The ichor thickens along with the plot as "Vam-Wolf-Zom" middle-schooler Tom Marks at last comes face-to-face with all three of the supernatural predators who variously bit or scratched him in the opener. Amid continuing rounds of class projects gone hilariously wrong and talent-show follies at school, bemusing encounters with both a bully and an older sister who sometimes aren't so awful, and struggles to develop his shape-changing abilities, the wry narrator's brushes with the supernatural deliver broad hints of secret agendas and large-scale conflicts to be revealed down the line. Meanwhile, the casual way his parents, teachers, and peers treat him not as a fearsome monster but as a sort of minor celebrity add extra value to this series from a teaching-tolerance standpoint. Fearing supplies for each chapter several monochrome caricatures of Tom in hairy or human guise (depending on the moon), along with a diverse supporting cast rtal and otherwise.

The first year of middle school continues for Tom, the Vam-Wolf-Zom.Tom Marks has adjusted somewhat to being part vampire, part werewolf, part zombie, and all middle schooler since the first two installments of the series, Middle School Bites (2020) and Tom Bites Back (2020). He's even been studying the old book A Vampiric Education. by Eustace Tibbitt to learn new skills like turning into smoke and hypnotizing people. Still charming, his cheeky, self-aware narration carries the episodic, sometimes-plodding plot and brings a matter-of-fact attitude to the fantasy elements that really sells them. While the threat looms of his werewolf sire trying to steal the vampire guide, Tom's actually much more concerned about getting his friend Annie to talk to him again, keeping a valuable action figure out of the hands of a bully, getting his band back together, finally turning 12, and attending his first comic-book convention. Apart from a few heartwarming moments with friends and family, little is resolved, and the story ends on a cliffhanger. The narrative flirts with the darkness of Tom's condition but ultimately plays it for laughs, like when he sprints away from a bloodmobile to get himself a thirst-quenching, nonhuman-liver smoothie. Goofy grayscale spot illustrations further lighten the tone, showing Tom's scruffy hair and freckles along with his fangs. Tom reads as White; a few supporting characters have darker skin, and two are coded as Latinx.Another amusing entry. (Paranormal. 8-12)