Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines, #1
Published: August 23, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 412
Sydney is not Rose from Vampire Academy. Rose was everyman's girl, universally appealing because she was firm in her identity, and didn't take shit from no one.
Instead, she's insecure. And I've never related to a character so strongly in all my life.
Right from the beginning, we're faced with the rigid, labeling society Sydney was brought up in. This is what the alchemists believe:
At another point in the novel, Sydney talks about how spirit has the power to restore life, and restore Strigoi as something that does not mesh with her religious beliefs. Again, I find this odd because in any other religion, it would be accepted. The power of redemption, of people to change, is what keeps some people going. And as for the dead coming back, need I mention Lazarus?
To me, this just goes to show how broken and brainwashed Sydney is, and makes her change of views even more remarkable. She's flawed. Having the courage to admit that and try to change though, was one of the most remarkable things I've ever read.
As for the rest of the book, it's awesome. I know this review was all about Sydney, but the book kind of is, too. It's so interesting to watch her relationships with everyone evolve. And did I mention this girl is crazy smart? Her journey with the divine and her intelligence were the reason she was a "mirror" character for me, rather than a "window." I think most people would be hard pressed though, to not find some element in her that they see reflected in themselves.
Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets - and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir - the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir - is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty - a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning...From the little I've read, the biggest issue people take with this books is Sydney. You either like her or you don't. Well, people need to get over themselves.
Sydney is not Rose from Vampire Academy. Rose was everyman's girl, universally appealing because she was firm in her identity, and didn't take shit from no one.
Sydney doesn't know who to do this:
Or this....
Right from the beginning, we're faced with the rigid, labeling society Sydney was brought up in. This is what the alchemists believe:
If anything, the dhampirs are worse. They're abominations. Not human, but not full vampires. Products of unnatural unions.
—Bloodlines pg. 38This book is about Sydney coming to terms with what she believe is right, rather than what others have told her his right. And that's a freaking hard thing to do. It is so much easier to sit around and be told what to do rather than go out and do something by yourself. Sydney isn't going to be able to just get up and walk away from the beliefs she's held all her life just to make us happy. It's going to take time. It's going to start with this book. Maybe it'll end with this series. Huh. That's an idea. To those who think otherwise, here's some words of wisdom from my buddy Eddie:
Everyone's got something. That girl over there has a ton of freckles. That guy shaved his head. There's no such thing as 'normal.'
Okay, moving on from people with sticks up their arses.
Around the middle of the book, Sydney is confronted with exactly what she fears - the unknown and unnatural, something she figures shouldn't be tampered with because no mortal has the right. And this is where it get's interesting. All humans are living with faith. Faith in a God, faith in no God, faith in multiple gods. Atheist, Muslim, Jew, or Christian, you've got faith. Faith is about embracing what's magical. In the words of Chesterton, it's the stuff of fairytales (Elfland). And yet, Sydney's religion, which claims belief in a "higher power," is scared shitless by it.
Stark, cold fear ran through me, fear at the unknown. The unnatural. The laws of my world had just been broken. This was vampire magic, something foreign and inaccessible to humans—inaccessible because it was forbidden, something no mortal was meant to delve into.—Bloodlines pg. 185
At another point in the novel, Sydney talks about how spirit has the power to restore life, and restore Strigoi as something that does not mesh with her religious beliefs. Again, I find this odd because in any other religion, it would be accepted. The power of redemption, of people to change, is what keeps some people going. And as for the dead coming back, need I mention Lazarus?
To me, this just goes to show how broken and brainwashed Sydney is, and makes her change of views even more remarkable. She's flawed. Having the courage to admit that and try to change though, was one of the most remarkable things I've ever read.
As for the rest of the book, it's awesome. I know this review was all about Sydney, but the book kind of is, too. It's so interesting to watch her relationships with everyone evolve. And did I mention this girl is crazy smart? Her journey with the divine and her intelligence were the reason she was a "mirror" character for me, rather than a "window." I think most people would be hard pressed though, to not find some element in her that they see reflected in themselves.
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