134. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz...

About the book:

Schuyler thought: aneurysm, heart attack, diabetic seizure. There are so many things that could cause a person's untimely demise. She'd read about them. She knew. She'd lost her father in her infancy, and her mother was stuck in a coma. Life was more fragile than anyone ever realized.

One minute, you could be getting a smoke in the alley on the Lower East Side with your friends, having drinks and dancing on the tables in a popular nightclub. And the next minute, you could be dead.

drey's thoughts:
How could you not pick up a book with the above on the back, especially if you love vampire novels? Apparently I couldn't. Especially when I read the inside blurb:

Within New York City's most elite families, there lurks a secret society of celebrated Americans whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. Its members are the powerful and the wealthy--and, in fact, they are not human. They are the Blue Bloods, an ancient group of vampires.

Schuyler Van Alen has never fit in at Duchesne, her prestigious New York City private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner...and happy that way.

But when she turns fifteen, Schuyler's life changes dramatically. She discovers a mosaic of blue veins on her arms, and craves raw meat. The death of a popular girl from Duchesne is surrounded by a mystery that haunts her. And strangest of all, Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, is showing a sudden interest in her.
Schuyler wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

My first impression upon reading Blue Bloods? Whoa. The pilgrims were vampires?? And not only vamps, they're fallen angels? Re-living their lives through time in a cycle of reincarnation? Like I said, whoa.

Melissa de la Cruz has written a YA vamp series (this is the first book) densely packed with action, mystery, and revelations--all while including relatively real characters, even if they are a little stereotypical. There's the bossy girl-in-front-of-the-pack (& yes, she's beautiful--and so is her twin brother). There's the requisite posse, of course. The misfit. The new girl. The geeky best friend. All of them rounding out the high-school cast.

Interspersed with the storyline are diary entries... penned by Catherine Carver, of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Catherine Carver, who is now reincarnated as Schuyler's grandmother Cordelia. Who has been trying to warn The Committee about a danger to them, a danger that has existed for as long as they have. All for naught. When Schuyler's friend Dylan disappears, it is up to her and her best friend Oliver to find out what happened. With the help of the new girl, Bliss, they look for clues to the identity of those who've been taking their friends and classmates.

I've read all three available Blue Bloods novels, and I'm hooked. You will be too, if you aren't already. I so really really need to find out what happens!!!!

Check out the Official Blue Bloods website.
And find Melissa at her website, melissa-delacruz.com.

Title: Blue Bloods
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 0786838922
ISBN-13: 9780786838929
Hardcover: 302 pages
Publisher: Hyperion, 2006

Challenges: Support Your Local Library, 100+, Vampire, 1st in Series