relationships are great.
This is not a book for those that are opposed to out of marriage sexual relations or for those opposed to teenage encounters or offensive language. Though the characters are interesting and the plot line is intriguing, I was disappointed on a persona basis the emphasis on teenage sex.
Just too wordy and not funny or entertaining