The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle

Average Rating: 4.0 Stars
by L. J. Smith

List Price: $8.99
Store Price: from $4.89
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperTeen
ISBN: 006114097X

Product Description

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.

Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to possess her.

Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

Customer Reviews

Loved It Then, Love It Now
5 Stars
I originally read this when I was a young adult, and with the release of the new one I read it again. It is a classic love story about forbidden love - engaging, dark, moody, romantic, and perfect in its simplicity. A very strong story line. Characters that develop. Just enough of a fantasy element to tell a great story and keep it believable. I hope they do make it into a tv series, and I hope they do it justice.
~ K. E. Burks,
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Yeah.... okay
3 Stars
Okay, VD was pretty good.
*SPOILERS*

The Bad-
Okay, so Elena, the popular stereotypical blonde queen of the school is intrigued by the new boy, a rich vampire. So of course, she orders her slave-like friends to do it all for her, anything to get that new guy. So of course, she does, but her friends are sorta dumb, just doing whatever she says. Anyways, so then Stefan(the vampire) refuses to love her and that stuff. But he caves in too quick. I don't like how he drinks form her. He isn't as protective or passionate as Edward Cullen.

The Good-
Vampire Diaries was one of those books that you never know what is gonna happen. I thought Bonnie and Matt(I think thats his name) would date. I liked Damon better than Stefan, Stefan was a stick in the mud. But overall, a good read.
Don't expect the same kind of writing as Twilight or Vampire Academy, they are both written better.
~ Kirsty, Noneofyourbuisnessville, NW
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My 14 year old loved it!
5 Stars
I ordered this for my 14 year old daughter who likes to read vampire books. She has loved every book that she has read in the series so far.
~ Deborah Brist, memphis, TN
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More like 3.5 stars; entertaining but not spectacular
3 Stars
This book caught my eye at the bookstore and I finally decided to get it and give it a try. It was a pretty good book. Nothing really outstanding but an enjoyable read. I think these books may have been spectacular back 15 years ago, but with the market so saturated with this subject, they didn't really stand out for me. These books were originally written something like 15 years ago and were re-released as this omnibus which contains the first two of the four original books in the series.

Elena, the most popular girl in school, is intrigued by the new boy in town named Stefan. He is mysterious and will never answer any questions about his past. Elena is determined to make him notice her. Stefan finds Elena disturbing in that she reminds him of someone in his past. Things get tense when killings and attacks start happening in the area and people begin to suspect that Stefan is more than he appears to be.

A lot of people are comparing this to Twilight, and while the theme is kind of similar, the writing style is much different and the topic of vampirism is handled in a more traditional way than it is in Twilight. Personally, I shy away from comparing this series to Twilight because it is just a very different type of story.

This was a well-written and engaging story. It is again a story of star-crossed lovers in a way, as Stefan and Elena struggle to make a relationship work between a human and a vampire. It is also a story of revenge as Stefan's brother, Damon, tries to tear Stefan and Elena apart. This is a book for teens or young adults; it takes place during high school and there is a lot of angsting over who loves who, and who should go to what parties, etc. There is some mystery as they try to solve who is causing the attacks. There are a couple good action scenes but I wouldn't call this an action novel at all. The story itself is more of your classic Romeo and Juliet beginning with a paranormal bent to it.

The ideas behind vampirism are pretty typical and traditional in this book; there wasn't a ton of creativity from that aspect. That book also didn't take place is a very creative world; so not much world-building just the world you and I live in.

If you liked Twilight, the House of Night series, or the Vampire Academy series than you will probably like this book. As far as writing quality I think the Vampire Academy series is more well written than this series and the House of Night series is less well written than this series. It was good enough that I will read the next omnibus that contains the final two books of this series. I am not sure if I will read any additional series by L. J. Smith or not.
~ K. Eckert, Minneapolis, MN
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:)
5 Stars
I love this series as much as I did when I first read it 10 years ago. Absolutely enthralling
~ JoyousOccasion, New York, NY
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