" The parasite makes sure that I'm like the always-hungry snail, except hungry for sex. I'm constantly aroused, aware of every female in the room, every cell screaming for me to go out and shag someone!
None of which makes me wildly different from most other nineteen-year- old guys, I suppose. Except for one small fact: If I act on my urges, my unlucky lovers become monsters, like Sarah did. And this is not much fun to watch."

Cal hasn't been real lucky in love. Arriving in New York as a freshman in college, he meets Morgan at a bar and spends the night with her. After his night with Morgan, strange things begin to happen - his senses are sharpened, he's super-strong, and he craves meat. Rare meat. All the time.
Cal's night with Morgan has infected him with a parasite that changes most people into vampires - parasite positives, or peeps. The good news is that Cal is a carrier. He carries the parasite, but he doesn't have all the nasty symptoms of being a peep - craving blood, bonding with rats, hating sunlight. He just has the superhuman strength and the supersensitive hearing. The bad news? Any exchange of bodily fluids will pass the disease on to his partner. No sex. No kissing. Ever. His girlfriend, two other girls he dated a few times, and the girl he kissed on New Year's Eve have all gone crazy. They're all peeps. And it's all Cal's fault.
Working for an underground organization that tracks peeps, Cal must begin to search for Morgan, his progenitor. His memories of the night are murky, and his attempts to locate her aren't successful until he meets Lace, a journalism student who lives in Morgan's building. Cal's incredibly attracted to her, so letting her hang around doesn't seem too smart - until he begins to uncover some facts about Morgan that make Lace the only person he can trust.
Peeps is nothing like any vampire book you've ever read. It's creepy, yes. And there's biting. And blood. And even garlic. But the resemblance stops there. It's funny. And dramatic. And you'll know more about parasites than you ever wanted to know by the time you're done.

For another librarian's summary of Peeps, see Dewey's summary in Unshelved.

Westerfeld, Scott. Peeps. Razorbill: New York, 2005. ISBN 159514031x; $16.99.

What I'm reading: Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci (supplanted Meg because I was forced to start reading it while I was waiting for my husband in the bookstore)
On my bookshelf: Avalon High & Ready or Not (Really. I promise.); Thou Shalt Not Dump the Skater Dude and Other Commandments I Have Broken by Rosemary Graham; some graphic novels & comics