Vampire Week: A Series Review

I have, in the last seven days, read five YA vampire novels. There was a point when I didn't think I would make it, but I powered through, and I am now happily reading some YA historical fiction that will hopefully have no supernatural/paranormal elements. Clearly the week with the vampires got to me, because at one point the main character saw a dog and I thought: "Oh, it's probably a werewolf, maybe the villain is. . . " So yes, too much vampire messes with your head.

In the end though, I'm glad I did it. I can now knowledgeably lead my students away from the series that are too old for them, and let them know what series to read as high school freshman. And for that reason alone I'm glad that I decided to read them in one big rush.

Unfortunately, none of the series that I read were 100% okay for my classroom. A few are maybes once I read more books in their respective series, but probably not. Vampire fiction is so popular that anything I put out there would immediately get snapped up and read over and over, by everyone, and not just my more discerning (mature) readers.

Mostly, this week made me think about Buffy. The best vampire stories, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, use vampires to teach us something else about our world. Buffy herself might have been about a wisecracking teen who used super strength to combat the undead, but the show was also about friendship, trust, love, family, and destiny. The same was true of the best books that I read this week. My two favorites, Vampire Academy and Glass Houses, had something to say beyond vampires. Lissa in Vampire Academy has some real problems, and watching Rose deal with them would be useful to any teen struggling to help a disturbed friend. Stories like that are the genre at its best.

In summary---
I already bought the next installment in:

• Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
• Blood Coven Vampires by Mari Mancusi (so very fun)

I might eventually read more of:

• House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

I'm getting the next one from the library to see if it's as bad as the first:

• Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz

I've posted a list of the books in the various series (to the best of my knowledge) on my Books in a Row page. If you are a teacher/librarian and would like to know specifically why I think a book is too old for 7th grade (or wonder if it's okay for your age level), please feel free to send me an email or leave a comment.