Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe by Ashleigh Barton

Title: Solomon Macaroni and the Cousin Catastrophe

Author: Ashleigh Barton

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: University of Queensland Press

Published: 5^th July 2022

Format: Paperback

Pages: 288

Price: $16.99

Synopsis: Solomon Macaroni is the sweetest vampire you’ve ever met. Can he survive one hundred years staying with his naughty prankster cousins?

You’ve never met a vampire like Solomon Macaroni before – he’s friendly, polite and makes a mean tofu bolognese. Understandably, when his parents go on a one-hundred-year cruise without him, Solomon is not impressed. Especially because it means having to stay in creepy Transylvania with his six cousins, who are the rudest and naughtiest vampires in existence. (Well, apart from Lucy. He likes her.) Not even his uncle, Count Dracula, the oldest vampire in the world, can stop their pranks.

But when his cousins venture into the spooky Wildwood on a dangerous mission, Solomon reluctantly agrees to help Lucy rescue them. In the forest, Solomon must draw on all he knows – about old magic, wet wipes and the importance of a well-timed entrance – to save his catastrophic cousins and possibly the world.

A fang-tastic tale about loving your family, even when they drive you batty.

~*~

Solomon Macaroni lives in Italy with Mamma and Pappa Macaroni, and these days, vampires don’t have to hide, don’t have super vampire powers, and don’t have to drink blood to survive. They’ve integrated into society because the magic that made them scary has disappeared, and Solomon is pleased. He’s a vegetarian vampire, with a fondness for tofu Bolognese. But he’s not going to be able to eat that for over 3, 665 days – because his parents are going on a cruise that lasts 100 years. And Solomon is being packed off to his cousins and Uncle Dracula in Transylvania – which he’s not looking forward to. Five of his cousins are constantly playing pranks on him, and Solomon only likes Lucy, who is the same age as him. Poor Solomon  – he wants to go home, and knows he has to be good for Uncle Dracula, who loves to invent things and write (a couple of clever nods to well-known novels in this one) and loves to show off all his fabulous rooms to everyone. After all, if a vampire doesn’t have to suck blood to survive, they have to find something to occupy themselves. Yet lurking in the shadows is a dastardly enemy, and Solomon’s cousins decide to venture into the Wildwood – and Solomon, along with his wet wipes, what he knows about old magic, and how to make an entrance – must do all he can to help his cousins and save them from catastrophe and save the world from a dark enemy of his uncle’s.

For a few years now, I haven’t really read vampire novels – they all felt a bit the same to me when I read the premise, or the plot itself wasn’t appealing, or I wasn’t interested in reading something just because it was The Thing to Read that everyone was reading – hyped books for me have often fallen short of my expectations, so I prefer to read books that aren’t hyped – like this one. Of course, it has been talked about in the relevant circles of the CBCA and in kid lit book podcasts, and I think that is what attracted me to it – that it wasn’t everywhere, and it was one of those quirkier, and quieter middle grade books that I think are often some of the best ones. I often hear a lot about these books because of the people I follow, and I admit it did take me a little time to decide to read this one – partly because I had lots to get through. Once I picked it up and started it, I found it really enjoyable.

I think what made it stand out for me was the modern take on vampires – and I like a good retelling or reimagining of things, because sometimes the traditional aspects are overdone. Vegetarian vampires who are friendly, are immortal but can still die in very human ways? It sounds like it might not work, but I think it does. It turns everything we know about vampires and Dracula on its head, and we get to see a different story for these creatures that are typically featured in horror stories. I loved the light-heartedness coupled with the slightly scarier aspects in the latter half but loved the way Ashleigh dealt with magic – and the way one spell could override another and how. Each character was their own entity, and brought to life exquisitely, with great humour and heart – and of course, as one might expect with vampires, a little bit of a scary feeling but not as terrifying as some things in the usual horror genre.

I got the feeling that this is the start of a series because it ended with a bit of a cliff-hanger, but also, a resolution that showed Solomon finding his feet. It had themes of family, sacrifice, and how far one would go to protect their family, even if they cause many catastrophes that look like they are going to end badly. Overall, I think this is a great novel for middle grade readers, and I think will satisfy a thirst for something quirky, with key male and female characters, and an array of personality types and interests represented in this book in a way that many readers will find they connect with. I’m looking forward to the next book!