Review of Slayer by Kiersten White

I’m a Buffy fan going way, way back. What did I think of Slayer? Read on and check out my review of Slayer by Kiersten White!

Slayer by Kiersten White

To be published on January 8, 2019 by Simon & Schuster. ARC for review from publisher.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Nina and her twin sister, Artemis, are far from normal. It’s hard to be when you grow up at the Watcher’s Academy, which is a bit different from your average boarding school. Here teens are trained as guides for Slayers—girls gifted with supernatural strength to fight the forces of darkness.

But while Nina’s mother is a prominent member of the Watcher’s Council, Nina has never embraced the violent Watcher lifestyle. Instead she follows her instincts to heal, carving out a place for herself as the school medic.

Until the day Nina’s life changes forever. Suddenly, she is not only the newest Chosen One—she’s the last Slayer, ever. Period. When bodies start turning up, Nina’s new powers will truly be tested—because someone she loves might be next. One thing is clear: Being Chosen is easy. Making choices is hard.

Review of Slayer by Kiersten White

I was a big Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan back in the late 90s and early 00s so I was beyond excited when this showed up in the mail. I was also excited to see that it was written by Kiersten White. Her first book, Supernatural, is clearly very inspired by Buffy, and she’s gone on to write a bunch of books about dark and powerful female characters.

It took me a couple chapters to orient myself into this book and this book into the Buffyverse. To understand this story, you have to understand that “the Slayer” is a young woman who is chosen to fight vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. There’s only one Slayer at a time, who is replaced by another Slayer if she dies. Every slayer is assigned a Watcher who helps train and guide her. Slayer takes place shortly after the ending of the TV show. (And, thanks to Tiff at Mostly YA Lit, I understand the whole Seed of Wonder thing – I didn’t read the Buffy comics lol.)

So, back to the book. Athena (Nina), the main character, is a healer and her twin sister Artemis is in training to be a Watcher. Most Watchers were killed toward the end of the show, and in the book, those remaining are hiding out in the UK. But then something surprising happens (okay, its on the back of the book so I’ll tell you): Nina discovers that she’s actually a Slayer – the last Slayer created before magic was destroyed.

To me, all the mythology of Buffy was only just a vehicle for telling the (very YA) story of a sixteen year old girl who doesn’t really want to be the Chosen One and has to manage all of her teenage and early-twenty-something life in the middle of fighting evil. It’s the story of a Scooby Gang (Buffy the show was the first to use this phrase to describe a close-knit, motley group who bands together to attain a goal) who aid Buffy in her duties.

Slayer definitely captures the spirit of the show. Nina’s way less snarky and way more insecure than Buffy, but she’s also a reluctant Slayer (and someone who thinks that Buffy was a bit too disrespectful of all the rules and regulations. So true!)

For fans of the show, there are lots of funny in-jokes and cameos and references. Buffy shows up, as does Faith. Angel and Spike are referenced. That part of the book was really fun. There was a Scooby Gang of sorts. The plot was okay but not as surprising as I’d hoped. Whenever someone in a suspenseful book says “Person X is the ONLY person I can trust” I am 100% sure that’s not the case, and, yeah, that was not the case here. The ending was … frustrating.

I thoroughly enjoyed this but am really curious to see what someone who has never watched Buffy would think of this book – if that is you and you plan to read this, PLEASE let me know what you thought!

Want more Buffy Content? Check out my Quiz on Which Buffy Villain Are You or my Quiz on Which Member of the Buffy Scooby Gang Are You?