Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book. I just happen to be friends with the author and I'm so proud of all his hard work and his journey he has been on. This book was kick ass and worth the read. Please please pick up this book you won't be disappointed.

this was a great start to the Generation Slayer series, it had a great overall feel to it and I enjoyed getting to know about this world. The characters were everything that I was hoping for and enjoyed getting to know them in this. It left me excited to read more in this series and glad I got to read this. It left me wanting to read more in this series and I'm glad I read this. Sylvester Barney wrote this perfectly and can't wait for more.

Raven lives in a New York that has been decimated and forever changed by a pandemic. Not that one. One that “gradually eroded the infected individuals’ cognitive abilities, leaving them with only two instincts: fight and feed.” Those are the Creeps. Then the vaccine trials started. And for every ten people saved by the vaccine, one was turned into a bloodthirsty monster: a Vamp.

Raven’s parents were the first two recipients of the vaccine to turn into Vamps, and when they tried to attack Raven and her baby sister, Star, Raven grabbed her sister and went on the run. For the past four years, she’s been doing whatever she can to keep them alive amidst the chaos that New York City has become. When an opportunity arises to join a special military unit devoted to taking back New York City from the monsters, Raven enlists under a fake identity: after all, she’s only 16.

She starts training with the other recruits at a special compound (reminiscent of Divergent and Fourth Wing) as the military leaders work out a plan of attack. But before long, it becomes clear that there’s a traitor in their midst who’s feeding intelligence to the nests of Creeps and Vamps they’re trying to destroy.

This one was a lot of fun: we liked Raven and were invested in her story, and we were rooting for her and her ragtag group of recruits to successfully take back their city. The paranormal spin on the all-too-real pandemic was a nice twist, and the high levels of action kept us turning pages quickly. While the vampire craze has died down a bit since the Twilight days, we think this is a good paranormal story that will appeal to many students and touch on the edges of the horror genre without being too scary.

The book will appeal to and be appropriate for a wide range of readers, but it does include profanity, so know your community and your students before recommending.

Thank you NetGalley and Sterling & Stone for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

(3.5 stars rounded up)

Review will be posted at https://threeheads.works/category/blog/ya-books/ on April 8.

This book sucks you in and given the length you can finish it in one sitting. Raven, the FMC, is a courageous, intelligent and loving sister. Her devotion to make something of the remains of her and her sister’s lives post virus makes you root for her and the supporting cast. The twist is telegraphed well BUT still kept me guessing. There are some minor disconnects that do not make this book a perfect 5-star for me such as Raven assuming someone else’s identity in a world where no one can verify who she is nor her age and while I like the changes in POV, at times it was jarring or felt unnecessary. Star steals the show every-time she’s on a page. I feel like she’s more special than we know. The authors ability to showcase a neurodivergent child without making them the buds of jokes or insults is so refreshing. This book should really be talked about more as a really good introduction to YA Apocalypse Horror. As a person who doesn't normally read Horror I enjoyed this quite a bit and am looking forward to see where the series goes.

Such an incredible story about a courageous and brave young woman who would do anything to protect herself and her little sister. When vampires take over NY, Raven decides to enlist into the army so that her and her sister Star will have shelter and food. The only downside is that Raven will have to fight and kill to survive.
I loved this book. It had amazing story with great characters. I feel in love with the characters and the relationship between the two sisters was amazingly heartbreaking.

3.25 stars

This book was pretty fun to read. Raven, despite only being sixteen, is very courageous, and clever and tries her hardest to protect her little sister, Star. She impersonates a corporal to enlist in an operation so that it may not only provide shelter for her sister but it could help take down the infected that are roaming through New York.

I do love the cast of characters. Everyone has a special quality and you can’t help but laugh and fall in love with them.
And this is action packed and the pacing is great! Also love that Star is autistic. You don’t see many representations of people on the spectrum.

However, some things don’t make sense. Raven didn’t need to disguise as someone else. Especially since no one wanted to risk their lives for the operation. She could’ve easily just lied about her age and said she was 18. And the fact that she didn’t know anything about being in the army didn't raise enough suspicion that no one thought she was lying or anyone called her out on it. There are way too many things like this that took away from the story for me and it became unbelievable.

Overall, this was a good read but I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series.

This story is similar to Corona virus and The Walking dead on steroids. The main character Raven joins a special military group in an attempt to secure safety for her and her little sister star and to defeat the flying vampires who have destroyed NYC. The writer did a fantastic job of describing the city as well as the monsters. I thoroughly enjoyed this horror story and I look forward to continuation of Ravens story.

I read about 1/3 of the way through before deciding this wasn't for me.
It's a post apocalyptic novel, which isn't my favorite genre.

The writing is smooth. The author uses several timelines. I suggest some indication be given when a chapter switches to a new timeline. It would ease the transition.

I thank Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the chance to read this ARC.

DNF at 60%.

I really tried to like this one, the premise is great, something I've thought of before: what if the virus for a cure actually causes more damage. Here some turn into Vamps as a side effect of a cure. The issue with the book is the writing. It's a lot of tell not show, a bunch of random time jumps that carry the story forward because we end up missing vital information. We some chapters will jump to a different character's POV without warning, which I found hard to follow.

My biggest complaint is with the premise that a 16 year old can get away with pretending to be a 28-30 year old veteran with 10 years of experience, a purple heart, and a handful of other military awards. While yes, it's likely most people just accepted that she wasn't who she said she was, that was just a blatant lie I couldn't get past it. She easily could have just lied about her age, said she didn't have documentation since ya know, New York is a plague zone now. The lie was too much. They needed bodies, so they would have taken her anyway.


To the publisher: there's an error in Chapter 16, paragraph 2, Location 1094 – “his voice gravel voice”

Young Blood is a must-read if you like fast-paced action, superb humor, and a badass Black girl as your MC.

Raven is a 16-year-old girl taking care of her four year old sister in the post-apocalyptic city of NY, which is starting to be overrun by "the infected". To fight back and do what she must to protect her little sister, she joins a new task force to take back the city.

Raven is truly a badass and I love it for her. It's rare to find a well-written, Black MC who is not only a badass, but smart.

I am a huge fan of the action in this book as well. I honestly felt like I was watching a movie unfold. The world-building and character development are on point. I love it when I feel like you know the characters and almost hate to see the end of the story.

Overall, this was an epic adventure full of the things that I love: Black MCs, vampires, and lots of violence 😂

Thank you Netgalley and Sterling & Stone for allowing me to read and contribute my thoughts.

Where do I begin. Sylvester Barzey is a master at writing his female mc’s. When we enter this story we are following Raven a 16 year old girl who is taking care of her 4 year old sister by herself. The city of NY is over run with creepers and vampires and people who are trying to survive by any means. After a close call, Raven is desperate to find safe shelter and food for her and her sister. This desperation leads her to lying about who she is in order to join a new government sanctioned military task force. This task force is suppose to fight the creepers and the vampires to get back the city of Ny. Only it isn’t just Raven who has a secret. We follow Raven with her platoon as they fight to try to get back NYC without getting themselves killed in the process. I really enjoyed this book a lot. It was fast paced and action packed. Im Team Raven forever .




Thank you Sylvester and Netgalley for this arc. All opinions are honest and my own.

Frankly I loved this book. Combining your standard military story with pandemic horror and a side of Buffy The Vampire Slayer campy-ness creates a read that I couldn’t put down! 16-year-old Raven, a badass kid from the Bronx, balances taking care of her 4 year-old-sister and an apocalyptic wasteland version of New York. Add in some life lessons, intense action scenes, and the meaning of friendship and you’ve got a book I genuinely couldn’t believe would be as good as it is.

Any reader who’s been paying even a little bit of attention to the world these last four years will be all-too familiar with the pandemic-associated language in this book, which only heightens its horror-factor by grounding it into real life. Suddenly, this book doesn’t seem a sci/fi-fantasy but a maybe possible, terrifying future.

The changing POV between Raven’s 1st person view and a 3rd person omniscient narrator was a bit confusing at first, but ended up being something I liked a lot and found it balanced the story details well.

I eagerly look forward to the next book in the Generation Slayer series!

This book gave me a rush like the build up and anticipation of what Raven was doing and as events unraveled. I couldn't put it down, I smashed this out overnight. I am all for a female taking on a challenge, using initiative and thinking through and executing a plan.