Dracula & Daughters – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Fantasy, vampires, family, secrets, strength.
Children’s book title: Dracula & Daughters.
Children’s author: Emma Carroll.
Genre: Children’s fiction.
Published by: Faber.
ISBN: 9780571388769.
Recommended for children aged: 9-12 year-olds.
First published: Paperback September 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: reading as a class or for more confident readers in the suggested age range.
To see the latest price or order, click on the book cover image. As an Amazon Associate, schoolreadinglist.co.uk earns from qualifying purchases.
Our review:
Mina Cullers really wants to be a doctor. Unfortunately, although she works at a well-respected clinic in Temstown, which trains medical staff, you have to be male to attend! She has a plan, however, but when it goes very wrong, her whole life is turned upside down.
When someone in Temstown dies unexpectedly and under suspicious circumstances, they are very likely to become a vampire. That’s what happens to the local theatre company’s most popular star, Elsie Irving, whose corpse Mina had planned to retrieve, present to her boss Dr Polidori, and then accept his resulting invitation to join his lectures! Instead, she discovers an empty coffin, a furious undertaker, and far too many problems to handle on her own! The town is put under an immediate curfew, panic buying of garlic ensues and, worst of all, Mina’s best friend Varney, the stable boy at the clinic, is Miss Irving’s first victim!
With her sister, Buffy, her cousin, Bella, and the furious undertaker, she sets out to prove that being a vampire needn’t be fatal but can instead be treated. Of course, three girls are never going to be listened to – they need proof – but how can they provide that when, as well as the curfew, their mothers have left town and watchmen are guarding everywhere they need to be? All three girls are determined, stubborn, and made of strong stuff, and they will absolutely do what it takes to save Varney and safely rid the town of vampires. That is, of course, if they can slip past the guards, find Varney, and source enough garlic to prove they’re telling the truth! Add to this the necessity to do all this by the next new moon – but that’s a whole three days away. Easy, right?
Our verdict:
Mina, her sister Buffy, and cousin Bella find themselves in a very difficult situation, but somehow, when they are together, they can cope with everything so much better. Mina and Buffy didn’t know they had a cousin or that their mother, Mar, had a sister, but once they find out, everything changes. The secrets they have been keeping from their daughters are huge and mean the no-longer estranged mothers must leave their homes and their daughters behind and disappear. Meanwhile, the knowledge the three girls find in a small book sets them on a journey to save their friend, the town, and discover who was responsible for what happened to Elsie Irving in the first place.
The camaraderie, gradually earned trust, and need for each other are well explained, and as the book is seen through Mina’s eyes, everything she experiences is described as it happens, meaning the completely different environments step off the page and draw the reader in.
Teaching points and book club discussion ideas:
- Mina’s dream to be a doctor seems unattainable. As plans go, how would you rank stealing a body from a graveyard surrounded by water? What else could she have tried to get into the lecture hall?
- Did you guess there would be more to the little book Mina found than just a paragraph of text? If so, how did you think it would reveal itself?
- Finding you have family you knew nothing about must be a big surprise. How would you describe yourself to a new family member? What do you think are the most important things to mention?
- Mina, Buffy, and Bella all have a type of superpower which is enhanced when they are together. Which one would you choose if you had the chance?
Many thanks to Faber for the review copy.
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