Vampire AcademyBy Richelle Mead
2007
332 Pages – paperback
1st in Vampire Academy Series
Summary: Rose’s one job in life is to protect her best friend Lissa, a vampire princess, from any danger, including Strigoi, evil vampires that never die. That’s what she thought she was doing when she took Lissa and ran away. However, things didn’t turn out as planned and both Lissa and Rose find themselves once again at boarding school. Once they are back, it’s not just rumours and cliques they have to face, but truths about who they are and why mysterious things have started to happen since they returned. Not everything is what it seems at the Academy and that includes Lissa.
Review: Vampire Academy is captivating from the first page. Mead does an excellent job at world building, creating a complex hierarchy of vampires that differs slightly from previous vampire legends. The novel is also well paced with a lot of action and suspense moving it forward. Even scenes that might seem to be slower provide the reader with a sense of movement and anticipation. One of the highlights is Mead’s ability at creating absorbing characters. Rose and Lissa are captivating and relatable. Even though a paranormal novel, Mead is able to normalize her characters with issues such as bullying, peer pressure and cutting. Rose has an authentic voice and this novel easily sets the stage for the rest of the series. There is also some romance for those interested. In the end it exceeded all my expectations.
Other books in the series: Frostbite (2008), Shadow Kiss (2008), Blood Promise (2009), Spirit Bound (2010) and Last Sacrifice (Dec 2010)
If you liked Vampire Academy you might also enjoy: The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong, Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Evernight by Claudia Gray and Blue Bloods by Melissa De la Cruz
Additional Info: There is a graphic novel version and the movie rights have been sold, so expect to see Rose and Lissa on the silver screen sometime in the future.
Author website: http://www.richellemead.com/index.htm
Rating: W4/4 C4/4 P4/4 O4/4 PP3.5/4 CR1.5/4
Grade Level Interest: high J or S
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5 comments:
"Exceeded Expectations" is pretty much the feeling I had. People kept telling me to read these books that they really were great, but I just kept holding off. When I finally did, I was actually a little blown away by how good they really were. Something about the name and premise was a turn off for me. I thought they were going to be awful, but they're some of the best paranormal/fantasy books out there.
Great review! Megan @ Read It, See It
I keep putting this off because I'm so bloody sick of vampires, but I hear the most amazing things about this series. Perhaps I should try the series after all? Brilliant review :)
Thanks for the review- this is one of my fave series.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Melissa, you should read it. It's really good. Ignore the tacky cover's, the book is way better than the covers suggest!!!
I read some of the series for our site, and I have to say, these books are addicting. Most teens would love these books - very action-packed and enthralling!
Awesome review!
-Shannon
http://www.storysnoops.com
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