*A FEW SPOILERS UP AHEAD*
Can I just start of by saying that I did not expect to fall in love with this book as much as I do right now. I didn't think it was going to be boring but I didn't think it would be this good.
I think that Richelle Mead's writing style is very different from other authors. It's almost as if she's typing simply what comes to mind and I actually ended up loving it. Vampire Academy is written in Rose Hathaway's point of view. She's this kick-ass 17 year old girl and while reading this book, I actually felt like I was a kick-ass 17 year old girl.
I can only think of a few novels with this many bad words in it. At first I thought it was a bit vulgar since I'm considered as a goody two shoes but I really got into it and I really felt like I was in Rose's head. I love that (most of) the story takes place in school, because that's a big part of being a teenager. A lot of YA novels don't even mention high school or rarely so. The fact that the story is placed in St. Vladimir's Academy evokes all these different themes. Themes that, I think, are very important for everyone.
I think that bullying is one of the main themes in this book the moment Rose and Lissa walk through the commons after being brought back to the Academy. On more than one occasion, the lead characters suffer from bullying. Rose and her best friend and constantly being stared at by their peers, they are victims of cruel rumors and gossip. Even Mia, is a victim and all she ever wanted to do was climb up the social ladder to avoid further bullying.
Change, is one thing that I love about this book. Rose has to learn how to be more responsible and start acting like an adult, which everyone has a hard time accepting. Lissa's also trying to get a handle on her powers and after discovering that she specializes in Spirit, this changes everything the adults think. Nearing the end of the book, change becomes more and more important. I think acceptance is part of change since Lissa finally understands she can't save everybody and accepts she can't be like her brother, Andre. I think Mead is also trying to show that the society needs to change by pairing up Lissa and Christian together. They're two different people but find themselves drawn to each other. When they start dating, it causes a stir among the students and I hope that in the next books, the students of Vampire Academy can accept their love. Because I really, really ship them together.
And the last one I'm going to talk about is suicide. I applaud Mead for evoking suicide in this book because suicide is a very, very big thing when you talk about school and teenage life. Not saying that adults rarely kill themselves but more and more teens nowadays are having suicidal thoughts and tendencies. When Lissa starts to cut herself, it breaks my heart because even though she's a vampire, she also has human emotions. And I think a lot of people were able to relate to her during those extremely dark moments. I feel like Richelle Mead is trying to show a message in the second half of this novel. Lissa wasn't able to go back to being happy without her friends and the people she truly care for. Thanks to Rose and Christian, she's slowly recovering and I think it shows that you shouldn't be scared to ask for help. Sometimes, your friends are your true saviors. You can't go through life without them.
Moving on to some characters now...
I think I've talked enough about the two main characters, but for the leads to succeed, they need the help of their secondary characters like Dimitri, Christian and Mason.
I don't think Vampire Academy would have been successful without these boys. I adore the fact that Dimitri is supposed to be this super macho guy but once he starts talking, you can't help but fall in love with his words and how he expresses himself. I really fell for him hard at the end of the book and ugh, I did not think I would like his character but he just makes the story that more interesting.
Christian is one of my second favorite characters in the novel. Even as Rose started talking about him in a bad light, I was so intrigued by him. And the more he shows his affection for Lissa, the more I swoon over this fictional character I will never ever meet. His feelings for her are so obvious and so adorable that it really breaks down that bad image Rose constructed of him in the beginning of the book.
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| Spanish Poster for Mason's character |
And Mason Ashford, oh gosh, I cannot put into words how much I love this guy. I know something unfortunate happens to him in the next book and I am now extremely terrified. Darn you, internet. I have always loved redheads. For some, odd and explainable reason, I'm extremely attracted to redheaded fictional guys. I knew I loved Mason with the first words he said after beating up Rose during training. I looked like one of those emojis with hearts as eyes. Mason is so loyal to Rose, he will do anything for her and it shows that he such a great friend and person. He is so sweet and funny and he knows Rose so well it hurts my heart. Yes, I am probably the only one who ships them more than Rose and Dimitri. But I can't help it, I have a thing for funny redheads.
I also watched the film and I also loved it. I will probably write down my thoughts about that soon. For now, I'm dying to read Frost Bite, though I have to finish a lot of different books first and I have so much work to do.
Anyway, can we please talk about the original Vampire Academy cover?
I'm not saying the model isn't pretty or that the editing wasn't good since I probably wouldn't be able to do much better. But really? This is kind of creepy to be honest and one of the reasons why I was so hesitant to read it. I'm so glad I did though, I guess you really shouldn't judge a book by its cover! I still prefer the movie version better though since it's the one I own. I'm saving up for the next books and hopefully I can read Bloodlines sometime soon!
Any thoughts about the book or the film? Do you disagree on anything (other than Dimitrie is better than Mason, I know most people think so)? Comment what you did and did not like about the book!
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