Everyone has heard the tales of vampires– people get bitten and become bloodsucking supernatural beings who live forever.  Suffer the Children by author Craig DiLouie takes that idea and adds a twist when, in an instant, every child who has not yet hit puberty suddenly dies.

The parents are grieving their dead children, who have died from what comes to be called “Herod’s Syndrome,” when something even more unexpected happens.  Three days later, the children come back to life.  The ones that hadn’t been buried find their way home, but the adults have to help dig up the children who are still underground.

Of course, people are happy that their children are back, but there is a catch: The children need blood to survive.  As the story goes on, the reader gets to see just how far the parents will go to keep their sons and daughters alive.

Suffer the Children switches points of views at cliffhangers, which I really like.  The whole book is in third person, too, which is a refreshing change because so many books are written in first person.  Also, the author uses a very creative perspective by having the children be vampires.  I feel like vampires are something that everyone has wondered about at one time or another, but not many people would be inventive enough to consider the youths as the ones who turn.  It’s a twist that makes the whole concept even creepier.

Along with the upsides, there were some downsides to this book.  I felt like the story had almost too much detail.  It was to the point where some parts would drag on, and I would get either bored or confused.  Also, the characters’ names were not used often enough, so many times I would forget whose point of view I was reading and have to flip back to check.

Overall, I give Suffer the Children 7 out of 10 stars.  I would recommend it to anyone who likes horror, but not to anyone who gets queasy easily.  Read it and then ask yourself this question: How far would you go to keep your friends and family alive?