Vampire Academy Signature Edition: A Vampire Academy Novel by Richelle Mead Grades 7+ 352 pages Razorbill November 2009 Hardcover     One of the reasons I love young adult fiction is that it’s quite often an excellent story, without all the gratuitous violence and sex. Vampire Academy is a perfect example. In author Richelle Mead’s world, there are two kinds of vampires: the Moroi and Stringoi. The Moroi are born vampires, and they are the ruling class, the royalty. The violent Stringoi are made by killing others, and they are the reason that Dhampirs exist – to guard the Moroi from the Strongoi. Mead offers some new perspective on vampire lore (a vampire saint, for example). There are some familiar things and, not surprisingly as the series is targeted to teen girls, a touch of Mean Girls thrown in. High school life is much the same for vampires and dhampirs as it is for human girls. I was caught up in the story from the very first pages and read straight through until I was finished. Unlike some authors of books for teen girls, Mead appears to actually have a working knowledge of teenage behavior and language. Vampire Academy isn’t peppered with unnecessary slang, but nor is it overly adult. Reading conversations between the teens in Vampire Academy is like listening to my niece and her friends talk when they think no one is paying attention. You’d think I’d know better than to begin yet another series that I will not be able to stop reading. I’m going to have to get another bookcase.     web reviews   Barbara Sharpe/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)