''Vampire Academy'' is the first out of six books in the worldwide bestselling series ''

Vampire Academy ''Vampire Academy'' is a series of six young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her moroi best friend, Vasilisa " ...

'' by American author

Richelle Mead Richelle Mead (born November 12, 1976) is an American fantasy author. She is known for the '' Georgina Kincaid'' series, '' Vampire Academy'', '' Bloodlines'' and the '' Dark Swan'' series. Education and career Richelle Mead was born in Michigan, ...

. This book chronicles the life of 17-year-old Rosemarie Hathaway, commonly known as Rose, a

dhampir In Balkans folklore, dhampirs (sometimes spelled ''dhampyres'', ''dhamphirs'', or ''dhampyrs'') are creatures that are the result of a union between a vampire and a mortal human. This union was usually between male vampires and female mortal huma ...

and her

Moroi A moroi (sometimes moroii in modern fiction; pl. ''moroi'') is a type of vampire or ghost in Romanian folklore. A female moroi is called a moroaică (pl. ''moroaice''). In some versions, a moroi is a phantom of a dead person which leaves the grav ...

best friend Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir after being brought back to their school "St Vladimir's Academy" after being on the run for two years. The novel was adapted into a film, also titled ''

'', released on February 7, 2014 in the United States.

Plot

Rose Hathaway is a dhampir, half-Moroi and half-human, who is training to be a guardian at St. Vladimir's Academy along with many others like her. There are good and bad vampires in their world: Moroi, who co-exist peacefully among the humans and only take blood from donors, and also possess the ability to control one of the four elements - water, earth, fire or air; and Strigoi, blood-sucking, evil vampires who drink to kill. Rose and other dhampir guardians are trained to protect Moroi and kill Strigoi throughout their education. Her best friend is Princess Vasilisa Dragomir (Lissa), a Moroi and the last of her line, with whom she has a nigh unbreakable bond. Rose is able to feel Lissa's emotions through her bond and can sometimes enter her body without Lissa knowing when her emotions are too strong. Rose and Lissa ran away from their school, the vampire academy, two years ago and survive through the use of compulsion and by feeding off of each other. They had been moving from places to places, but this time, they got caught by the school guardians and returned to their school.

Reception

The book received positive reviews, with a

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

average of 4.19/5, based on 227,620 ratings. It was listed on the list of Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and recommended by ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', teenbookstoo.com, and

Voice of Youth Advocates ''Voice of Youth Advocates'' (''VOYA'') is a bimonthly magazine that provides book reviews and information for librarians with a focus on young adult materials. History and profile ''VOYA'' was established in 1978. The founders are Dorothy Brode ...

(VOYA). Vampire Academy was also voted number four after ''

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

'' by

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; née Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire literature, vampire romance series ''Twilight (novel series), Twilight'', which has sold over 100 mill ...

, ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the seventh and final novel of the main ''Harry Potter'' series. It was released on 21 July 2007 in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publi ...

'' by

J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

, and ''

Diary of a Wimpy Kid ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American children’s book series and media franchise created by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a diary (although he const ...

'' on ALA's teens top 10. The Vampire Academy series was also one of the

New York Times Bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

top ten in the children's books series division.''NY times''
bestseller list for children

References

External links

2007 American novels 2007 fantasy novels American young adult novels American horror novels American romance novels American vampire novels Vampire Academy series Novels by Richelle Mead American fantasy novels adapted into films Novels set in boarding schools Razorbill books {{2000s-ya-fantasy-novel-stub