Vampire Academy #1
Published: 2007
Pages: 332
Pages: 332
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir is a Moroi princess, a member of the vampire royalty and her best friend Rose is Dhampir, Lissa's guardian and narrator of this story. Rose is fiesty, fiercely loyal, a bit of a flirt & 'shadow kissed.' This proves to be an interesting narrative tool, the rare gift allows Rose to experience Lissa's emotions and also allows the reader to follow Lissa's story.
Richelle Mead likes to write about things based in folklore & Moroi and Strigoi are vampires from Romanian mythology. The vamps in Vampire Academy are of three types; Moroi, mortal, well-versed in elemental magic, Dhampirs are half human/half vampire trained to protect Moroi from Strigoi, and Strigoi are the immortal, 'evil undead'.
This novel blends paranormal fantasy with the contemporary setting of St. Vladimir’s Academy, a boarding school that teaches Moroi to develop their magic and trains Dhampirs in guardian skills. Lissa & Rose ran away from school two years ago for reasons which are revealed later in the book & upon capture by school guardians the two resume life at St. Vladimir's Academy. For me, learning about magic appeared to be a poor second to the trials and tribulations of teen-relevant issues; gossip, bitchy cliques, rumours, parties, drinking and teenage angst. Having teenagers myself, it seemed an accurate portrayal of many older teenagers. There are references to sex (non explicit) underage drinking, cutting, drugs and the bad language seems fairly typical.
Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir is a Moroi princess, a member of the vampire royalty and her best friend Rose is Dhampir, Lissa's guardian and narrator of this story. Rose is fiesty, fiercely loyal, a bit of a flirt & 'shadow kissed.' This proves to be an interesting narrative tool, the rare gift allows Rose to experience Lissa's emotions and also allows the reader to follow Lissa's story.
Richelle Mead likes to write about things based in folklore & Moroi and Strigoi are vampires from Romanian mythology. The vamps in Vampire Academy are of three types; Moroi, mortal, well-versed in elemental magic, Dhampirs are half human/half vampire trained to protect Moroi from Strigoi, and Strigoi are the immortal, 'evil undead'.
This novel blends paranormal fantasy with the contemporary setting of St. Vladimir’s Academy, a boarding school that teaches Moroi to develop their magic and trains Dhampirs in guardian skills. Lissa & Rose ran away from school two years ago for reasons which are revealed later in the book & upon capture by school guardians the two resume life at St. Vladimir's Academy. For me, learning about magic appeared to be a poor second to the trials and tribulations of teen-relevant issues; gossip, bitchy cliques, rumours, parties, drinking and teenage angst. Having teenagers myself, it seemed an accurate portrayal of many older teenagers. There are references to sex (non explicit) underage drinking, cutting, drugs and the bad language seems fairly typical.
This is a YA novel & I can see why many would enjoy the edgy elements to this story but I guess I was hoping for more. I enjoyed Mead's take on vampire society and there was certainly enough action to keep the pages turning but the book was riddled with spelling errors which I found irritating. I really wanted to love this one but ultimately I was a little disappointed. With room for improvement I'm hopeful that Frostbite will sway me to the dark side & continuing on with this series.
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