Vampire Academy Signature Edition: A Vampire Academy Novel [Hardcover]

Richelle Mead (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 25, 2009 | Series: Vampire Academy

Join the Vampire Academy and Experience Augmented Reality. Click here and put your face on the cover of a best seller book. Are you tempted? Watch the book come to life with your likeness! St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school–it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's–the very place where they're most in danger. Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi–the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires–make Lissa one of them forever.

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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After two years on the run, best friends Rose, half-human/half-vampire, and Lissa, a mortal vampire princess, are caught and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy. Up until then, Rose had kept Lissa safe from her enemies; school, however, brings both girls additional challenges and responsibilities. How they handle peer pressure, nasty gossip, new relationships, and anonymous threats may mean life or death. Likable narrator Rose hides doubts about her friend behind a tough exterior; orphan Lissa, while coping with difficult emotional issues such as depression and survivor's guilt, uses her emerging gifts for good. Mead's absorbing, debut YA novel, the first in a new series, blends intricately detailed fantasy with a contemporary setting, teen-relevant issues, and a diverse, if sometimes sterotyped, cast of supporting characters. Occasional steamy sex and a scattering of vulgar language demand mature readers, but teens able to handle the edgy elements will speed through this vamp story and anticipate the next installment. Rosenfeld, Shelle --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

This story is no ordinary vampire tale. Mead has done her homework on Romanian folklore and Orthodox Catholic saints, and she uses it to weave a unique and mesmerizing mystery with a whodunit ending that even the most skilled detectives will not predict. With social angst that every teenager can appreciate and sexual tension that leaves Stephanie Meyer's Twilight looking like a children's book, this little gem is sure to be a hit.—VOYA

Mead’s absorbing, debut YA novel, the first in a new series, blends intricately detailed fantasy with a contemporary setting, teen-relevant issues, and a diverse…cast of supporting characters. Occasional steamy sex and a scattering of vulgar language demand mature readers, but teens able to handle the edgy elements will speed through this vamp story and anticipate the next installment.—Booklist

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Razorbill; First Edition edition (November 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595143580
• ISBN-13: 978-1595143587
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (539 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richelle Mead is an international bestselling author of fantasy books for both adults and teens. Her Georgina Kincaid series follows a reluctant succubus, while her Dark Swan series features a shamanic mercenary caught up in fairy affairs. Over on the young adult side, Richelle writes the much-acclaimed Vampire Academy series and its spin-off, Bloodlines, about a secret society keeping the vampire world hidden from humans.

Richelle's books have been on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists and received honors from the American Library Association. Her books have been translated into over two dozen languages, as well as transformed into graphic novels. A lifelong reader, Richelle loves mythology and wacky humor. When not writing, she can be found spending time with her family, buying dresses, and watching bad reality TV. More at: www.richellemead.com

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#20 in Books > Teens

#20 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 96 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too August 17, 2007

By TeensReadToo

Format:Paperback

Rose and Lissa are best friends who share an unimaginable bond, even by vampire standards. Now, after time spent on the run, they have been returned to the school from which they escaped to face ridicule, speculation, and danger.

Welcome to St. Vladimir's Academy, a private high school for vampires and the half-bloods who are bound to protect them. The Moroi are vampires, and the descendants of Moroi royalty are the social elite of St. Vladimir's. The Moroi are at constant risk, though. The Strigoi, the fiercest vampires, are out to get them, any way they can. The Moroi are protected by Dhampirs, guardians who are sworn to lay down their lives to assure that the Moroi bloodlines continue.

Rose is a Dhampir and Lissa is the last of the Dragomir line of Moroi royalty. Rose and Lissa share a special bond; one that nearly assures that Rose will be Lissa's guardian for life. Returning to school, however, proves to be more difficult than either of them imagined. The social politics have changed during their absence and Rose and Lissa are both the topic of several rumors. Their sudden disappearance, their time on the run, and their return are all subjects for speculation. In some instances, the truth may cause them more harm than rumors ever could.

In addition to the social pressures, Lissa may be in even more danger than anyone could have imagined. In addition to being Moroi and royalty, Lissa seems to have special abilities that haven't been seen among the Moroi in centuries. Abilities that make her an even more tantalizing target to the Strigoi.

VAMPIRE ACADEMY is a thrilling adventure that draws you along and makes you continue to turn the pages. As the danger to Lissa gets closer, it gets more difficult to put the book down. In a world that seems saturated with vampire books, Richelle Mead has created characters and a world that is both unique and believable.

Reviewed by: JodiG.

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Story adds depth as it goes along September 8, 2008

By ZeeSays

Format:Paperback

Rose and Lissa are like most teenage girls. They like boys, like to shop at the mall, and feel misunderstood. The only difference is that they are vampires. Lissa is a Moroi princess, a member of the vampire royalty, while Rose is a dhampir guardian who has sworn to protect Lissa even to death. Two years ago, they ran away from St. Vladimir's Academy, a private school for the Moroi and Dhampir races, for reasons that only Rose fully knows.

Now, the school's guardians have caught up with them and want to bring them back to the academy against their will. The halls of St. Vladimir's are filled with the same things they have always been: snotty Moroi, secrets, clan loyalties, and a deathly fear of the Striogoi: vampires who have become immortal and seek to destroy all of the royal family.

As a punishment for running away, Rose has to train every second that she is not in class. Her mentor is Dimitri, a stoic, handsome guardian whom she finds to be ever increasingly attractive. While Rose is training to become deadly to the Strigoi, Lissa is discovering how to be a royal without losing who she is inside. And why does someone keep planting dead animals in Lissa's path? Is someone out to get Lissa, and if they are, can Rose truly protect her friend?

This book was better than I expected. At first, I felt Rose was just an angst-ridden teenager just complaining about everything. But after awhile, the characters began to take on more depth. Rose and Lissa have a deep bond that goes beyond friendship. The scandals that takes place in the halls of St. Vlad's will keep vampire book lovers thoroughly entertained. There is some sexual content. Not too heavy, but vampires are sexual by nature, so this was expected. There are also levels of vampire sins so it was interesting to read about what this society found to be unspeakable. By the end of the book, you will be rooting for Rose.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting idea, mediocre delivery June 13, 2009

By Budget Betty

Format:Paperback

While Mead's take on the vampire universe is unique and refreshing, her storytelling is ultimately what made this book fall flat for me. The concept is very intriguing, but Mead's sometimes amateurish prose, lackluster dialogue, and one-dimensional characters made this a very irksome read for me. I kept waiting for the book to get better, hoping that the plot would suck me in, but it just never happened. This is really unfortunate, since the plot itself is clever, imaginative, and genuinely engaging.

Mead's great concept is hindered, in part, by her thinly drawn characters. While it seems that Rose is meant to be clever and smart-mouthed, mostly she just comes off as a rude person who is weirdly obsessed with her best friend. Her witticisms seem limited to generic pseudo-rebellious comments and wry observations about how "lame" the people around her are. Meanwhile, Rose's friend, Lissa, seems to lack any personality at all, other than to occasionally cry or whine about something. Dimitri, Rose's love interest, is a sloppily written "Strong, Silent Type" (TM) whose only defining trait is that he occasionally listens to Prince's "When Doves Cry."

The prose, too, leaves much to be desired. Mead has a great tendency to TELL, rather than SHOW, and while this may not be such a bad thing when handling exposition into her elaborate vampire mythology, this tendency causes the character development to feel pretty thin. Furthermore, I feel that this novel could have used an editor in some spots--for example, when Rose comforts a crying Lissa after a gruesome discovery on campus, Rose makes note of Lissa's "sleek, silky hair." Pleasant, sensual lines like that really interrupt the urgency of the narrative, and yet Mead insists upon using them in scenes that should carry a lot of tension.

However, with such choice lines as, "And despite all the assurances I had from other guys that I was hotness incarnate, I needed to hear it from the one guy I actually wanted," one compliment I can give is that Mead has certainly captured the voice of a semi-articulate teenager. While this is undeniably realistic, I personally didn't think that it made for a very good read.

There are bright spots in Mead's novel--I particularly loved a line where Rose describes how an old photo causes "a dull throb" in her chest. Sometimes Mead's narrative really sings, but mostly, it falters. I'm hoping that the next books in this imaginative series will be an improvement (in much the same way that the later TWILIGHT SAGA books were better-written than the original).

With all that being said, I'm not at all surprised at the number of five-star reviews here. Despite the editorial flaws, Mead's world is still original, intricate, and certainly worth delving into with further books.