Throwback Thursday is a meme I’m starting. TBT is when I’ll review a book I read before I started blogging. This week’s selection is:
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 27 March 2007
Publisher: Hyperion
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Format: paperback, personal copy
Status: Book one of the Blue Bloods series
Summary:
When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society.
The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner…and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead… drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn’t know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?
I came across Blue Bloods just after Masquerade was published in 2007. I would stroll up and down the aisles of the YA section at Barnes and Noble looking for new reads. I saw the cover of Blue Bloods and was immediately drawn in by the obvious vampire aspect. I mean, c’mon. There are bite marks on her neck. MUST be vampire involved! Honestly, I think this is when I came across Twilight, too, but put it back cause it didn’t catch me. I thought what the heck, school’s almost over so I’ll pick it up. I started it the next school day. Wow. Back to B&N to get book 2! I actually “got in trouble” in my AP US History class for reading this one. My teacher told me if I was going to read in class at least make it look like I was paying attention. I said okay and set the book down on my desk and kept reading. (: Now, I wasn’t being bad, I’m great with history. Can’t remember what we were covering, but it was something I already knew well so… I read. (:
Let me introduce you to the big players:
Schuyler Van Alen – I love her. I identified so much with her! I wasn’t part of the “cool kids” in HS. I never wanted to be, and I was okay with that. I loved my friends. I think the way she handles herself when she is thrust into the middle of the Committee is inspiring. She stays true to herself and never wavers.
Oliver Hazard Perry – Oh, Ollie. He’s the best best friend a girl could hope for! His crush on Schuyler is adorable as well.
Bliss Llewellyn – I can kinda relate to Bliss being the new kid in school. I switched school systems in middle school.
Jack Force – Jack is the off limits hot jock in school. He’s a year older than Schuyler and always seems unattainable. Schuyler nurses a secret crush she even tries to hide from Ollie. There’s so much more to Jack than meets the eye and it just pulls you right in.
Mimi Force – Your stereotypical hateful Mean Girl. She’s THE queen bee of the school and lords it over EVERYONE. She especially hates Schuyler because she might as well be a charity case. Mimi is so evil that you hope she has a redeeming aspect.
Everyone’s world is thrown upside down when one of their fellow students is found dead. Schuyler is then among the new inductees of this year’s crop of Committee recruits. It is revealed to her that she is a vampire, a fallen angel from heaven. Or so she thinks. She soon learns that she is a new creation. She’s part human and part angel. This makes things extremely complicated as there has never been another like her. The Committee reveals that the girl who was found dead was killed and they don’t know who did it.
The race is on to uncover a mystery that has been hidden from the Coven for generations. At each turn, things become clearer and more muddled. Schuyler teams up with Jack in trying to uncover the murderer. Certain things come to light that throw their suspicions down the drain. Schuyler’s grandmother is attacked and she offers a piece to the puzzle that might help solve things. She says to find Schuyler’s grandfather.
Blue Bloods is a quick and light read. It’s full of NYC socialite drama with a dark twist. I never thought I would go for a book like this, but Melissa does such a fantastic job with the story line that some of the Mean Girls type drama actually makes it better overall.
The drama and intrigue continues in book two, Masquerade.
Recommended for: Those who have an interest in fallen angels, vampires, NYC, and lots of drama (but GOOD drama!)
Not recommended for: Those who don’t care for drama or a new spin on vampires.
The Whimsical Mama 