Reality Bypass

Book Review: Vampire Academy – Richelle Mead September 9, 2009

I don’t have any excuses for the amount of time we’ve spent away from the blog.  However, the time has been well spent in reading a LOT of stuff.  I love the library, though my ‘to buy’ list for the next time I’m at the bookstore is getting hefty.

I picked up Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead on a whim.  I wasn’t sure I’d like it.  Vampires in school can go so many different ways, but I’m happy to say this one worked for me.  The pages flew by and while there were a few moments when I was rolling my eyes for the most part I enjoyed every minute.  I think the eye rolling was mostly a matter of teenagers being teenagers.  If I think about it I’m pretty sure the teenagers I know would do the same petty things.  The games of popularity and trying to figure out who you are and how you fit in really represent that time in life.  It doesn’t actually get easier when you’re an adult, but teenagers are more honest about it.

I have to give Ms. Mead props for the relationships she builds between the characters, particularly between Rose and Lissa.  It’s a hard balance to strike to get the friendship and devotion without the two characters melding into a muddy sameness.  I believed in the friendships and the attractions and the rivalries and the twist as to who was behind many of the problems worked for me.  I only figured it out about a page before it was revealed, so I’m impressed.  The plot was very consistent with the world Ms. Mead presented and it’s a world I’m looking forward to visiting again.

I’ll go jogging with Dimitri any day.  Vavavoom.

Jana

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Age:  15+

Content: violence, animal deaths, blood feeding, minor sexuality and smooching

Overall:  Buy