Annotation: Rose is training at St. Vladimir's Academy to protect the Moroi, the living vampires from the threat of the evil Strigoi, the immortal ones. Dmitri is tall, handsome and mysterious - and also her instructor. For so many reasons, Rose must resist the fire igniting between them... but danger looms everywhere and keeps drawing him near. Can Rose protect those she loves... or will she get burned?
Justification for Rejection: My daughter recommended this book to me, the first in an extremely popular series. Of course, popular doesn't necessarily mean good: I read all the Twilight books even though I hated them, so I wasn't particularly excited about delving into another vampire series. And I knew it would be the series - once I get going, I don't stop until it's over.
But surprise, surprise: I enjoyed this book. In fact, I enjoyed all 6 books, even though I started to get a little tired of the characters by the end. But then, I don't think the author expected her readers to plow through what amounted to around 2500 pages in a matter of days. Perhaps if I'd been forced to anticipate each new release, as I had for the Harry Potter series, I wouldn't have experienced the character fatigue that I did.
Vampire Academy is almost a checklist for YA literature. Rose, the protagonist of the series, and her best friend Lissa are on a quest to discover not just who is behind all the evil-doings in their world, but what their own responsibilities and ethical identities are. Absent adults? But of course. The teens are at boarding school, and the adults are either clueless or dismissive, which necessitates matters being taken into their own hands. Emotional turbulence abounds, which mirrors the hormonal changes that teens can relate to. And the romance - slightly scandalous, fraught with complications, but always off the charts titillating yet never even remotely crossing over into the pornographic.
There are hundreds of books out there that follow these themes. What makes Vampire Academy special is the quality of the writing, and the creativity of the author in building and describing its alternate world. The dialogue is witty, the action is exciting and fast paced, the characters flawed but likable, and the romance smoldering. It's underlying messages about race and class are not preachy yet get the points across.
Some entertainment is meant to be just that - entertainment. No one expects Iron Man 3 to win Best Picture at the Oscars (do they?), but billions of dollars in revenue is a pretty strong indication that the movie did something right. The same can be said for Vampire Academy - it's not going to win any prestigious awards, but for what it is, it is pretty terrific. I'm rejecting this book for nomination, but that doesn't mean it wasn't enjoyable.
Genre Category: Supernatural, Horror, or Vampire; Romance
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