This book explores the narratives of girlhood in contemporary YA vampire fiction, bringing into the spotlight the genre¿s radical, ambivalent, and contradictory visions of young femininity. Agnieszka Stasiewicz-Bie¿kowska considers less-explored popular vampire series for girls, particularly those by P.C. and Kristin Cast and Richelle Mead, tracing the ways in which they engage in larger cultural conversations on girlhood in the Western world. Mapping the interactions between girl and vampire corporealities, delving into the unconventional tales of vampire romance and girl sexual expressions, examining the narratives of women and violence, and venturing into the uncanny vampire classroom to unmask its critique of present-day schooling, the volume offers a new perspective on the vampire genre and an engaging insight into the complexities of growing up a girl.

Agnieszka Stasiewicz-Bie¿kowska is Researcher and Lecturer at Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland. Her academic interests comprise girlhood, YA culture, gender representations, vampire fiction, and the fantastic. Her recent publications include "Female agency and desire in the universes of Sookie Stackhouse" Continuum 33.2 (2019) and Hospitality, Rape and Consent in Vampire Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan 2017), co-edited with Stephanie Green and David Baker.

Chapter 1 Introduction: Vampire Fiction, Girls and Shame.- Chapter 2 Writing (on) Girls' Bodies: Vampires and Embodied Girlhood.- Chapter 3 A Love So Strong That It Aches: (Re-)Writing Vampire Romance.- Chapter 4 Pangs of Pleasure, Pangs of Guilt: Girls, Sexuality and Desire.- Chapter 5 Save Your Butt from Getting Raped: Girls, Vampires, Violence.- Chapter 6 Biting into Books: Supernatural Schoolgirls and Academic Performance.- Chapter 7 Conclusion.