Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

46 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I picked this up out of curiosity for the beloved YA vampire story.
"Vampire Academy" is a YA story that follows Rose, a mix of human and vampire, who is dedicated to protecting Lissa, a Moroi princess. Two years ago, Lissa and Rose ran away from St. Vladimir's academy because of the dangers that lie within its gates. Unfortunately, the pair have finally been caught and are dragged back to the school. Now, the best friends have to work together to protect Lissa from the undead that want to make her one of them.
I never got into the early 2000s obsession with vampires, so out of curiosity, I have been dipping my toes into the vampiric world now (in the 2020s). With that in mind, I did not have very high expectations for this story, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This novel is definitely not amazingly written, nor do I think it has aged super well, but it was just a fun book about best friends who happen to be vampires.
My absolute favorite aspect of this book was the depiction of Lissa and Rose's friendship. Both of these girls will stop at nothing to help the other. When one of them needs something, both do not hesitate to jump in and help their friend. I love seeing depictions of friendship, especially in a YA book. I think it is so important to highlight the importance of friendships, depict what makes a good friend, and show teenagers that there is more to life than romantic love. I am a firm believer that a soul mate does not have to be a romantic relationship, sometimes the people that light your soul on fire are in fact your friends.
I am definitely intrigued, and I will be curious to pick up the rest of this series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

joyfulfoodie's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was an enjoyable low thinking book. Learning the three main groups (basically live vampires, dead vampires, and the half vampire class that supports and protects the live ones) was a bit of a struggle for me. I’ve definitely got down the dead ones now since they are villainized frequently (and not unfairly so far). There are definitely a few reveals that I saw coming. But I’m pretty sure this is YA fiction so that’s understandable and fine. I’ll continue the series and that doesn’t feel like a burden. 😉

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Alcohol

abby_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

📱
I thought the book was alright. The writing isn't bad and I find the characters to be rather interesting. I thought the pacing was rather slow and it didn't really pick up until the last few chapters. I don't care for the relationship between Rose and Dimitri. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Gore, Self harm, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness and Car accident

Minor: Death and Death of parent

sweetchocolatez's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Torture, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Death, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War

ashleysager's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Self harm, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug abuse

Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

zoeelora's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

elskabee's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Anything over a 3.5 for this would be generous despite my nostalgia.

This is my first time rereading this book in over ten years and I liked it more than I was worried. I can't say it has aged amazingly, but most of the difficult topics (self-harm and depression, age gap crushes) are dealt with in a way that never glamourises or romanticises and even has some good healthy takeaways by the end. I do however wish that conversations around slut-shaming and bullying were handled a bit better. The former simply had a messy message and seemed to contradict itself, the latter not seriously acknowledged despite how prominent the bullying/school drama plotlines are throughout.

The writing style is very simple and easy to read which is fine, but older readers might find it a bit lacking. I found the multiple plot elements enough to hold interest. The school politics wore on me a bit, whereas the journey Rose goes on to learn to be more responsible and trust people around her was well done imo. I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding of the vampire society and how the school is run. I think the author put a lot of thought into the position each character in the book has in society and how that affects their choices and how they treat others. Most of the time they treat each other poorly! but societal pressure and petty teenage angst create a pressure cooker environment in the school that is palpable. Rose in particular is mean to almost everyone except Lissa, which is acknowledged in the book and honestly just made me like Rose more. Give me petty teenage characters that get angry and mess up (Not perfect and bland protags that have no room for growth)

Anyway, this book despite its length has a lot going on and although it is very much a vampire YA book published in 2007, I did enjoy my time reading it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Self harm

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

The adult/minor relationship is between a 17 year old and a 25 year old. He is her mentor and never pressures her and in fact actively avoids pursuing her. The minor doesn't spend much time pursuing him but does think about her attraction to him and internally acknowledges that the relationship probably shouldn't happen due to the age gap between them. Near the end of the book

they engage in a lot of kissing which she is undressed for while they are both under the influence of a lust spell. He regrets it and wants her to report him and accepts that he would likely get fired as a consequence, though she does not.

Also later in the series

they do eventually get together.

hoffmann's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

If you liked Twilight, but wished it wasn’t problematic garbage- this might be for you!! it’s sexy, stupid teens, who are also vampires. What could go wrong? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Murder

the_escapist's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

lmcknight's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

It’s not for me 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia