What Would Buffy Do?

What Would Buffy Do?: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide is a 2004 book by Jana Riess which examines the themes of spirituality and morality in the fictional Buffyverse, as established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

The book was reviewed by Publishers Weekly, Kristine Huntley in Booklist, and Christian Graham in Library Journal.

Book description
Jana Riess argues that despite the show being ostensibly secular in some ways, it takes on some very spiritual elements. Riess attempts to get to the heart of the show's values. She uses as a key example Buffy's gradual embrace of self-sacrifice for a greater good instead of "normal" teenage commitment to materialism. Such self-sacrifice is typical among many key religious figures.

The idea of redemption is also an important theme in the show, which is dealt with by characters such as Angel, who has to begin to make amends for his past misdeeds as a vampire; Faith, the rogue slayer driven by self-hatred and envy; and Spike, the vampire whose love for a slayer causes him to seek to regain his soul.

The book also includes an interview with Eliza Dushku.

Contents
The book contains three main sections. The first deals with issues of "Personal Spirituality" (Chapters 1–5). The second section, "Companions on the Journey", expands to look at relationships with families, friends, and mentors (Chapters 6–8). The final section, "Saving the World", looks at socially engaged spirituality (Chapters 9–11).

Reviews

 * ChristianityToday.com
 * NimbleSpirit.com
 * Religion-Online.org
 * DarkWorlds.com
 * Phil-books.com - Review of this book

Articles

 * BBC.co.uk
 * "Scholars plan to espouse merits of Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (Tennessean.com).