Blue Bloods

De La Cruz, Melissa. Blue Bloods. Hyperion Paperbacks: 2006. ISBN: 9781423101260.

Plot Summary:
Schuyler Van Alen attends the exclusive Duchesne Private School in New York City. Her classmates are the offspring of the social, political and wealthy elite. Schuyler really doesn't fit in. She lives in a mansion with her grandma that has seen better days and shops for her vintage clothes second hand. Every Sunday since Schuyler was a little girl she goes to the hospital downtown to visit her mother who is in a coma. Sometimes an unfamiliar man is sitting next to her bed, but when Schuyler enters he is gone. Strange things begin happening when Schuyler turns fifteen. The veins on her arms become bright blue and she craves raw meat. Jack Force the most popular boy at school begins to pay her lots of attention which upsets her best friend, Oliver Hazard-Perry. Schuyler witness Jack getting hit by a car, standing up and walking away without a scratch. The same night a popular Duchesne student is murdered and has no blood left in her body.

Critical Evaluation:
Suspense and intrigue immediately grab the reader in this well written vampire novel. The appeal of wealthy teens who get and do anything they want, life in a big city and vampires, this novel is part Clique Series, part romance and a healthy dose of the paranormal. The author peeks our interest by interspersing letters written by a teen on board the Mayflower in 1620 and implying they are relevant to the present. Written in third person, the teens may be rich and elite, but the same social situations and missteps occur.

Reader's Annotation:
Growing up is never easy either as a human or a vampire.

Author's Information:
Melissa De La Cruz is a graduate of Columbia University with a degree in art history and English. Her work has appeared in many magazines which include: Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, and Teen Vogue. Best know for her Au Pair Series, Melissa has many novels to her credit. Blue Bloods is an ALA Quick Pick. Melissa divides her time between New York and Los Angeles where she lives with her husband and daughter.

Genre:
Paranormal/Vampires

Curriculum Ties:
History of the Mayflower
Vampire Lore

Reading Level/Interest Age:
9th +

Challenge Issue
None

Why Book Included:
I have never read a vampire book other than listening to Twilight with my daughter. The genre is so popular that my collection wouldn't be complete without one.