Blue BloodsBy Melissa De La Cruz
Hyperion. 2006. 302 pages. Young Adult
Schuyler Van Alan is the last line of her prominent family which can be traced all the way back to the Mayflower. Although her family is now poor, she still attends an exclusive private school in New York. Schuyler and her friend Oliver are treated like outcasts by the popular elite such as Mimi Force and her twin brother Jack. But when Jack begins to notice Schuyler and strange things start to happen to her body such as strong blue veins showing through her skin, she learns of her true heritage and connection to the elite families of Manhattan. However, there is trouble a foot when a girl is murdered from her school.
This romantic vampire tale has many appealing factors for teens (such as a voyeuristic view into the privileged lifestyle of upper class New Yorkers). It is also a perfect read-alike for such books as Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Eternal, Vampire Kisses, Evernight, etc. etc. It should be noted, however, that the book contains prevalent smoking and use of alcohol by underage teens and one scene where two teens nearly sleep together.
AJ
1 comment:
I somewhat enjoyed this first installment in Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Bloods series. It is could be described as Gossip Girl with an otherworldly twist. Schuyler Van Alen is appropriately cast as a misfit at the elite Duchesne School. Many novels use the classic Twilight plot model of a secretly beautiful eccentric teen girl caught between two possible beaus. Blue Bloods is no different. Schuyler pines for an alpha male while depending on her best friend Oliver for day-to-day support. I cared more about the plot than the characters in this novel. It also irked me a bit that the teenagers acted like sophisticated twenty-somethings in their drug, drinking, and sex habits.
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