The Shadow Theives by Anne Ursa;Cronus Chronicles

The Shadow Theives by Anne Ursa;Cronus Chronicles is about Greek gods once gainwith a modern twist. The heros are Charlotte Mielswetski, a fierce red haired eighth grade girl with anger problems; Charlotte's cousin Zachary(Zee) Miller who moves in with the Mielswetskis after shadow were being stolen from children around him in England; and Bartholomew, Charlotte's adopted cat who is revealed to be Zee's deceased grandmother revived and in a different form. Charlotte, Zee, and Bartholomew must descend down into the Underworld ruled by Hades, battle Philonecron(a descendant of Hades), and rescue the shadows of the kids. A good read for any age.

The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith

I've read up to The Fury in this series. The main character, Elena Gilbert dies and becomes a vampire, then truly dies. Her close friends; Matt Honeycutt, Meredith Sules, Bonnie McCullough, Stefan Salvatore, Damon Salvatore, and Alaric Saltzman help her hide her being a vampire. Old friends become enemies, forcing Elena to react quickly. Vampires do die in the sunlight. Brothers,Stefan and Damon Salvatore are both vampires transformed by thought to be dead vampire named Kathrine, who is reveled as the enemy. Twilight is more original in some ways. Contains kissing.