Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Release Date: August 16, 2007
Page Count: 332
Genre: Paranormal
Target Audience: Young Adult
Series: Vampire Academy #1
Source and Format: Bought; Nook eBook
Summary (From Goodreads)
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger...
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.
Two things had me really skeptical to read this book - the fact that it's about vampires, and that I just didn't like the cover. For this review I used the movie tie-in cover because anything looks better than the original. It's BAD. If it weren't for the bloggers who have constantly pushed this series, I never would have picked it up due to the covers alone.
Also like I mentioned, I wasn't excited about reading another vampire book. I'm not a huge paranormal fan. I have certainly read and enjoyed books that might be classified as paranormal (i.e. The Infernal Devices), but the vampirism isn't what I specifically enjoyed about them. Going into this book I really didn't want to find myself in the middle of another Twilight. Thankfully, Vampire Academy pleasantly surprised me on this!
In the world of Vampire Academy, there is no such thing as a glittering "vegetarian" vampire. All the vampires have to feed on human blood to survive, but the difference between the good guys (known as Moroi) and the bad guys (Strigoi) is whether or not you kill for blood. Our MC, Rose, is neither a Moroi or a Strigoi. She's what's known as a Dhampir, a half-human half-vampire with super strength, training to be a guardian for her best friend, Lissa, who is not only a Moroi, but a Moroi princess. Oh yes. There's ROYALTY.
So at St. Vladmir's Academy you have Moroi teens learning not just about normal high school stuff, but also about their history as vampires and how to perform magic. You also have Dhampir teens like Rose training to become guardians that will one day protect the Moroi out in the real world against evil Strigoi. At the beginning of the book, we find out Rose and Lissa have been on the run for a couple years and have just been brought back to the academy. With Rose being behind on her training, she needs extra lessons to catch up. Enter Dimitri, an older Dhampir and her personal mentor. I bet you can guess where this is going.
Before I just ramble on and on about the plot, let me talk about the things I really liked about this book. First, the main character, Rose. While she does have flaws (like being a little full of herself sometimes), Rose is just a really fun MC. She's witty, independent, and can throw a really mean punch (sometimes before she thinks about it first). She's beautiful, but knows how to hold her own against her fellow male classmates, most of the time in a really hilarious way. She also makes some stupid decisions, but you're going to find that with any teenage girl. I also loved the focus on her relationship with her best friend, Lissa. Even though we've got Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome over here (aka Dimitri) to distract her, the bond of female friendship is really at the heart of this book. And that is so refreshing to me in a YA novel!
I know Vampire Academy won't be for everyone, as it contains some more mature content than your typical YA novel, and it definitely did not make it to OMG AMAZING!!! territory for me. Really, while it's an addicting book, it's more on the mindless entertainment side than anything else. If you know that going in, I think you'll be setup to enjoy it a lot more.
Chief Complaint
It's honestly hard for me to remember my main complaints about this book since I read it so long ago. I bought the ebook for this one, and I don't know if it was just that particular format, but the grammar was absolutely horrible. There were so many mistakes! I understand there might be some things lost in translation when you're converting a book into electronic format, but good grief! I didn't pay eight dollars for that. On top of that, I didn't think the writing was really all that great overall. It was almost on a middle grade reading level, so that's why this book is perfect for when you need something a little more fun and mindless.
Overall Diagnosis
"If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you."
Get A Second Opinion
- Jen at Makeshift Bookmark - "I have ZEAL in telling you that if you haven't read this series (so basically, what, five people?) you are sorely missing out, my friend."
- Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner - "Despite the shaky start, it become a really addictive read. Even when I was unsure about this one, there was this draw (besides all of the praise) that made me stick with it."
I picked up Book One yesterday when Kindle had them all on sale! (I did not pick up the whole series for fear of hating it). I'm terrified to start this because it does not look like my thing AT ALL. Like you, I'm afraid of another Twilight. So many people have me curious about them though. I'll be trying it out soon.
ReplyDeleteI love this series! I read it recently and, like you, was worried about the vampire aspect...but I ended up really liking it :) You're right, it is kind of mindless entertainment, but it's GOOD mindless entertainment. And I feel like it steps it up a little bit in that department as the series continues. There are some themes developed that I found interesting to think about, in a way that made these more than just fluff for me.
ReplyDeleteI think you've totally nailed it in your review. I really enjoyed reading these, but they were books I picked up and tore through at the pool one summer. It was just great mindless, addicting entertainment. There were things about them that I didn't love (as you noted - this is more mature YA), but I also had fun reading the series as a whole. I'll be curious about your thoughts if you continue. I didn't love the first one - I actually wasn't planning on reading the rest of the series until I saw the second at the library months later and figured why not? So, I do remember them getting better as I went along.
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