From page to screen: 'Vampire Academy'

I have to say I was very disappointed with the film. They were able to explain the concept of strigoi, moroi and dhampiers, but I think that I would rather forget that the movie ever existed and just focus on how fantastic the books are.

Wow, I sound so negative: it's not as if the storyline was lost in the movie or they changed things dramatically, in actual fact, they followed the book pretty well, it's just "something" was missing. And I don't really know what the "something" is, it's just that the "something" wasn't there. It didn't have a certain "life" to it, which I can understand sounds like a terrible attempt of being a pun, considering it is a film about vampires (aka "the living dead"). But all movies, no matter how many dead monsters are in it, has to have that "spark of life," so it is a shame I have to say that this film wasn't a success because of this lack.

Even the advertising doesn't represent what the story is

Another critical, and more specific feature of the film, was the casting. I was severely disappointed with the choice of actor to play Dimitri, who is described as a "complete god"in the books, but I'm sorry, I just don't think that Danila Kozlovsky looked very "god-like" in this particular movie. He didn't look twenty-four like his character was meant to be, mind you neither did Zoey Deutch look seventeen, but she naturally performed Rose's quick witted comments. I'm sorry,  I'm being really critical, but I really can't lie. I didn't think Lucy Fry was an engaging actress to play Lissa, meanwhile I thought Sarah Hyland played a good Natalie, and I think Dominic Sherwood had the potential to be a good Christian, however the script didn't allow for that much character development to occur for him, or any of the other characters come to think of it. Maybe that might have been the "something" missing; the story was there, but the character relationships and complexities wasn't.

This is what you should read- ignore the movie

But let's return to the book itself. 'Vampire Academy' is the first in the series, written by Richelle Mead, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It is written through the eyes of Rose, a seventeen Dhampir girl (of human and vampire decent), meaning that her purpose is to protect the Moroi (good vampire), in particular, her best friend Vasilisa Dragomir, from the evil vampires, the Strigoi. Rose is a charismatic and feisty character, which, in the written word, is highly entertaining to read. She is funny and unlike the film, you get to see the complexities of her character and her opinion on others. And St Vladimir's Academy is where they attend school, where she trains to become a guardian, and where she finds herself caught in a forbidden attraction to her instructor, Dimitri. Meanwhile, there are evils- both Strigoi and even amongst their own- that threaten their lives. It is such a good read and I recommend this series to anyone who loves urban fantasy romance, as it fits all the categories perfectly.