Definitely Not Twilight

The Vampire Diaries Volume I: The Awakening
L. J. Smith

There's a good looking young man pretending to be a high school senior in a small town. Then there's the lovely young lady who falls for him. The guy has a secret though, he's a creature of the night: a vampire. Is this Twilight? Of course not! This book was written more than a decade before Stephenie Meyer published the first of that ever-popular series.

I finished this book for Dewey's Read-A-Thon last weekend.

The first book of The Vampire Diaries introduces us to Stefan Salvatore, the vampire in question who recently relocated to Fell's Church. He wears dark glasses, Italian designer clothes and drives a flashy car. It's quite obvious he stands out among a bevy of young men in the school. Elena Gilbert instantly wants him. Elena is the school's Queen Bee. Think Blair Waldorf as a blond. Oooh sorry for the Gossip Girl reference, to those who haven't seen an episode of uh Gossip Girl. Hahaha! Surrounded by her loyal soldiers, I mean friends, one of them an heir to Cassandra's throne, a psychic named Bonnie, Elena plots her ways to get the attention of the seemingly unaffected Stefan. Unbeknownst to her, Stefan has his sights on her too, for a different reason.

For such a swift read I really wouldn't want to spoil things for you. Needless to say this is not entirely a love story. There are major conflicts involve not to mention a dead body and a handful of vampire attacks in the process. Ooops, so much for no spoilers. Kidding. But hey, it wouldn't be a vampire story without a dead body at least, right?

It's a dark story really and I don't mean just the love angle. The human characters grow before our very eyes: one minute Elena is this Queen Bee and the next minute she's more than likeable after all, or that some of the minor characters are out to sow trouble when they looked defeated early on.

But mainly, this is Stefan's story. His story from way back centuries ago when he first fell in love with Katherine up to now. And a past that keeps haunting him wherever he goes. A past that goes by the name of Damon, his older brother.

It's a good read; short and makes you want to know more. It has none of the need-to-chop-off-unnecessary-chapters and/or sentences that is probably Meyer's trademark on the Twilight series. This one is definitely better written than those. It talks more to the teenager (or young adult) though - that sense of trying to find yourself in the time of your life called high school, knowing who your friends are, falling in love for the first time, exorcising demons - you get the drift. All that happening in a world where vampires are real and a crow seems to be following your every move. Scary!

Of course after reading the first book I think I have to read the rest. For one thing it ends with a cliffhanger. And an preview of the first chapter of the second book The Struggle: Vampire Diaries Volume II. Tsk tsk tsk.

Why did I pick this up in the first place? I mentioned during the Read-A-Thon that I've seen the first two episodes of Vampire Diaries and I thought that the book version probably has a better story despite the presence of that lovely, gorgeous Ian Somerhalder who plays Damon in the series. And I was right. For one thing Elena isn't a Queen Bee in the show. Or doesn't act like one. Maybe one Blair Waldorf is enough in the small screen. Hahaha!

And while I like changes (think True Blood versus the Sookie Stackhouse novels - the show can hold its own over the books) in the case of Vampire Diaries, I'll pick the book over the series anytime. Yes, despite Ian Somerhalder's presence. Because, I don't know, I found it boring after the second episode. Oh well. Maybe I'll change my mind when I have a hankering for Ian Somerhalder sometime in the future. Hahaha!

I'll add this book to my R.I.P. IV books as well. Serendipitous! At least I get to complete Peril the First with this.