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Overview
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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Synopsis
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.
Booklist
Mead's absorbing, debut YA novel, blends intricately detailed fantasy with a contemporary setting, teen-relevant issues, and a diverse . . . cast of characters.
Editorials
Booklist
Mead's absorbing, debut YA novel, blends intricately detailed fantasy with a contemporary setting, teen-relevant issues, and a diverse . . . cast of characters.VOYA -
Rose Hathaway, a mythical, half-human, half-vampire dhampir, bears the sole responsibility for innocent vampire heiress Vasilisa Dragomir, the last of the royal Dragomir line with whom she shares a rare and bizarre psychic bond. After being dragged from their secret lair by ruggedly handsome guardian Dimitri Belikov to the Vampire Academy, Rose must face rigid academy rules, brutal physical conditioning, and severe punishments in order to be rated a sanctioned guardian who can protect Lissa from the deadly Strigoi and an unknown predator who seeks to destroy the Dragomir line for all eternity. Mead bleeds black for fans of the gothic vampire novel and adds a touch of the sexy with sassy, sly, and hard-hitting Rose. But Rose puts her rogue urges on hold when it comes to her best friend and charge, Lissa-Rose's polar opposite who is in possession of a gift that puts her in danger and demands that her guardian be the most disciplined and altruistic around. 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 Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005/VOYA October 2005) looking like a children's book, this little gem is sure to be a hit. If readers can get past the trite title, the pages will surely turn themselves.School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up
Lissa and Rose, both 17, have a special bond, as is fitting for a vampire princess and her guardian-in-training, but theirs is closer than most. Lissa is Moroi-a race of living vampires that is persecuted by the deadly Strigoi, undead vampires that feed from and kill Lissa's kind. Rose is a dhampir-a half-vampire-half-human whose role is to guard the Moroi, at a time when both races are dwindling. Vampire opens with the girls on the lam from Montana's St. Vladimir's Academy. Lissa's power to heal is extremely rare and can drive one to madness. At the warning of a teacher, the pair run before Academy elders can take Lissa away to prevent her self-destruction. Through flashbacks and discussions between the girls, readers learn that while living among humans for two years, the Moroi teen illicitly sated her need for blood by feeding from Rose instead of from human donors. When the girls are caught and returned, they are watched closely, while hiding what happened when they were away. They discover attractions to those they should not be involved with and fight against suspicion and sinister forces that want to abuse Lissa's gift. All the while, their priorities and loyalty to each other are tested in the face of danger. This truly engaging and believable novel is on a par with Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" books (Little, Brown), but is more risqué. Fans of Melissa de la Cruz's "Blue Bloods" books (Hyperion) will enjoy this work.
—Corinda J. HumphreyCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.