Mead, Richelle: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1); Start Date: February 10th, 2014

[CassieV]

I'm enjoying rereading this more than I thought I would :). It's interesting to see things come together. I had forgotten how much Rose relies on her gut instinct, with good and bad results, lol.

Jennifer- you're right, it is interesting how they compare the two. In my mind it makes sense as I think you'd need some sort of incentive to get people to let you feed on their blood.

[Jen]

I'm halfway into it now. I'm not sure if I missed something or what but I don't really know what is going on with all the (view spoiler)[ animal stuff. I know that she had that power, but I don't understand where the fox and the rabbit are coming from? Do they come to her or is someone putting them there? And, if someone is putting them there, is it because they know about her power? (hide spoiler)].

[CassieV]

Jennifer wrote: "I'm halfway into it now. I'm not sure if I missed something or what but I don't really know what is going on with all the [spoilers removed]."

:D You didn't miss anything, she will explain as you go on. It is a shock when that first gets thrown in because Mead takes her time explaining what/why they were running in the first place.

[Jen]

Good to know! She is started to reveal more now.

I just finished chapter 16. Overall, I'm not really into all of the sexual comments made towards Rose. It was funny at the start but now it's a little extreme. Part of me is angry because it's not necessary. Yet I also think that it's good to see how this academy is similar to a normal high school. Same with the cutting, it's interesting to think that vampires have similar issues to human teens.

[Jen]

Okay. I just finished!
Overall, I love Rose. I wish I would have realized that the necklace was a bad omen. I mean she did say that she didn't like things with roses on them. I like to see how she is maturing over the book and I can't wait to see her change over the series. Of course, I like her love interest also. Things got a little steamy for a while and I wonder how long it will be before that happens again. I really like the dynamic of him not being able to care more for her than Lissa because of his job. Yet, I wonder if he would even pick Lissa over Rose at this point.

I'm not that into Lissa. I wish I liked her more than I do. She just seems really annoying at this point.

Christian might be my favorite so far! When I thought he was dead, I was really upset. I didn't know if I was going to read the next book. Luckily, he wasn't. So I feel so much better now. (:

Who are your favorite characters? Am I being too harsh on Lissa?

[CassieV]

Jennifer wrote: "Good to know! She is started to reveal more now.

I just finished chapter 16. Overall, I'm not really into all of the sexual comments made towards Rose. It was funny at the start but now it's a l..."

I'm not high school age (anymore ;P), but I would think this would be good in helping the YAs this is aimed at to identify. At least it does remind me a lot of the politics and other talk that went on at my high school, and I can't imagine it's changed much.


Jennifer wrote: "Okay. I just finished!
Overall, I love Rose. I wish I would have realized that the necklace was a bad omen. I mean she did say that she didn't like things with roses on them. I like to see how she..."

She does grow a lot throughout the series. I don't think I realized how much until this reread :). Lissa does grow as you move on, too. In hindsight, it think that is a strength of the author...her characters actually evolve! So many YAs I've read lately don't really have characters that show growth, and it can be irritating.

I actually like Lissa, but that's probably just that I'm more like her in real life :). I tend to be the counselor/helper type who feels for others. I'm not sure you're being too harsh on her, though, as we sympathetic types do get whiny if we're not careful ;).

I get frustrated with Rose for acting before thinking too often. She fiery and fun, yes, but there is a definite lack of forethought in her character that would drive me nuts if I knew her in real life.

Anyway, off to finish up!

[CassieV]

Whew, finished! I forgot how quickly everything came to a head. I thinking I'm sticking by my original three stars, though, as it is a fun story but not one that stands out and makes me say "wow". I try to save my four star ratings for books I feel stand out, and five stars only for the books I will buy and read over and over again (I'm very picky on those!). On to #2!

[Jen]

Yeah, I'm hoping that Lisa grows on me later. I think she just is kinda complainie. Also I kept hoping that she would notice hat something big was going on with Rose. I mean she did notice her change in which clothes she bought. Yet, I wanted to see her to press the issue to find out more of what is going on. I feel bad that Rose goes to such an effort to look after and take care of Lissa. Yet, Lissa does to do the same.

[Elena]

Hello! Finally started and 4 chapters in. Writing is a bit uneven but the story is starting to pick up and looks like this one will be a fast read. Hiding first impressions under spoiler just in case.

(view spoiler)[One thing I'm really liking about this book is that a sidekick is the main protagonist and not the one who's of royal origin and shaped like a model :) I'm finding it quite refreshing, too many special perfect girls as main characters out there. I'm looking forward to reading about Rose's training and growth, looks like she has a long way to go.

I hope there will be more about girls' reasons for running away and Lisa's accident, somehow I get the feeling it wasn't at all an accident.

Also interested in learning more of the vampire lore in this series: alive vampires vs dead vampires, I haven't seen anything like it before, very intrigued. (hide spoiler)]

[Elena]

Read up to chapter 9.
(view spoiler)[I have to say for someone who survived independently for two years Rose is surprisingly immature. Her seeking to get back at Mia seems petty and the way she is choosing to do it is too harsh in my opinion.

It's really hard to believe that Moroi aren't allowed to use magic to defend themselves. It would make sense to use all available means to preserve one's own kind and magic seems a good one, especially since they are so much more vulnerable than their enemies. I wonder if some kind of misuse of magical powers had happened in the past to make it taboo.

I'm curious about the story of shadow-kissed Anna and how it relates to Rose and Lisa, hope there will be more about it. And seems like there's more to weird Ms. Karp than what we've been told so far. (hide spoiler)]

[CassieV]

Elena wrote: "Read up to chapter 9.
I have to say for someone who survived independently for two years Rose is surprisingly immature. Her seeking to get back at Mia seems petty and the way she is choosing to do..."

I agree. Rose has times where she's very responsible and then others where she responds like the stereotype of every catty girl in high school. I think that's where the author is giving her room to grow, though, so I'm willing to put up with it ;).

[Kay Kay]

I am reading this one now. I do like the story. I am surprised at some of the content for a young adult book. The social structure that she has set up is very interesting. I am curious to see how the politics play out.

[Elena]

CassieV wrote: "Elena wrote: "Read up to chapter 9.
I have to say for someone who survived independently for two years Rose is surprisingly immature. Her seeking to get back at Mia seems petty and the way she is..."

That's very true. I think it also makes Rose relatable to young adult audience which is kind of the point :).

Chapter 17.
(view spoiler)[I'm starting to think that Natalie might be behind the dead animals and if she is I really hope her motive for doing it is better than just "they've always liked you better" or something like it :)

One other thing I noticed is that people that are becoming romantically involved with one another are of the same, for the lack of better word, species. I haven't read too many paranormal books, but I believe a pairing of human/nonhuman or powerful/ordinary is much more common for the genre. So the possibility of love between equals is something worth exploring I think, and I'm really interested to see how it plays out. (hide spoiler)]

[Kelly]

Karen wrote: "I'm 10% in and surprised - not what I expected and so far so good"

It feels a lot different than other YA books I've read.

[Kelly]

Elena wrote: "Hello! Finally started and 4 chapters in. Writing is a bit uneven but the story is starting to pick up and looks like this one will be a fast read. Hiding first impressions under spoiler just in ca..."

(view spoiler)[
Yeah, the live vs. dead vampires is new. Usually it seems like there's a good and bad class of vampires in books but this goes further.

It will be interesting to see how the characters mature as the book goes on. However, even though they annoy me a bit, this is one of the few YA books I've read where the characters actually seem like teenagers. Most seem to write them like they're 28 or something and really mature.
(hide spoiler)]

[Kelly]

Chapter 1-6
(view spoiler)[
Mostly commented in my previous post.

So far I'm so/so on the book. Rose is going to get on my nerves, I can already tell.

It's interesting that they're somewhat making her out to be a junkie already. It's almost like she has that personality already since she wants to be popular and craves the attention or at least wants to flaunt her independence.

I'm a bit surprised they didn't try to tell the adults that something felt wrong instead of just running away.
(hide spoiler)]

[Jen]

Kelly wrote: "Chapter 1-6

Mostly commented in my previous post.

So far I'm so/so on the book. Rose is going to get on my nerves, I can already tell.

It's interesting that they're somewhat making her out to be..."

Kelly,
That's really interesting because I was annoyed by Lissa from the start but I was fine with Rose. Haha

[Kelly]

Jennifer wrote: "That's really interesting because I was annoyed by Lissa from the start but I was fine with Rose. Haha"

Heh. I'm sure they'll both get on my nerves by the end. I try to give it leeway though since I'm not the target audience of YA books, I can't be real critical if they don't always appeal to my particular tastes. And of course 30 year olds are the smartest bestest people ever. Just like 29 year olds were last year ;)

[Kelly]

Chapter 7-12
(view spoiler)[
I'm a bit confused why Ms. Karp just told them not to tell anyone then left them completely alone. Isn't that the worst type of thing you can do for the super mega secret?

I also tend to get annoyed when most of the bad things could be prevented by others just speaking up and telling someone. So I hope it's not a case where it all could be prevented if they just spoke up.

Most of the book feels like mean girl gossip at this point. I suppose I like Rose a bit more now even though she's rather mean towards everyone else. Lissa seems really immature.
(hide spoiler)]

[Kelly]

Jennifer wrote: "I started this today. I'm 80 pages in so far. I like it but I'm having a little trouble keeping tack of everyone.

I really liked the parallel between [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[
There seems to be a lot of vampire books where the blood sucking is supposed to be seductive. Though turning them into actual druggies is new, I suppose you'd have to know about vampires to crave it. I think Sookie Stackhouse books have a bit like that where the fangbangers hang around the vamps.
(hide spoiler)]

[Kay Kay]

I finished. I liked the way that Rose could see into Lissa's head. I thought that was a great device for the author to use to track two parts of the story.
(view spoiler)[ I was shocked at the promiscuity of the characters in the book. They are so young! I am curious to see how the shadow kissed animals come into play in the series. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Kay Kay]

Jennifer wrote: "I started this today. I'm 80 pages in so far. I like it but I'm having a little trouble keeping tack of everyone.

I really liked the parallel between [spoilers removed]"

I was a little upset that there were so many drug references in a young adult book.

[Kelly]

Chapter 13-18
(view spoiler)[
I like the romance between Rose and Dimitri. She seems to be shaping up and Lissa seems to be going nuts though I suppose that's part of the story.

I like Christian quite a bit too. He seems like he's good even though everyone is mean to him. I imagine that kids born into privilege probably tend to be a bit more mean than average especially in the society this book has built up so I understand the cruelty in the school. Most times I tend to think that they over-do the bullying in YA books.

I'm glad Rose finally decided to trust Dimitri, he seems like a good guy. I'm betting something with the bond will help Lissa. Maybe Rose can push sanity back through the bond.
(hide spoiler)]

[Kelly]

Chapter 19-end
(view spoiler)[
Wow Victor went nuts in the end or I guess all along. I could see how being so ill would cause someone to go rather nuts if they knew there was a way to save them. That's why they end up with black market organ markets and such.

I hope Dimitri ends up with Rose. I think he's deluding himself if he can just decide not to love her. He can only decide not to be with her.
(hide spoiler)]

Overall 3 stars. I liked it but some of the characters were annoying at times. I'll read the next one.