Review: Vampire Academy #1 - Vampire Academy

-

Crossposted from Feminist Quill, written on July 21, 2015.
Book Title: Vampire Academy
Author: Richelle Mead
Year of Publication: 2007
Series: Vampire Academy
#: 1
Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.15
Goodreads Rating (Mine): 5
Mead's world-building is excellent. Instead of going for either the monster vampire, or the sexy version, she created a world where versions of both co-exist.
Vampire Academy #1 - Vampire Academy
Vampire Academy #1 - Vampire Academy
Vampires are all the rage. Wait, that's still true, right? I mean, I know the Twilight frenzy has pretty much died down. (I'd say thank goodness, but it's been supplanted by Fifty Shades, which makes me want to go crawling back and beg Bella Swan's forgiveness). But the loyal fanbase that vampires acquired almost a decade ago is still going strong. The Vampire Diaries is one of the most-watched shows on CW, after all.

Okay, I might be a little biased about TVD. And really, my obsession with vampires far predates the Twilight phase. I mean, I was captivated by Bram Stoker's Dracula. It made me think all sorts of dirty thoughts.

On the rare occasions that I dare mention VA, I get the inevitable smirk of condescension that is Twilight's legacy to the literate world. But VA, is one of the best examples of YA fiction one could offer to young, developing minds.

The book centres around protagonists and best friends Rose and Lissa. They have run away from their school and are attempting to blend in as regular humans.

The story depicts them as somewhat-out-there-yet-typical high school teenagers. But their friendship is something you don't usually find in high school. Maybe not even in college. They're devoted to each other. Rose's devotion is especially endearing. Even at seventeen, she knows with absolute certainty that she'll take a bullet for her best friend. Returning to St. Vlad's tests their friendship somewhat. The girls are seen frequently bickering with each other. But through it all, Rose's belief in their friendship never wavers. Nor does it ever occur to her to care about Lissa less, even when the latter is subtly ostracising her from their social circles.

Rose and Lissa are a great example of friendships built on strong foundations of trust.

The second central plot driving force in the story is Rose's relationship with her mentor, the dhampir guardian Dimitri. It's a hella problematic relationship, considering Rose is a minor. Unlike Ezra Fitz in Pretty Little Liars, Dimitri is somewhat disturbed by his increasing fondness for Rose. But that doesn't really excuse anything.

A major theme of this series is teenage and young female sexuality. Rose isn't someone who holds herself back from random make outs. Cute guys are a major weakness for her, and yet she never truly lets her guard down at any time - as befits a good guardian.

Despite her extreme hotheadedness and almost insane willingness to get into random fights, Rose comes across as wiser and more mature than her peers. Including the calm, sweet, pacifist Lissa.

Mental health is another very important theme that Mead takes up in her series. In the course of this series and its sequel, users of a magic called "Spirit" suffer severe mental health problems. Depression (Lissa), bipolar disorder (Adrian), and anxiety and paranoia (Sonya) are all portrayed. After Lissa starts self-harming, she is put on anti-depressants. These cut off her access to Spirit and thus the depression.

Mental health isn't an issue usually tackled by YA, and especially not the YA Fantasy genre. It takes a great deal of research to get the details right (or personal experience, which I hope is not the case, because I wouldn't wish that on anyone). One reason why I love this series so much is its unflinching engagement with this subject. Oh, and the tactful, sensitive, yet realistic portrayal that has been achieved.

Literary Analysis

Mead's world-building is excellent. Instead of going for either the monster vampire, or the sexy version, she created a world where versions of both co-exist. The notion of dhampirs - hybrids born of interbreeding between the vampire and human races is one that I haven't come across anywhere else. I don't particularly recall vampires being presented as a natural race either - they're always humans who were turned by another vampire, who in turn was turned by another... well, you get the picture.

The narrative style is from the first-person perspective - that of Rose Hathaway. The spirit bond she shares with Lissa allows for Lissa's POV without taking away from the fact that the entire story is narrated by Rose, and Rose alone.

All things considered, Vampire Academy delivers an interesting plotline. It deals with black and white and the shades of grey that growing up introduces into your life. An undercurrent of feminist principles run through it all, without once shoving said ideology in your face.

It's a definite must-read, it's hard to keep yourself from picking up the sequel once you're done.

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave an opinion!

Popular posts from this blog

Throwback: Waltzing to the Tune of Rhetoric

-
Written September 7, 2010 A dark series of squiggles make their way down and across the page, in that order. Cheap poetry and lame jokes are the order of the day. For once the silence has retreated and is content to watch from the top row of the bleachers. For once there's no raining on the court while the ball's in play. There's a rose that lies at the back of my locker, wilted and fading away. It's a rose I don't expect to see in bloom again. It's a rose I've put aside, but one I cannot bear to throw away. Perhaps I should consign it to the bonfire I've made in my backyard, out of all the relics from the past. Perhaps keeping it in my locker is dangerous, for it might bloom again. Roses such as this one have been known to bloom more beautiful than before, long long after they withered away into nothing more than thin brown sticks and faded and detached petals. And in my excitement, I might just reach out and grab it again, forgetting th
Read more

Sweet Summer Child: A Love Letter

-
Image
Photo by  Petr Ovralov  on  Unsplash Written December 9, 2016 I am not a gifting person. Years ago, someone suggested I write them something about love as a gift instead. I made many starts, completed nothing. Perhaps happiness doesn't inspire me the way sorrow does. Then last year came the first and only love letter I've ever written. Does it mean more if you write letters? May I? Dearest. When I met you, the only taste I remembered any more was the taste of ashes in my mouth. When I met you, the sun had cracked open, and loss was everywhere.  When I met you, you were a shadow, hidden among shadows, a nervous joke whispered on the winds of my thoughts.  When I met you, I was looking for a friend.  Then I met you, and the sun rose again, whole and healthier than before.  I met you, and the joke turned to undying laughter on my lips.  I met you, and I knew longing again, my soul unable to bear its weight.  I did not know you existed, and in the wee hours o
Read more

Review: Vampire Academy #2 - Frostbite

-
Image
Crossposting from Feminist Quill, written July 22, 2015 Book Title:  Frostbite Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2008 Series:  Vampire Academy #:  2 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.31 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  5 Plot Description:  The sequel to  Vampire Academy  picks up a few months after the first, showing a new stage in Rose's guardian training. Running away from the school for two years had meant that she spent the first book trying to catch up with her classmates, and  Frostbite  opens with her Qualifier exam - one which requires an external guardian to evaluate her progress. As her mentor, it seems Dimitri was able to get her an interview with one of the most legendary guardians around, and as a bonus, this means Rose gets to roadtrip alone with her crush. Her cute triumph at having scored ten hours of being alone with him soon dovetails neatly with tragedy - a Strigoi attack at their destination. And with that, Mead begins to unravel the clean cut rul
Read more