Vampires in High School - Part IV

Not a huge introduction required for this book. This was by far one of my favorites to write about firstly because the protagonist is male and secondly because the book takes a fresh look at a teen boy's struggle not only to fit in at a school where he is the only human but also to befriend vampires and pull himself out of the spiral of mischevious behevaior he's been absorbed in. Rees brings a fresh, new look to vampires in high school. Think of Buffy if instead she befriended all the vampires and they attended high school together. Be sure to look for the sequel, Vampire High: Sophomore Year.

Rees, Douglas. Vampire High. New York: Delacorte Press, 2003.


Douglas Rees’ Vampire High is also set in Massachusetts in a world where vampires and humans co-exist but are segregated with their own stores, movie theatres, and school systems. After flunking out of public school fifteen-year-old Cody Elliot is sent to Vlad Dracul Magnet School in the hopes that a more prestigious and strict environment will curb his apathy and force him to graduate. However, on the first day of class Cody discovers that the majority of the students at Vlad Dracul are vampires.

Rees’ take on the vampires is both innovative and fresh. He creates his own terminology to differentiate between vampires, jenti, and humans, gadge, and also uses “Bram” and “Stoker” as insults. His additional vampire conventions also vary widely from most familiar conventions: vampires can eat human food and garlic, walk in the daylight, wear crosses, get sick, have children, and die. There are elements of romance between Cody and Ileana, a vampire princess, but Rees relies more on humor to entice the reader. One neat addition to this book absent from other vampire literature is a shape shifting librarian with perfect reader advisory skills.

The developmental task present in this book is renegotiating power among peer groups and adult figures. Cody must cope with a domineering principal as well as differing peer groups who refuse to interact. By keeping vampire and humans segregated at Vlad Dracul Rees illustrates how cliques may form with intimidating and harmful consequences, such as bullying. Cody serves as the bridge between the jenti and the gadge by selflessly donating blood to help his friend Justin, and also pursuing a vampire romantically. Cody’s desires to be with a girl, make friends, and have a reason to work hard and graduate are relatable desires for young adults. Vampire High is an excellent example of a light-hearted book about vampires and humans and is appropriate and appealing to both middle and high school readers.

When you fall in love with the undead - Part 3

Personally, I am a huge fan of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes ever since reading her first vampire novel, the second books of her Den of Shadows quartet, Demon in My View. Even from a young age of 14 she had published her first novel, In the Forests of the Night and her talent and prowess as a young adult, supernatural novelist has steadily exceeded since. This book is the third of the Den of Shadows quartet and follows a teen witch through high school as she battles her family's issues, her craft, as well as two vampire brothers who have suddenly shown up and begun to shake up her life.

This book falls under the second category of Overstreet's developmental tasks for adolescents within her
allegory of vampirism:  renegotiating relationships and power dynamics between teens, parents, and peer groups.

Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Shattered Mirror. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.

Sarah Tigress Vida is a seventeen-year-old immersed in power, including magic from the Vida bloodline of witches, physical training as a vampire hunter, and the power of her overbearing mother, Dominique Vida. After a recent move to Acton, Massachusetts Sarah begrudgingly attends high school with vampires and finds herself befriending vampire siblings, Christopher and Nissa. By night she attends vampire “bashes” undercover to hunt the powerful vampire Nikolas, who murdered her ancestor. Soon Sarah discovers a connection between Christopher, Nissa, and Nikolas that will jeopardize her title as a witch, her family, and her life.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes creates a brilliantly crafted world where vampires, witches, and other supernatural creatures are ruled by prejudiced beliefs. The idea of tradition is very strong within the story through Sarah’s character. She learns through her friendships with vampires, who she has been conditioned to despise and destroy, that perhaps they are not all murdering and soulless, but former humans capable of love and mercy. Her world view changes from being dualistically black and white to include shades of grey. This metaphor is emphasized through Nikolas, whose character, clothes, and home are illustrated in stark black and white.

The relationship between Sarah and her mother is another important part of the plot as well. Throughout the novel Sarah begins defying her mother’s authority through menial but astonishing acts like befriending vampires, attending a Halloween dance at school over a Samhain ritual, and developing feelings for the vampire, Christopher. Sarah’s defiance in order to enjoy normal teenage activities is important in the development of her own identity aside from her family and her vampire hunting renown. Shattered Mirror is appropriate for upper middle and high school readers as it contains several instances of violence. The sub-plot of romance and high level fantasy world will appeal to reluctant readers and appease vampire literature fans.

Look for the sequel to Shattered Mirror, called All Just Glass. You can find a preview and a description of the text here.

Growing Pains: Adolescents turning into Vampires

The second installment of the vampire paper I wrote last summer discusses M. T. Anderson's Thirsty, which chronicles Chris' difficult transition through adolescence, into vampirism.

Anderson, M. T. Thirsty. United States: Candlewick Press, 1997.

Anderson’s book takes place in an alternate universe, Clayton, Massachusetts, where humans exist alongside vampires, changelings, and shape shifters and arm themselves against the Forces of Darkness. The highlights in this small town are vampire lynches and the Sad Festival of Vampires, where the town conducts blood rituals to prevent an attack by the evil vampire lord, Tch’muchgar. The story’s protagonist, Christopher, is in high school and on the cusp of puberty. When an agent from the Forces of Light, Chet, comes to recruit Christopher or a secret mission, he can no longer ignore the fact that he might be turning into a vampire.

As the book progresses Christopher becomes more isolated as his transformation into a vampire becomes more apparent. This isolation represents how young adults may feel as they face puberty. Peer pressure is visible when Christopher is approached by a group of local vampire teenagers, who shun him when he refuses to take a human life and sate his bloodlust. Christopher’s only friends, Jerk and Tom, become distant and Christopher’s attempts to woo Rebecca Schwartz are inhibited by his massive canines, perhaps a metaphor for another uncontrollable physical response to girls in male teens.

In Anderson’s world vampirism is treated as a curse that can afflict anyone as early as birth. The allegory of vampirism representing adolescence is very apparent here as Christopher longs for someone to talk to about the overwhelming thirst and blinding rage he experiences. With no one to guide him Christopher becomes a very lost and sympathetic character. Readers will empathize with a young adult’s need for guidance as well as an adult figure they can trust, which Christopher attempts to find in Chet. The pace of the book is fairly slow, but a climactic buildup leads to a twist ending which will leave an impact on the reader. Thirsty contains some instances of violence and is appropriate for middle school readers.

Suddenly Last Summer - In which I wrote a paper about vampires.

To jump right into discussing popular theories about vampire literature and why it appeals to young adults, I bring to my defense my term paper for Deb Taylor's 2008 Young Adult Literature class. The final examination for this course was to pick a topic about young adult literature, flush it out, and find at least six - eight books to support your topic. You could write this paper in the style of a collection of book reviews or in the style of an analytical research paper. Being that it was the summer I chose the former option. My library school friend, April, chose "Hope in Suicide" for her paper topic a year later and read books such as Jay Asher's "13 Reasons Why" and Laurie Halse Andersen's "Wintergirls". I'll have more to say on that later, but this is just to give you an example. Another girl on my class did a presentation of books about boarding schools. Come to think of it, I just now thought of a trend in titles that I should probably elaborate on, which is the triptych of seemingly unrelated aspects of a character's life. For example Louise Rennison's "Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging", Carolyn Mackler's "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things", Robin Brande's "Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature", etc.

But I digress...or rather, that is not the subject for this week's post.

I'll post the introduction to the paper and then refresh each point as it relates to the particular vampire book I'm reviewing, which will be posted in chronological order.

The first book up this week is L. J. Smith's first installment to her now epic 8 book series and CW series, "The Vampire Diaries". L. J. Smith began this series of books in 1991. At the insistence of her fans she "concluded" the series with the fourth installment, Volume IV: Dark Reunion. After the success of Twilight there was more fan demand to resurrect the series. And thus The Vampire Diaries: The Return was born. I do not believe the Television Series follows the books very closely, mostly because the main character is from Degrassi and looks nothing like the Elena described in the books.

Without further adieu, the appeal of vampire literature is relevant to young adults because of a theory upheld by literary scholars equating vampirism as an allegory for adolescence and puberty (De Marco 26). Considering the appeal of vampire literature to young adults and the appropriateness of the adolescence allegory, the focus of the stories accumulated for this bibliography discuss vampires in high school.

In her book Not Your Mother’s Vampire, Deborah Wilson Overstreet expands the allegory of adolescence and vampirism to include three categories which discuss developmental tasks adolescents must face and tally how often they appear in vampire literature for young adults. The first task is physical body changes during puberty and the search for identity, the second task is renegotiating relationships and power dynamics between teens, parents, and peer groups, and the third task is increasing sexuality and interest in pursuing romantic relationships (Overstreet 14-15).

Smith, L.J. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. New York: Harper Court, 1991.

Elena Gilbert’s diary entries help chronicle the beginning of her senior year at Robert E. Lee High School, beginning with the sudden death of her parents. When a mysterious Italian student named Stefan starts attending her school, Elena is determined to win his heart. Following Stefan’s arrival is a sudden spike of sporadic attacks where people are mutilated, seemingly by an animal. As the only vampire in town, Stefan cannot help but blame himself for these attacks though he cannot remember committing them. Isolating himself from his classmates and shunning Elena’s advances only increases her desire to pursue him, even at the risk of her life.

The Vampire Diaries fulfills the third developmental characteristic of developing romantic relationships and recognizing sexuality. The romantic pursuit and obtainment of a relationship between Stefan and Elena is the main focus of this book, the first in an ongoing series of seven. Foreshadowing is very prominent, even occurring from the first line, “Dear Diary, Something awful is going to happen today.” Smith uses a particular convention of vampirism as a metaphor for sex, illustrated through her intimate description of Stefan’s creation into a vampire, as well as his consensual exchange of blood with Elena.

Readers who love plot-driven series will be drawn to The Vampire Diaries as well as through the implied love triangle between Elena, Stefan, and his brother, Damon. Similar to Atwater-Rhodes’ vampires, Damon and Stefan Salvatore are described with opposite personalities: the former is the irreprehensible bad boy, and the latter is the sensitive, sympathetic vampire. Elena is a very weak heroine and portrayed as selfish, manipulative, and conniving. The rest of the cast embodies typical personality archetypes with strong secondary characters. The book’s appropriateness leans more toward upper middle school readers because of violent vampire attacks and the implied sexuality through the exchange of blood.