Vampire Academy
Yeah, yeah, I can already hear the groans. More vampires, right? After reading Twilight, I decided to delve into all the other YA vampire literature that’s out there, to see how they all do it, and what works. And what doesn’t. I have to say that as of right now, VA is now at the top of my favorites list.
House of Night has a good storyline going, but the language and the pagan-esque crud puts me off of that series. Nightworld is okay, if simplistic to me. (And they all have happy endings. C’mon, vampires, people! Let’s have a little tragedy, please?) I’ve only delved a little into Vampire Diaries, but honestly, it’s like reading Twilight all over again. (I’m told VD came first, but still. Beautiful but clumsy protagonist meets tortured but good-hearted vampire. Been there, done that, didn’t buy the T-shirt.) I picked up Vampire Academy expecting more of the same. I know there are more series out there, and I suppose I’ll get to them eventually. I’d like to read some of the inspiration for True Blood, in particular…probably where I’ll go next.
Vampire Academy has the classic YA trope of “there are good vampires, and there are evil vampires, and you shouldn’t confuse the two because even though they all drink blood the good vampires are, you know, good.” And like House of Night, you’ve got the vampire story meets high school story. And you’ve got the confident, badass, sometimes bitchy female protagonist who finds herself juggling a number of boys and can’t seem to get her love life together…also not uncommon.
And then you just get blindsided by this incredible, tragic love story that unfolds in the midst of all the tropes.
Rose, the protagonist, falls for her much older mentor, Dimitri…and of course I’m thinking, “Ah, teenaged girl falls for hot, unobtainable guy. And either he will turn out to be not so nice and use her and break her heart, or after a lot of bumps, she’ll get over him and realize that the perfect guy is that one who’s been right there the whole time. Meanwhile, this crush will get her into no end of trouble and I’ll end up being very annoyed with her before the end of the book. This is what happened in the House of Night series, and was one of the reasons I wanted to shake my fist at Zoey. Frequently.
Only, these two have several legitimate reasons why they can’t be together (age, teacher/student relationship), but the main one is actually based on their own morals. They both are ridiculously dedicated to protecting the Moroi (the good vampires), and that makes them a lot alike. But they both know that their ability to do this will be compromised by a relationship…and so they fight it. And Rose actually fights it, instead of just talking about how she should fight it and giving into it every few chapters (and then spending the next few chapters beating herself up about how she shouldn’t have, but he was just so hot that she couldn’t help it…blech). Dimitri does even better. They both conduct themselves so honorably that when they DO give in, you feel for them (instead of rolling your eyes and bemoaning the lack of character). See, that’s where Twilight screwed up. Edward lamented and tortured himself over how he shouldn’t be with Bella, but he didn’t actually have the willpower to walk away. Yeah, he walked away in New Moon, but it was too late by then…and I’m not entirely sure he didn’t do it for selfish reasons (“I’d never be able to live with myself if I hurt her” instead of “She deserves better”.)
And Rose’s affection for Dimitri actually improves her as a character…it’s a true strength, which is refreshing when it’s so often portrayed as something fuzzy and heady that’s worth alienating yourself from your friends and subsuming yourself in the other person, but really doesn’t improve you much. These two assimilate each others’ characteristics and it makes them better people. Two books into the series, and there’s still no way they can be together…and by then, their being apart was killing me. Finally, they both make the decision that they love each other too much, and they can’t stand it anymore. And it’s not all roses and happiness, because they’d both have to sacrifice some of their goals in order to be together.
Then the bad vampires (Strigoi) attack the school, and Dimitri is turned into one of them. Worse than dead. This is the ultimate hell for Rose, because not only is she grieving him as dead, he’s still out there as a monster, the antithesis of everything he was. She can’t get him back…there’s no going back once you’re turned. She could never be with him while he was alive, and now he’s gone. So she can either hunt him down and stake him herself, or live with the knowledge that he’s out there killing people. Ouch. She chooses the former, because they’d once made a promise to each other that they’d rather die than be Strigoi. This is one of the unique things about the fantasy genre…the ability to turn people into monsters puts this whole other dimension on things like dealing with grief, and what killing a loved one as a mercy would do to someone.
The fourth book is one big agonizing trip through Russia (his homeland), meeting his family, living where he lived, visiting his haunts, and then she finally confronts Strigoi Dimitri. And he tries to turn her. It’s just one big heart-breaker, because no matter what happens, it can’t end well. (Only I think it actually can, because we find out near the end of Book 4 that there might be someone out there who can turn Strigoi back to normal).
I don’t know how these books managed to hit every emotional hot spot in me, but they did. (In fact, I may have to go back through and actually analyze how the author did it. Dude…Mask of Eldarmarch, Dragon Singer, Briar Rose, I have so many stories that are primarily tragic romances. I want to make my readers cry.) Had I been alone, I think I would have cried all the way through Book 4. It was just that…poignant, for me. (Maybe because I have a husband, and so I can imagine what it would feel like to lose someone you loved that much). If I can write a tragic love story like that some day, I’ll be happy. Incidentally, I think this particular story needs a happy ending to be satisfying…because at this point, even if the impossible is accomplished, Rose and Dimitri aren’t set up for a true happily ever after. Edward and Bella felt inevitable in a way that made all their struggles feel a little bit contrived sometimes…I would have enjoyed a tragic ending, in their case.
There’s a lot of just good storytelling going on: complex characters who behave realistically, themes that cycle, no throwaway characters, language that isn’t overly juvenile, etc. I like Rose as a character, which is interesting, because I don’t think I would like her too much in real life.
There are two more books in the series, the first of which doesn’t come out for another two weeks. Bummer, but I just blew most of today reading Book 4…so maybe it’s just as well. So in honor of a thoroughly enjoyable series, I give you this song in honor of Rose and Dimitri (Gods, I feel like such a fangirl, saying things like that):
Red - Never Be The Same
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