How I Survived My Summer Vacation (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vol. 1)

I made of point of finally reading "How I Survived My Summer Vacation, Volume 1" after watching the first season from of "Buffy the Vampire Season" in chronological order, so I could appreciate the attempt of this collection of short stories to answer the question "What REALLY happened that summer after sophomore year?" But it soon became clear that what is involved her is less filling in the gap and more foreshadowing what is to come. It is impossible to read about Giles and Jenny without thinking she is half a year way from having her neck broken by Angelus. The six stories here begin with some notion of continuity, as a demon mage named Absalom has shown up to help the Anointed One after the death of the Master. But that only holds up for half the book. The first story, "Dust" by Michelle West, is the best of the bunch, focusing on Buffy, who is suddenly having visions of the death of everybody she touches, which makes going to live with her father for the summer more difficult than she expected. Nancy Holder's "Absalom Rising" tells of how the Master's minions and Giles, Angel and the Scoobys fought over the Master's bones. Cameron Dokey gets two bites of the apple: "Looks Can Kill" is the second best story in the bunch, focusing on Giles and Angel trying to get along with each other without Buffy to mediate. "No Place Like..." takes us back to Buffy in L.A., where she becomes involved in a nice little ghost story. The last pair of stories try to go for the comedy a bit too much and are hardly worth the effort. "Uncle Dead and the Fourth of July" by Yvonne Navarro finds Jenny dragging Giles to the 4th of July picnic where a group of zombie soldiers show up to have some fun. Then in "The Show Must Go One" by Paul Ruditis has Giles and Jenny going to see a production of "MacBeth" because five of the stage crew are vampires and the other two are Willow and Xander. At the end of this there is but one burning question: Where's Cordelia? Time always stands still between seasons on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," so I am sure we can look forward to future collections of short stories detailing what happened each summer, from the summer Buffy ran away to L.A. to the one she spent in her grave. I am also sure we can look forward to equally mixed bags of good and not so good short stories.

It's a Buffy book, without so much Buffy in it! Finally a book that expands on the Rupert Giles and Jenny Calender characters. This book, with it's six interlocking short stories, shares some insight into the "other" characters in the Buffy universe. Buffy fans need not be disappointed as that Buffy has a few short stories to herself. However, it's nice to see the characters, such as Giles and Jenny, independantly and have their own adventures sans Buffy. A must have book for the Giles fans out there.

Great book with a little bit of everything good that exist in this great show. There is funny parts, horror, romance and my personal favorite Buffy & Angel angst. I loved the hints for season two. Check out Angel wanting to spend time with Xander (not really, but you just have to read the book). I recomend this book.

This book is a collection of 6 short stories set during the summer following Buffy's sophmore year.Buffy has just killed the master and gone to LA to stay with her father. 'Dust' by Michelle West follows Buffy to LA where she has to battle internal visions and demons. As she gets up close and personal with the future deaths of her friends and relatives her death at the master's hands becomes more real. This is the darkest and most distrubing story. In 'Absalom Rising' by Nancy Holder Vampires steal the master's bones from Giles. Jenny, Xander and Willow come to his assistance. Angel offers his help but Giles has trouble trusting a vampire. 'Looks Can Kill' by Cameron Dokey is my favorite story. A shapshifter bent on the slayer's destruction targets her friends in her absence. Angel, Giles and Jenny track the beast but who do you kill when the beast can look like anyone. "No Place Like..." By Cameron Dokey is a sweet story of redemption and love. Buffy sets out to kill a witch and ends up righting an old wrong. 'Uncle Dead and the Fourth of July' by Yvonne Navarro is a silly adventure for Jenny,Giles and Angel once again. Giles attempt at American history are amusing. The last story 'The Show Must Go On'by Paul Ruditis is a hoot if a bit bloody. Theatre buffs will particularly love it. All in all a good collection that is true to the mood at the end of the first season and the beginning of the second. The stories are enjoyable whether you know the history or not. But for the true fan the references are very will placed. Angel it would seem is staying close to Xander, Willow,and Giles because they represent a way to keep close to Buffy. In the last story he asks Giles to get a message to her since he hasn't heard from her all summer. Giles is trying to distance Xander and Willow from any danger. And Jenny Calender is falling in love with the stuffy watcher.I recomend you spend part of your summer vacation reading these stories and I hope since this says volume one that another collection for Buffy's junior summer will follow.

This book is a collection of short stories set between seasons one and two of Buffy. All six of the stories were excellant. In the first one, Dust by Michelle West, Buffy recieves gruesome visions of death every time she touches a person. Buffy must face her own worst fears, and confront what happened the night she died and was revived. The second story is titled Absalom Rising and is by prolific Buffy writer Nancy Holder. A sorceror named Absalom comes to Sunnydale and rallies what is left of the Master's followers. His plan: have them steal the Master's bones so that they can ressurect him. Now Giles, Jenny, Angel, Willow, and Xander must stop Absalom and his followers without the help of Buffy, who is in LA with her Dad. Next up is Looks Can Kill by Cameron Dokey. A shape-shifter who can assume the shape of any living creature attempts to defeat the Scooby Gang by the tried and true method of divide and conquer. His ultimate goal - to capture Buffy by taking on the shape of one of her friends. The fourth story, No Place Like..., is also by Cameron Dokey. It is set in LA and involves Buffy trying to free the trapped spirits of a group of children. Fifth is Uncle Dead and the Fourth of July. At a Fourth of July parade, a group of zombie soldiers try to take over the town, and Giles, Jenny, and Angel must put the zombies back to rest before midnight - or Sunnydale is doomed. The last story is The Show Must Go On by Paul Ruditis. In this story, the backstage crew (all vampires) of a travelling theater group recreate death scenes from famous plays. The gang has to stop the vamps before they kill everyone in the audience. This is a great Buffy book for you to read on your summer vacation. Which, hopefully, will be exciting, but not have any of the horrifying elements of the Scooby Gang's summer vacations.