Review : The Vampire Diaries : The Awakening and The Struggle

Posted by kay on October 16, 2009 12:49 am in 3.5 stars reads | 7 comments

The Vampire Diaries, books 1 and 2 : The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith
Pages : 492
Genre : YA, Vampires
My Rating : 

When a stunning, mysterious guy joins her school, Elena just knows that she must have him. The challenge is even more interesting when, unlike all the boys before, he resists all of her charming attempts.

What Elena doesn’t know, is that Stefan is hiding a dangerous secret about his past – a secret that risks being revealed when his brother and rival, Damon, decides to join the fun and appears in town…

I guess the comparison to the Twilight sage is unavoidable, and so I’ll begin with the usual disclaimer; yes, it has some similarities with Bella and Edward’s story, but it has been written at least a decade before! Who knew vampires existed before Stephanie Meyer came on the scene? 😛

I personally preferred The Vampire Diaries, although it clearly has the characteristics of the teen horror novels I read (and loved!) in the nineties : fast developing story, lots of action, bi-dimensional characters. And I loved it for that! It’s the kind of book where you put your brain on a break and simply enjoy the ride.

Of course, most of the story centers around Elana and Stefan’s romance, and my, are those two going fast! Stefan goes from “I-don’t-want-to-be-with-you” to “let’s-get-engaged!” in a heartbeat, which is also the time it takes to Elena to fall completely in love with him. It’s fast! And intense! Elena also has a “I-can-change-the-guy-I-love-with-love” complex which, I guess, many girls and women can relate to even though it’s not the safest (and sanest) way to go.

Now, let’s not forget Damon. He’s the archetype of dark and sexy, dangerous and intriguing. He is also, unlike his brother Stefan, accepting what he is and embracing every part of it. Therefore, he is a complete opposite to Stefan’s (quasi) harmless fangs. He plays his role annoyingly well, I must say!

I enjoyed book 1 (The Awakening) a little more than book 2 (The Struggle). All in all it was a fun enough read that I went and read books 3 and 4 almost immediately, and I currently have book 5 waiting for me. I was even more delighted to discover that a sixth book will be published in 2010!

Series Reading Order :

1. The Awakening
2. The Struggle
3. The Fury
4. Dark Reunion
5. Nightfall (The Return #1)
6. Shadow Souls (The Return, #2)

Of course, I now have to mention that TV show, you know, The Vampire Diaries? I first started reading the books because I wanted to know a little about the story before watching it. This is the one time I can remember where I actually prefer the TV product to the book!

There are a few changes : blonde Elena is now brown, and she also has more personality in my opinion. The vampires are a little younger, too (but they’re still more than a century old). There’s also one of Elena’s friends that’s missing.

On the surface, it looks very different, but I think it was for the best. The show is dynamic enough and the characters have more depth. While it’s not the most original vampire show ever (I miss you, Buffy!) it’s still a good ride. Plus, Damon = eye candy!