Parents' Guide to

Bloodlines

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Vampire story with strong heroine explores prejudice.

Book Richelle Mead Fantasy 2011
Bloodlines Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

gossipgirl13
gossipgirl13 Parent of 11, 11 and 12-year-old
December 25, 2021
age 12+

This book sucks the life out of you.

Makes every other vampire book you read feel like a masterpiece. The story follows Sydney Sage, a supposedly talented alchemist, who goes to a boarding school in L.A during a mission to pretend vampire and princess Jill Dragomir. If this plot sounds crazy to you, wait to the rest of the book. And then you meet Adrian Ivaskov, who is so horrible you won't even bother to try to say Ivaskov out loud. One of the best lines was "Going to pick up a stranded vampire party boy." - Sydney Sage. Also, the vampires in this book have no reaction to sunlight, except that Jill gets "tired", they eat normal food, and they are mortal. Oh, yeah. And they play mini-golf in 100 degree heat in Los Angles. Totally believable, right? If you liked the Twilight saga, and want to read this because you like vampire books, save your time and find something - anything - better.
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What's the Story?

In this Vampire Academy spin-off, the focus shifts from Rose Hathaway to secondary character Sydney Sage, a clever 18-year-old Alchemist who's sent on an undercover mission to protect Jill, the Moroi vampire queen's sister. Sydney must pretend to be Jill's sister as they attend an elite boarding school in Palm Springs, Calif., along with Jill's bodyguard, Eddie, and the smug and sexy Adrian, who lives nearby with the town's one Moroi inhabitant. Complicating the assignment is Sydney's palpable dislike of Palm Springs' head Alchemist, Keith, who keeps threatening to replace Sydney with her less experienced younger sister if she keeps acting like a \"vamp lover.\" As Sydney grows accustomed to her vampire-guarding post, she discovers her human classmates keep sporting mysterious \"magical\" tattoos. Plus, young women -- human and vampire alike -- keep popping up dead.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (7 ):

Some firsts in a series are all punchy exposition to get you hooked before the action revs up, while others are spectacular even by stand-alone standards; BLOODLINES is more the former. While there are a few suspenseful central mysteries to follow and be resolved, this is clearly an exercise in getting to know Sydney -- a brilliant introvert who has never felt appreciated or unconditionally loved by her perfectionist father -- and see her adapt to her precarious new mission. Her interactions with flirtatious vampire Adrian and intriguing human classmate Trey are particularly fascinating, because they force the self-conscious Sydney to entertain the idea that she's actually a girl, not just an Alchemist.

Fans hoping for fluttery romance will have to wait for the next installments. Mead has a knack for making it seem like every male could possibly be interested in every female and vice-versa, but there definitely were a couple of bold-faced possibilities for Sydney in the next book. Since Sydney is often portrayed as a Hermione-esque character (incredibly smart, logical and invested in helping others) with no romantic experience, it will be interesting to see how Mead weaves in a first-love plotline for the plucky and mature heroine. You don't have to be familiar with Vampire Academy to enjoy Bloodlines, but those who've read that series will have a deeper sense of the various characters' personalities.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the cover makes this book look like yet another paranormal romance, but there's actually little romance in it. Publishers seem to believe tween and teen girls are unable to read a book without romance. Do you think they are?

  • Discuss the author's theme of prejudice and discrimination. How do Keith and even Sydney make assumptions about the vampires and dhampirs? How is Sydney an example of someone who learns to see past the superficial?

  • For those familiar with the Vampire Academy series: How is Sydney a different kind of protagonist than Rose? Which story line do you prefer? Do you like how the author inludes supporting characters from VA into a more prominent role in Bloodlines?

Book Details

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