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A review by poegostick
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
2.0
Someone said that this book was less vampire school Harry Potter-style, and much more Gossip Girl. I don't think I could have summarized it better.
What's so frustrating about this book is there's something good hiding behind all the slut shaming, and pretend bad-ass antics. The plot was building to some interesting tension with the evil immortal vampires and the good vampires that run the school. But the focus shifted instead to who was sleeping with who, putting down people based on their body shape, and fucking some guy who is ten years older than the FMC.
I understand that this was written in 2007, and at that time it probably seemed like a breath of fresh air to the YA romance community. The FMC is openly talking about sex, is brash and outspoken, and over all 'not like the other girls.' This narrative has certainly run its course and didn't age well.
I'd find myself enjoying it and then suddenly the FMC is talking about how large her boobs are and how that makes her so much sexier than the other girls. I'm all for body positivity, but it doesn't need to stretch so far as to put down other women. And it seemed to be this FMC's favorite pass time. She would play around with men but was better than the other girls because she didn't go as far as to have sex. Somehow she was smarter, sexier, more clever, stronger, and more dedicated than all the other girls, and yet was still wrapped up in petty school gossip.
Just when I felt like there was some tension, and the story was going somewhere with mysterious bloody animals, a school formal was introduced. Now all the FMC starts talking about is this dance and what she's going to wear, including a fashion montage.
And of course, she needs to find time to hook up with her super hot better than all the other boys because he's older and more mature trainer.
Anyone getting 'My Immortal' vibes?
MAJOR TW: self-harm
Also out of left field, we are treated with the information that the best friend has been harming herself. We get a very detailed view of her self-harm, and I believe that this should be marked with some warning. I saw very few reviews mentioning this!
I've picked up the next book from the library, but the way this one fizzled out, I'm not holding any high expectations for it. Here's hoping that we actually see some character growth!
What's so frustrating about this book is there's something good hiding behind all the slut shaming, and pretend bad-ass antics. The plot was building to some interesting tension with the evil immortal vampires and the good vampires that run the school. But the focus shifted instead to who was sleeping with who, putting down people based on their body shape, and fucking some guy who is ten years older than the FMC.
I understand that this was written in 2007, and at that time it probably seemed like a breath of fresh air to the YA romance community. The FMC is openly talking about sex, is brash and outspoken, and over all 'not like the other girls.' This narrative has certainly run its course and didn't age well.
I'd find myself enjoying it and then suddenly the FMC is talking about how large her boobs are and how that makes her so much sexier than the other girls. I'm all for body positivity, but it doesn't need to stretch so far as to put down other women. And it seemed to be this FMC's favorite pass time. She would play around with men but was better than the other girls because she didn't go as far as to have sex. Somehow she was smarter, sexier, more clever, stronger, and more dedicated than all the other girls, and yet was still wrapped up in petty school gossip.
Just when I felt like there was some tension, and the story was going somewhere with mysterious bloody animals, a school formal was introduced. Now all the FMC starts talking about is this dance and what she's going to wear, including a fashion montage.
And of course, she needs to find time to hook up with her super hot better than all the other boys because he's older and more mature trainer.
Anyone getting 'My Immortal' vibes?
MAJOR TW: self-harm
Also out of left field, we are treated with the information that the best friend has been harming herself. We get a very detailed view of her self-harm, and I believe that this should be marked with some warning. I saw very few reviews mentioning this!
I've picked up the next book from the library, but the way this one fizzled out, I'm not holding any high expectations for it. Here's hoping that we actually see some character growth!