There are only two races that matter: the Living and the Undead....and with every year that passes, the numbers of the Undead grow. It is inevitable.

So says Lucy Szabo. She has a theory: Hundreds of years ago, before the discovery of insulin, slowly dying diabetics were the original "vampires." Lucy, a diabetic herself, counts herself among the modern Undead.

As Sweetblood, she frequents the Transylvania room, an Internet chat room where so-called vampires gather to discuss all things goth. But Draco, one of the other visitors to Transylvania, claims to be a real vampire — and Lucy's not entirely sure he's kidding.

As Lucy becomes more involved with the goth/vampire subculture, everything in her life begins to unravel. Her grades plummet, her relationship with her parents deteriorates, and her ability to regulate her blood sugar worsens dramatically.

Then she meets Draco face-to-face, and he invites her into his strange world. Lucy realizes that she needs to make some difficult choices — if it isn't already too late.

Pete Hautman's new take on vampires is a disturbing and fascinating story about an intelligent, cynical teen reinventing herself in the face of a chronic illness.