Now I can see why teenage girls love vampires …

Although I have more of the same stacked up, (vampire novels aimed at teenagers that is), I think I’ve worked out why teenage girls love reading them… They have all the features of many traditional favourites:- set in schools pupilled with bullies, geeks, jocks, all the usual stereotypes are there; there’s good/bad, sympathetic/not teachers; an overwhelming hatred of maths; but most importantly the heroine is new to the school – an outsider who is different and sticks out a mile. Mix thoroughly and then spice liberally with vampires to bring a whole new level of fantasy to the staple genre. However given all that, these first two books have totally different approaches …

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Although not the first, Twilight is the book that has ignited the current vamp fever.

Isabella is a beautiful yet clumsy girl who has left her Mum, and her new husband, in Phoenix to live with her Dad in the small, rainy, northwestern town of Forks. Enrolling at the local high school she soon makes friends, but then attracts the attention of the mysterious and impossibly good-looking Cullen family.

It is love at first sight for Isabella and Edward – but the course of true love never runs smooth, as the Cullens are vampires. As Edward and Bella start to explore whether it is possible for them to have a relationship, some other vampires come on the scene, and Bella is put in danger.

It could have been really brilliant, but to be honest I didn’t warm to Bella – she’s a bit of a whiner and homebody, and so drippy once she falls for Edward. He on the other hand is the business, provided you can forget the slightly creepy fact that he’s a hundred year-old vampire in the body of a seventeen year-old Adonis. Crucially though, it’s so slow in getting to the action as they talk and talk and talk; and the central romance is totally frustrating for an adult read, (younger teens may baulk at the length). The overall feel to me was like one of those über-slick good-looking American TV series like Beverley Hills 90210 (or whatever the number was) with less sex and more talk.

Reading Meyer’s website it appears that Bella is the daughter she’s never had, and that there is a certain amount of wish fulfillment going on too. It was compulsive though, and I shall definitely read the rest of the series to find out what finally happens!

Now to a rather different type of high school vampire novel …


Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast

Written by a mother and daughter team, this is the first in a series called the ‘House of Night’. In the Casts’ world, teenagers are ‘marked’ to become vampires. It has a cracking opening line – “Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker.” Zoey is picked to become a vampyre (yes, with a ‘y’), the tracker marks her forehead and from that moment on her life changes.

She has to abandon everything and go to the ‘House of Night’ – the vampyre finishing school where they will take over her schooling and help her go through the change into becoming a vampyre. She’s happy to leave her mother and her horrible new husband, but has to say goodbye to her Cherokee grandmother who lives out of town. While out looking for her Gran who is out in the hills, Zoey falls and has a vision from the vampyre goddess Nyx who asks her to be her eyes and ears at the House of Night. Once at school, she finds that she’s the centre of attention, for the mark on her forehead has changed – it’s different to all the other fledglings’ ones, and not only is the headmistress Zoey’s mentor, but the head girl Aphrodite is soon on her case!

What ensues is more of a typical boarding school novel with secret clubs, cliques and escapades, and all the stereotypes above are present too. Many have commented that there’s a touch of Hogwarts about it with the pupils learning to be vampyres, but these teenaged vampyres’ blood is full of raging hormones so it’s definitely not suitable for younger teens. It was more fun and definitely has a better sense of humour than Twilight, but I don’t feel the compulsive need to read more of the series, (well – maybe!).


Having read these two, I can understand why teenage girls are adoring them. The presence of the vampires adds a fantasy element to the high-school novel that heightens the romance to a new level, providing the escapist fun that teenagers crave – but I wouldn’t recommend even the sex-free Twilight for any younger readers.

Now I’m reading the first Sookie Stackhouse novel – Dead Until Dark, which is the sexy older cousin to those above. I keep on discovering more vamp fare to add to my reading list though – The Vampire Diaries by L J Smith, which was published in 1991 and thought to be a key influence on those who came after; and Nordic vamp novel Let the right one in by John Ajvide Lindqvist. “Bring it on!” I say.

0 thoughts on “Now I can see why teenage girls love vampires …

  1. Juxtabook says:

    I confess I loved the Twilight saga. I read the whole lot twice. I also think they are very funny.The second one you review looks interesting – I'll have to see if the library have it.

  2. Annabel Gaskell says:

    Twilight was funny but on a level that we get rather than teenage girls though!The one I'm looking forward to is the Vampire Diaries though, as L J Smith seems to have been in the forefront of the vamp revival – have you read any of hers?

  3. Diana Laurence says:

    Interesting analysis, Anabel! I've read all the Twilight books and the first two Sookie books (don't want to get ahead of the TV show, LOL), and loved the sense of humor in the latter. Anyway, I've found vampires sexy and compelling since I was a teen myself.When writing my book, "How to Catch and Keep a Vampire," I was instructed by my publisher to make it appropriate for teens as well as adults. It was a little tricky at times, since the sex appeal of the vampire is not something you can ignore! But the handy thing about the undead is that they help people of all ages address their "darker urges" in a manner that feels safe. Which is, I think, a large part of the appeal of vampires to young people.–Diana Laurence (www.howtocatchandkeepavampire.com)

  4. Rachel says:

    Oh, Twilight! My flatmates were obsessed with the books and forced me to watch the film…I HATED IT! All that teenage angsty paleness and staring. I can't bear it! So I haven't read them and don't intend to. But good for you for getting through them!

  5. Annabel Gaskell says:

    Although I 'enjoyed' Twilight, and will slog through the rest of saga eventually, I feel these ones set in schools are ultimately best left to the teenagers,(I've now got the film to watch!)The Sookie Stackhouse books though are something else, definitely for adults and I loved the first one! Watch this space …

  6. Juxtabook says:

    No, not read the L J Smith – will look out for that too. My mother (in her 60s) and husband (in his 40s) both loved Twilight. My mother read them three times back to back. I've read them twice – got lots more out of them second time round. Like marmite, you either love or hate I think.

  7. Bloomsbury Bell says:

    I enjoyed reading the Twilight series as mindless relief but I agree that Bella became to drippy. Her love for Edward was a bit too much really and it's an odd message to send out that real love leads you to lose your family, friends and life. But that's just me being overly analytical of a series of books that are essentially mental chewing gum.Love your blog.

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