Sunday, November 27, 2011

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead





Goodreads Summary:
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.
My Review:

Vampire Academy is a book about 2 girls, Rose and Lissa. Lissa is a living vampire and Rose's is half human and half vampire. 2 years before the start of the book they had run away from their private boarding school. At the beginning of Vampire Academy, they are caught by the school guardians and brought back.

I really like this book. Rose is a typical know it all teenager who during the course of the book discovers that she doesn't know everything. She is sullen, has a big chip on her shoulder and doesn't mind getting in trouble. However Rose does learn from her mistakes. She has a psychic bond with her best friend Lissa and an overwhelming desire to protect her. I like Rose and it's fun to see her grow. She still has a lot of growing to do but she made progress in this book.

Lissa is another one of my favorite characters. She is Rose's best friend. Rose can read her thoughts and feelings but she can't read Rose's. She's fragile but not broken.

I also really like Dimitri. He's tall, good-looking, and a total bad ass. He believes in Rose and goes to bat for her. He works with her to get her caught up on her training.

Naturally, since this is a book about teenagers, there are situations where they really should go to an adult but of course try to handle it on their own. As a parent it makes me cringe but we wouldn't have a book if they didn't try to handle it.

I've read this book 3 times and I highly recommend it. Richelle Mead has created a world with a very different take on vampires. It's different from the other vampire novels that I've read.


2 comments:

  1. Awesome review! I remember way back when you first recommended I read it and I wasn't that interested. Well, I'm glad I did because this is one of my favorite series now.

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  2. *happy sigh* your blog banner has me daydreaming and drooling. We're pushing 30 degree days in Sydney (AU) at the moment, and it's still only Spring. Would SO rather be skiing!

    I read VA for the first time this year and was seriously surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I bought Frost Bite yesterday.

    I SO agree with you about some of the situations they get themselves into (though I'm not a Mum). Having said that, I liked the way Meade handled some of the issues, ESPECIALLY Lissa's depression and self-harm. It's such a delicate situation, but Rose did the right thing. She kept an eye on her and got help. She spoke to the people she needed to, which must have been hard and felt like a betrayal. It was this inparticular that made the books shine for me :)

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