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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Vampire Diaries

Alright, so I caved and re-read some really bad books this past weekend. I couldn't help it! I was drawn to them for some reason. And yes I wrote "re-read" - I read these books when I was about to begin high school and I just loved them (of course I was 13 turning 14, so what can I say). Anyhow, the books are The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith and they chronicle the love triangle between Elena, Stefan and Damon. Elena is mortal and the queen bee of her high school. Stefan is new in town and quite handsome, so he has all the girls crushing on him. Damon is Stefan's older brother and loves to live dangerously. Both Stefan and Damon are vampires and have come to Fell's Church for very different reasons: Stefan wants a fresh new start and Damon wants to torment his brother. Elena finds herself
drawn to both brothers and must choose between them. And there you have the plot in a nutshell. So, what happens? Well, Stefan and Elena are in love, but Damon brings out feelings in Elena and in the end they both make her a vampire and then she is still torn about which brother to choose (although it is usually Stefan, the good brother, that she is more drawn to) and then Stefan and Damon's first love comes back to kill them all and Elena sacrifices herself in order to save her town and the people she loves and Stefan and Damon are left heartbroken. Of course the last book has Stefan and Damon returning to Fell's Church to help Elena's old friends deal with a new evil in town and eventually Elena makes her return and there you have it. Oh and Elena chooses Stefan. The end (okay, not really the end, because apparently there is a new book out that talks about Elena and her return from death and reunites the whole gang again, but I haven't read it so I don't really know how bad or good it is). As for the writing in The Vampire Diaries, well, it's okay: the characters are pretty much stereotypical versions of high school kids (queen bee, jock, serious student, jealous rival, etc.) with a couple of vampires thrown in for fun. As for the story lines, well, nothing too original about them, but fun to read nonetheless. Overall, it was fun to read these books again, because it reminded me of when I was young and how bad my taste in books was back then (not really, I loved reading Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine). I guess not all YA books are for adults, huh? However, I got my fix of fluff reading out of my system and I am back to reading Columbine, which is so good- can't wait to review it! And I have started S & S & Sea Monsters and so far I have laughed out loud several times - love it!! As for In The Woods, well that has taken a back seat for now, but I will dive back into it when I finish Columbine. I have to figure out which books to read for the Clear Off Your Shelves challenge and for another challenge I am doing on goodreads. So many challenges!! Hope you all are having a great week and enjoying the fact that fall has arrived. Happy Reading!!

4 comments:

Quirk Books said...

Hey Nadia,

I ran across your blog and saw that you’re reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. I'm so glad it's made you laugh out loud! I work for the publisher, and I was wondering if you wanted to receive info and updates about the Quirk Classics series. If you do, just send us an email at QuirkClassics@gmail.com. If not, that’s okay too. We won’t bug you again.

FYI: At the end of the month, we’ll be announcing the next title in the series.

Thanks for talking about our book, and happy reading!

-KG

P.S. - I definitely agree, Columbine is a great book!

Lisa said...

I just never have been able to get into vampire books. I did try watching the t.v. show based on these books but I think I'm too old to enjoy it!

Nadia said...

Hey Quirk Books! Thanks for letting me know about signing up for info and updates - will do! And I am just so immersed in Columbine right - I can't believe what I am reading.

Lisa - I know what you mean! Its hard to get into vampire books. There are just so many out there. I like to read them for fun - kind of like my version of a trashy romance novel. Twilight was fun and so far the Sookie Stackhouse books are keeping me entertained, but I think after The Vampire Diaries book I am done with the vampires. And I agree with you about The Vampire Diaries show - I feel too old to get into it.

Brandie said...

i'm in vampire craze right now. i am watching Vampire Diaries on tv, and loving it. i'm obsessed with Twilight. i've started reading a few other vampire series. i think i have a serious problem :)