Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1) in Our Shared Shelf

Oct 04, 2010 Carla rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: not-own, audiobook, 2010

I must confess myself surprised by this title. I expected something like a crossing between the Twilight Saga with the series House of Night (of which I only read a chapter that didn't captivate me), but I came across something quite different and, to some extent, enjoyable.

Let me start with the positive points. I really liked the vampire world the author presents, with Dhampirs and two types of vampires: the Moroi, good vampires and living beings, and the Strigoi, the bad vampires and undead. W ...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Alana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, nook, 2010_09_september

So... I just surfaced from three days of binge-reading the five published Vampire Academy novels, the best-selling YA series by Richelle Mead featuring yet another paranormal reality that attempts to redefine classical vampire mythology and add a new twist. As a result of reading the books in rapid succession, I can't really separate them well enough in my mind to write a clear review for each one, so here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to give a quick pitch as to why you should bother readin So... I just surfaced from three days of binge-reading the five published Vampire Academy novels, the best-selling YA series by Richelle Mead featuring yet another paranormal reality that attempts to redefine classical vampire mythology and add a new twist. As a result of reading the books in rapid succession, I can't really separate them well enough in my mind to write a clear review for each one, so here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to give a quick pitch as to why you should bother reading them when you already feel like you've overdosed on the whole vamp scene and a summary of the world and basic plot; then I'm going to break out with a short glance at each. If you're reading this review on my blog, you'll see everything here, but if you're reading this on Goodreads or LibraryThing, when it comes to each individual book, you'll only see the snippet for that book -- but be warned that each successive snippet might give away something from the previous book. I'll try not to give away major plot points in my general pitch, but once I'm reviewing the whole series to date... well, I'm reviewing the whole series to date, so you'll understand if I might need to move beyond the first book's purview.

The reason you should read this series can be summarized quite neatly: the narrator, Rose Hathaway. (Well, there's that and the fact that if you're trying to figure out *why* you should read this series, then it's likely that you already want to, so just do it.) Rose Hathaway is the badass heroine you've always wanted for a YA book -- the bridge between YA and regular fiction that creates an honest and funny narrator who still gets tripped up a bit with the fact that she's only a teenager. What makes it YA is the world around her and the fact that, like young adult readers, she's still trying to come up with some answers in her life, too. Rose is not the standard YA heroine who gets blamed for things she didn't do or dithers about solving a problem -- she barrels headfirst into every situation and if she is blamed for something, she almost always did it and then some. (At one point in the series, when accused of killing someone, the best defense for her not having done it is that she insists she never would have killed the person in so obvious and stupid a fashion.) She's street-smart and rough, and her wise-ass comments and hold-nothing-back attitude will have you smirking every chapter. She is far from perfect and still a teenager with a lot to learn, but at least she's saying out loud all the things you'd normally think the heroine should be saying when she encounters obstacles, tricky situations, or hot guys... which often involves swearing. If you need another reason to read these books, then you've got to look within -- if you read YA and fantasy, then chances are the whole setting appeals to you. Paranormal activities, teenage characters taking on responsibilities, the whole boarding school dynamic, and (as always) complicated romantic relationships. The "good" vampires aren't all that sexy and dangerous (in fact, if "sexy" comes into anything, it's just the general teenage hormones talking) and the bad vampires are mostly just dangerous, so the take on vampires is a bit different... but at least they're not sparkly and they don't just hunt animals.

Here's a bit of a summary of Mead's world so you get a feel for the setting. There are two separate races of vampires, along with a race of half-vampire people, that opt to fly under the radar and live a secret existence separate from humans. The Moroi are living members of a vampire race who need both real food and blood to survive, but rely on volunteers for that blood and never kill. (Picture leggy models with impossibly thin bodies and gorgeous features.) They can endure limited exposure to the sun, grow old, and can work certain elemental magic. They have a worldwide system of government, a moderated monarchy that focuses on twelve royal families and an appointed monarch (each monarch appoints his or her successor from a family not their own). There is great wealth and power within these families (my image of the royal Moroi is rather based on Russia and the Romanovs before the revolution), though there are many other Moroi who are not royal or wealthy. Alternately, there's a darker strain of evil immortal vampires called the Strigoi, which are not born but are made out of violence -- by purposely killing someone, a Moroi can turn him/herself into a Strigoi or a Strigoi must drain an individual and then that individual must drink Strigoi blood to be forcibly turned. The Strigoi are extremely strong and fast and never sleep, but they give up any magic or sun tolerance in their transition for such traits. They also forfeit their souls and any true compassion or capability for love. The Strigoi hunt down Moroi and drain them of blood, which is particularly appetizing for them (and even more so should their victim come from one of the twelve royal Moroi families) and the Moroi are not even close to being as strong as the Strigoi when it comes to defending themselves. That's where the half-breeds come in. The Moroi rely on a race of people called dhampirs, which are half-vampire half-human hybrids, historically serving the Moroi as "guardians" to protect them. Dhampirs retain certain benefits from both sides of their genetic pool, allowing them to be excellent warriors, though they cannot perform magic. In addition, they are incapable of producing children within their population alone, requiring their reliance on the Moroi, as only a Moroi/dhampir union will result in a dhampir child (don't try to go with the 3/4 vampire argument, it evidently doesn't work that way). Even though the Moroi need the dhampirs for protection, dhampirs are unofficially treated like second class citizens. Since dhampirs require the Moroi to produce children, there tend to be a lot of Moroi men sleeping with dhampir women, but ultimately marrying to have a "real" family with Moroi women. This leads to lots of single dhampir moms and dhampir men (as Moroi women are less likely to shack up with a dhampir guy) get the short end of the stick. Guardians are overwhelmingly male, though not much biased at all when it comes to dhampir women choosing a career as a guardian. Dhampirs and Moroi are educated side-by-side in schools, though dhampirs specialize in combat training, hand-to-hand fighting and so on. When dhampirs graduate and pass the tests to become a guardian, there are assigned to a Moroi to guard, and given the depleting guardian numbers (the battle against the Strigoi is a hard one), it usually means that mostly royal Moroi get guardians and regular Moroi go without -- unless they're wealthy enough to hire vigilante guardians who don't work within the system.

Did you get all that? Good, because I haven't even really touched on the main characters. Rosemarie Hathaway is a teenage dhampir girl and Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir is a Moroi princess; they've been best friends since kindergarten and their relationship became even stronger two years prior to the opening of the first novel when a car crash claimed the lives of Lissa's family, but Rose and Lissa walked away unharmed... well... sort of. The thing is, the car crash resulted in the girls forming a bond which allows Rose to read Lissa's mind (aka slip into Lissa's mind and watch things unfold from Lissa's perspective) and enables her to always know where her friend is. If Rose didn't feel responsible for Lissa to begin with, this sealed the deal and means Rose already views herself as Lissa's guardian and the bond gives her an edge. Lissa needs particular protection as she is the last of her bloodline, the only living member of the royal Dragomir line. Rose believes that it is her duty to protect Lissa at all costs -- which somehow meant that she felt it necessary to break Lissa out of their high-security school and keep them on the run for two years before the first book opens with their recapture and return to St. Vladimir's, the titular "vampire academy" located in middle-of-nowhere Montana. The series follows these two girls (particularly Rose, the narrator) as they spend their last year at school and move into the "real world." The plotlines revolve around larger problems unique to their situation (struggling to understand their bond and magic, determining who can be trusted to know their secrets, navigating complicated Moroi politics, and battling Strigoi for survival) as well as all the usual high school stuff (bitchy social-climbing competitors, vicious gossip, difficult classes, and love lives that are complicated in ways that only high school love lives can be). Within the series, the girls mature quickly as their problems escalate... or maybe they simply figure out just how big their problems are as they learn more and more.

*
In the first novel, Vampire Academy, we get the groundwork for the world and an introduction to our two heroines, but we also have to deal with the fact that even Rose, our narrator, isn't being totally honest with us. She reveals information about themselves a little at a time as a means of prolonging suspense. Rose and Lissa are captured by school officials at the beginning of the book after having spent two years on the run. Rose broke Lissa out of school and insists she had a good reason, but we slowly have to piece together that information. To be fair, even Rose isn't entirely sure why she did it, only that Lissa felt she was being followed and was in danger, but as they learn more about themselves and their unique bond, Rose gets a better idea of the problems they're up against. The girls might be settling back into life at their school, but by no means does that mean they're safe. In this book, we meet several important secondary characters that play a role throughout the books, including a new dhampir mentor for Rose named Dimitri (towards whom she feels significantly more than what is proper between teacher and student), a young Moroi named Christian (who lives on the fringes of school society because of his parents who chose to turn Strigoi), a Moroi girl named Mia who's currently dating Lissa's ex who would like nothing better than to see both Lissa and Rose ruined in the eyes of the school, and a family friend of Lissa's named Victor Dashkov who seems a little too keen on helping the girls re-acclimate. Even if Rose can keep them safe from threats both inside and outside of school, Rose doesn't know what to do when it comes to keeping Lissa sane and secrets from their shared history might be their undoing. On the whole, Vampire Academy is a strong start to the series, though it does take advantage of its first novel status by withholding information about the characters so it's not simply a case of "what's going to happen?" but "what *already* happened?" Rose, however, immediately shines as a reckless yet well-intentioned character ready to dive into the fray and accept any future consequences when she knows she's doing the right thing. Her loyalty to Lissa is impressive and since it's their relationship is the crux of the series, it's important that Rose's character compensates for Lissa, who can be a bit too wishy-washy.
*

In all, I think it's obvious that I enjoyed the books given my rate of consumption, though this doesn't necessarily mean they're brilliant, only that I have an addictive personality and enjoyed the characters. The books have the benefit of feeling both familiar and yet original. They follow certain obvious paths, and yet Mead still makes the paths are fun and exciting. One cares about the characters and, thankfully, few of them are complete idiots, which can easily kill one's interest in a series. I would say that Mead's talent lies in the creation of the world and plotlines as opposed to her writing, though it's sufficient for the task at hand and most everything out of Rose's mouth when she's being a smart-ass is amusing. One takes particular pleasure in seeing the characters mature and come into their own within their respective spheres of society. This is particularly true for Rose, as hers feels more earned than Lissa's. The secondary characters meant to support our heroines such as Christian and Adrian (who appears in book two) are amusing for their faults and dry wit. The villains tend to be a bit transparent, so it's rare to be really surprised by anything.

I know the books are about vampires, but perhaps it's to their credit that I don't think of this as the first thing to discuss when I describe them. But of course, this means that I think of them more as YA, as they put more emphasis on the relationships and the drama as opposed to the fangs and blood. What I also appreciate is the fact that these books are pretty honest when it comes to sex and alcohol and the age of the kids involved. It's boarding school life and there isn't harsh judgment except when it comes to overindulgence. Same goes for the sex -- Rose deals with the implications in the first book of earning a reputation of being easy, but we also touch on taboos of culture, like Rose's allowing Lissa to drink her blood when they were on the run. In sexual scenarios between dhampir and Moroi, this has a tinge of the scandalous (touched upon in book five) which would give young adult readers a thrill while they still consider consequences of their actions. There's discussion of underage sex, safe sex, and what kinky things can be done without having actual sex. There's the frank admission that even a teenage girl can have a healthy sex drive, but clearly shouldn't let it make decisions for her. And there's knowledge that relationships are complicated and not just about wanting to be with a person, but working out the trust, the obligation, and all the many emotions that come into play.

So yes, here we have another vampire series to fit onto the YA shelves, but honestly? If all the vampire books were of this caliber, I'd be totally fine with the ever-expanding lists. I might prefer the main heroine to be a bit brainier, but Rose does at least promote values like loyalty, putting faith in oneself, and working hard to achieve one's goals. Her disregard for working within the system can be both refreshing and a bit frustrating... but at least she's always trying to be honest with herself so she can do the right thing. When it comes to the vampires, at least these vampires can be sexy and dangerous, but it's a shame that the "good" vampires aren't all that sexy and dangerous. Quite honestly, I sometimes wonder if there's a reason they have to be vampires at all. With their magic, they could simply be wizards, and yet the vampire aspect can sometimes yield interesting details. I hope Mead continues to explore the complicated paths without taking any easy ways out, but I have this sneaking suspicion that I might end up dissatisfied with the ultimate result. Not everyone can survive book six and choices will have to be made. Since we already know she's agreed to do another six-book series as a spin-off (and she's said that Rose will make occasional appearances), it'll be interesting to see how it all pans out in the end. Clearly Mead has me hooked and I hope she doesn't take that for granted with the last one.

Oh and PS... what's with the covers? I read these on my nook, so I didn't fully take in how ridiculous the covers to these books are until I hunted images up for my blog post. They're really quite absurd, but hey, whatever sells 'em, I suppose. ...more

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Sep 22, 2014 M rated it it was ok

I'm not sure if my problem with YA books can be entirely laid at the feet of their authors. There's something about the genre that necessitates endless expository writing, written for a lowest-common-denominator crowd (and I know when I was 13 I was not that stupid, at least in terms of reading comprehension--do we really need to keep insulting teen reading intelligence?) that gets very tiresome when you're an adult reading it. I mean, if the ultimate compliment we're going for is whether it's b ...more

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Feb 23, 2014 alana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-on-the-big-screen, young-adult, guilty-pleasures, vamps, series-in-progress

Mean girls with vampires!

Having started the Bloodlines series, I decided to go back and read the Vampire Academy books so I could better understand what was happening. As it turns out, both Sage and Rose repeatedly make dumb decisions despite being touted as fiesty heroines and skilled fighters.

This was a quick, one-day, fun book filled with high school betrayals and blood sucking. Woohoo!

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Jul 09, 2010 Danielle rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

Mead has an interesting take on vampires, developing them from a one-type-fits-all demon to a more diverse race with their own social hierarchy. Similar to Harris and, unfortunately, other well-known vampire series though, BUT, the real saving grace of this series is Rose, our prickly protagonist who despite her faults, is actually quite the entertaining lead. She's actually more like a Buffy type character than any other protagonist, definitely not a Mary Sue. I'd recommend this before Harris a ...more

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