Vampire Academy

Children's Literature - Michael Jung PhD

Best friends Lissa and Rose have spent two years on the road after escaping from St. Vladimir's Academy, a school for Moroi vampire princesses like Lissa and dhampir vampire protectors like Rose. But when guardians from the academy drag the girls back to school, they find they must deal with more than the social stigma placed on them by their fellow students—for it seems that evil Strigoi vampires have targeted Lissa and are intent on using her vast powers for their own ends. As Rose and Lissa try to separate friends from enemies, they must also struggle with their feelings for handsome Russian vampire Dimitri Belikov and social outcast Chrisian Ozera—whose parents just happen to be Strigoi vampires. Based on Mead's bestselling "Vampire Academy" prose novel series, this graphic novel adaptation has the dubious distinction of being impossible to understand for non-fans and yet completely predictable for anyone remotely familiar with the teen vampire genre. All the usual cliche characters are here—perpetually angry warrior women, brooding bad boys, shallow rich girls, and incredibly powerful damsels who cannot save themselves—and it is a given that before the story is done, the characters will be ostracized by their peers and teachers, experience sexual tension with other attractive outsiders, and work out their issues in violent battles. Sadly, neither Mead nor Dragoon seem interested in giving these stock characters any more dimensions than the usual stereotypical traits, and even Vieceli's attractive artwork does not offer much more than window dressing. Fans of Mead's vampire series might find this graphic novel an interesting companion to their books—all other readers can find similar stories among any of the thousands of teenage vampire books out there. Reviewer: Michael Jung, PhD