Blue Bloods
by Melissa De La Cruz

Hyperion Paperbacks, 2006, 302 pp., $8.99
ISBN-13: 9978-142310126-0
ISBN- 10: 142310126- X

“Jack Force nodded somberly and tapped on her notebook, directing her to a note he had written: Aggie didn’t die of an overdose. Aggie was murdered.”

Schuyler was different.  She wore vintage, baggy clothes instead of the Prada and Marc Jacobs that otherwise captured her school. But when a popular girl at her school mysteriously dies, Jack Force, a boy who had otherwise ignored her and the other popular kids begin to accept her for reasons she doesn’t understand.

The only problem with these new and seemingly perfect friends is that they’re immortal, inhuman.   Vampires.  Or as is put by the Committee (a group of elderly vampires whom have begun to control them) they are Blue Bloods, creatures that cannot be killed.  But unlike the Committees’ stories, Blue Bloods are dying.  Schuyler wants to find out what is killing off her friends.  But will she be killed in the process?

De La Cruz paints a very distinct line between gore and intrigue with this captivating story.  Her new and refreshing view on vampires is much different then bestselling Stephenie Meyer’s story, Twilight.  De La Cruz tells of vampires who can remember things that their soul has been through in The Cycle and that take small amounts of their Familiars’ blood to survive.

De La Cruz writes her story in the 3rd person but not centered around one individual.  I loved the story and recommend it to any one who enjoys cliffhangers and fantasy.  But, if you have trouble following story lines this book will be hard to understand.  I wouldn’t give it to anyone younger than 12 or so and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone over 17 because Blue Bloods as a very teenaged target.

This story is about bravery and coming out of your comfort zone and being open to education.  When Schuyler has to search for who is killing off her kind, she has to learn about what she really is.  She has to learn about her parents’ past and she realizes things she doesn’t want to know.  De La Cruz did a very good job making you, as a reader, feel like you’re inside of Blue Bloods.

I enjoyed reading this page-turner possibly more than any other book. It has its share of romance, drama, horror, and fantasy.

~ reviewed by Natalie D.