Bookgirl is Attending Vampire Academy

I know we promised this discussion for yesterday, but I wanted to give you an extra day to build up the anticipation. To whet your appetite so you were just DYING to talk about teenage vampires. Did it work?

Yeah, that's a lie. You all know me better than that. Actually, life has been kicking my butt, and yesterday's conversation went something like this.

Polly: "Bookgirl, do you have the book club post?"

Bookgirl: "Huh?"

Le sigh.

But I'm here now. And you know what they say: better late than pregnant.

On to our vampire friends...

For those of you just coming in, our first book club selection is Vampire Academy by Richelle Meade.

Rather than doing this as a traditional post, I'm shooting for more of an interactive format, so keep checking back. But that also means you have to participate. Or else this is just me talking to myself about books. Which is a lot like what my work day looks like.

As previously mentioned, I loved, loved, loved this book.

The kindest thing an author can do for me as a reader is create a world. Make me believe in it, visualize it. Enroll me completely in your vision. Populate it with characters I care about passionately. Then bring them back for more books so I get to keep visiting them.

And that's exactly what she's done.

I love the author's portrayal of Rose as a kick-butt warrior instead of a damsel in distress. And even Lissa, who IS more of the damsel in distress character, can still hold her own and pull out a can of manipulation whoop-ass when she needs to, thank you very much.

Can we take a minute to talk about the romances? All those dark, broody vampires. Dmitri. That's all I need to say. Dmitri. I actually asked friends which book they finally make out in. Because I Could. Not. Wait. As for Christian, I love a bad boy with a good heart.

Everyone weigh in. What did you like? Dislike? Any questions you want to pose to the group?

Discuss.

Comments

[Equipoise]

Love bought me 4 books from the series for my birthday. I promptly devoured them. I loved the world that Richelle Meade created, the different types of vampires, the fact that they were living and could procreate, and the magic. Also, Dmitri, yum! I need to go out and get the fifth book before I die from anticipation. I love Rose. I like her sarcasm and how often she has to eat her words...reminds me of me. :) Also, vampire school, can I attend? I could go on and on, but we'll start there.

[The Dol]

Loved it!

Here's my dilemma: I love YA, because there is so freaking much good stuff out there. The problem is that YA authors don't get to give us kinky sex to the degree that would satisfy my lusty old self.

That said... Dmitri. Oh, Dmitri! And yes, Christian, too. Dark, broody hotness. I agree, Bookgirl.

Lissa annoyed me just a little, but not enough to keep me from wanting to read the rest of the books.

[Mattie]

Dmitri I would buy a beer and watch a football game with
Christian I would be friends with and debate school vouchers with
Lissa I would sleep with but get nothing out of it (at 18 mind you)
Mia I would hate but would sleep with and get nothing out of it (at 18 mind you)
Rose I would fall for...hard.
I really like the series better then twilight because the character development is vast and inclusive, the pace is faster, and I don't feel like I need prozac after reading it. I like the fact that there are strong female characters that...wait for it...are very human.

[Equipoise]

I agree with The Dol about YA books not giving us enough kinky sex. Although I have to tell you to keep reading the books because it does get a little better...
Also, I think Lissa gets slightly less annoying as the books continue.
Mattie, I definitely agree with you that the character development is far better than twilight. I liked the fast pace of the book also because I literally devour books and some just don't have the pace to keep up with me.
What did everyone think of the bond? What would you do if your friend could slip into your head at any time? Or if you could slip into theirs?

[Polly]

I really liked the male characters, Dmitri and Christian, but I wasn't entirely in love with either Rose or Lissa. I think it was, in part, because both were fairly credible character renderings of real teenage girls, with all the weird angst, self-consciousness, and self-imposed exile that goes with that. You can see how they're going to be lovely adults, but right now they spend an awful lot of time alternating between rebellious and belligerent or sullen and uncommunicative.

That said, the story itself was interesting and the tension between Rose and Dmitri was earning its keep.

@Equipoise, I thought the bond was an interesting twist on the story, especially because it only worked one way, so there was that imbalance that just couldn't be rectified. Just thinking about someone being able to do that in real life gives me heart palpitations.

@Bookgirl, I'm happy to let you pick the next book. That's my vote.

[Diosa]

I love Rose. She is not without her faults, but I love her passion and her honesty, and especially her sarcasm. She is so my kind of girl.

I think I may have been in love with Christian in high school, at least that's what I saw in my head. He's much more my type than Dmitri, though I find him hard to resist at times too.

I find the bond between Lissa and Rose intriguing. If you're going to save someone from the dead, it only makes sense that's going to forge some kind of permanent mark on the two of you. So is Christian going to experience something similar now that Lissa's saved him? I've finished the second book and was a little surprised there wasn't anything about that yet.

I'm kind of an open book. I'm not sure how uneasy it would make me feel having someone else in my head. Most of the time, I probably wouldn't care. I'd like to be able to exclude personal hygiene time and bodily functions though.

[Mattie]

I think it is usually great to get insight from a trusted friend. A bond like that would be a good way to stay humble, to learn a different prospective, and to keep yourself honest...with yourself.

[Polly]

@Mattie, unfortunately I have plenty of ways of staying humble without such a bond. I really value the fact that my feelings and thoughts are just passing body sensations, to be embraced or dismissed at will. If someone else has access to those private feelings and thoughts, then they exist as more than just ephemeral sensations, they become significant.

I like being able to watch my thoughts and feelings float by without having to feel responsible for them or defined by them. I can always change my mind or the way I feel without having to suffer the consequences of a momentary, controlled impulse. Once there are witnesses, it's no longer a matter of my controlling my impulses or redirecting my thinking.

Plus, the idea that we are one fused self, completely the same in all situations, with all people, or we are being dishonest just sits wrong with me. We have different chemical reactions to different people.

[Pandora]

@Bookgirl, I think my package might have been sent back to you. I just got back to southern california yesterday and i had a notice from FedEx.

However, I read this book 2 years ago during my whole iloveedwardcullenandallthingsvampirerelatedbuti'mnotgoth phase.

I honestly had mixed feelings about the book. I enjoyed how the characters were a bit more developed and how the female lead actually had a backbone.

I read it right after i read the Vampire Diaries and I was glad to find it much more enjoyable. Twilight>Vampire Academy>Vampire Diaries.

Also, I don't think i'm into YA as much as you ladies are, even though i'm actually the youngest. Maybe it's a bit too cheesy for me.

However, I too vote that Bookgirl keeps picking the books!

[The Dol]

@Ramlin' Jack- if you're there- I would like to know when I can seen my lovely photoshopped face.

Sincerely, Pandora.

[Mattie]

Ok...I think we need to spread out our comments. It is like everyone is on vacation every weekend where there are not phones, computers, or computer phones. I need my fix of the fab 7 on weekends to ladies. You can't just give a guy a taste and then make him wait days and days for another taste...well I think that happened a lot in highschool but that was a long time ago. Show me some love...or maybe tell me to get a few more hobbies!

[The Model]

Mattie, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I was supposed to post on Thursday but something came up that prevented me, frankly, from getting anything else done.

I adored VA. I pictured Dmitri as a sort of buffer, more serious version of Rex (mostly because they're both 6'7", I guess), so that sort of helped my fantasizing. I liked Rose and Lissa, but yeah, they were both teenage girls. Better than Bella though.

I truly hope it gets steamier as the books go on. That is indeed the problem with YA books. I need more lusty action. Speaking of which, I am dying to read the rest of the series. Bookgirl is already the coolest, but I have a feeling she could do the impossible and become even cooler if she sent them to me. Pretty please?

[Diosa]

@Pandora - I stopped aging at 17 and that's the way I like it.