Night Road by A.M. Jenkins

Main Character: Cole, a hemevore
Location: The Midwest, and New York City
Time period: Contemporary
Genre: YA Fiction, Supernatural, Vampires

Cole is a heme, a hemevore, a blood-drinker--just don't call him a vampire. The V-word calls up images from misguided myths and over-the-top movies and bears no relation to the reality of their lives. Cole belongs to a colony which lives in a private house in New York City, but he prefers life on the road, moving from place to place and never really settling down.

But now Johnny, the leader of the colony, has called Cole back for a special task. Another heme, Sandor, has accidentally turned a teenaged boy and he is having trouble adjusting. Johnny wants Cole to take Sandor and Gordon out on a road trip and teach the kid the facts of his new life.

This is a vampire story for people who like vampire stories but are getting a bit tired of vampire romances. These vampires are not interested in romantic entanglements or gothic trappings. Gordon does have a longing to see his girlfriend (from before he was turned) again, but Cole has a good reason to know that that's not a good idea. This is more like a buddy movie, a chance to really examine the life of the vampire and the challenges of immortality.

I would rank this up with Scott Westerfeld's Peeps as an original take on a venerable genre.