19. The Van Alen Legacy by Melissa de la Cruz...

FTC Disclosure: My copy of The Van Alen Legacy swung by for a short visit from my local library. I am an IndieBound and Amazon affiliate, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.

About the book:

With the stunning revelation surrounding Bliss's true identity comes the growing threat of the sinister Silver Bloods. Once left to live the glamorous life in New York City, the Blue Bloods now find themselves in an epic battle for survival. Not to worry; love is still in the air for the young vampires of the Upper East Side. Or is it? Schuyler has made her choice. She has forsaken Jack for Oliver, choosing human over vampire. But old loves die hard... And even coldhearted Mimi seems to suffer from the ties that bind.

Young vampires unite in this highly anticipated fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series.

drey's thoughts:
So what do people do after an apocalyptic battle? Why, batten down the hatches and hide out, of course. Hoping that the baddies will just go back where they came from. Which is what the Conclave--what's left of it anyway--decides to do. Well, ok. That, and hunt down Schuyler. Because she killed Lawrence, she is a Silver Blood, and she must be tracked down. Ok, so how delusional can people (ok, even blue bloods) be? Seriously?

In this installment, I really enjoyed Bliss' storyline. How she figures out what's happening, how she tries to keep a shred of herself alive, and how she tries to find her sister. Schuyler's story was just ok, for me. Mimi's was slightly better than I expected--she does some growing up. The boys mostly stayed in the background, making this a girl-power book, lol.

My overall opinion? I expected more out of this one. After the ending in Revelations, I thought there'd be more bombshells dropped here, more lines either tied off or expanded. But it felt like an in-between-er book, one to fill space in between two big storylines. So, that gives me hope for the next one. If you've read the previous Blue Bloods books, you will want to pick this one up, just to read what happens.

drey's rating: 2.5/5 Better than OK

Title: The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods #4)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-13: 9781423102267
Hardcover: 369 pages
Publisher: Hyperion, 2009
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library

154. Lip Gloss Jungle by Melissa de la Cruz...

About the book:

Lauren Page's plan was simple: Get a fabulous makeover, become one of the Ashleys, and once she was securely in their trenches, completely destroy them from the inside. The only problem is, now that Lauren is seventh-grade royalty she isn't so sure she wants to follow through--especially because Sadie, her former best friend and current best frenemy, has formed a new plan to bring down the Ashleys in all of her own fabulous makeover glory.

Now Lauren's plan of action has changed: to save the Ashleys. But with Ashley dating a penniless blue-collar, Lili shunning makeup and fashion, and A.A. questioning Ashley's loyalty, can it be done? Or will the Ashleys actually go down?

drey's thoughts:
I think this is the book I've been waiting for in this series, and it's fitting that it's bringing up the rear. In this installment, the tie that binds the Ashleys together starts fraying. Betrayals past come back to haunt Ashley. A.A. has to decide if having her boyfriend means confronting her "BFF" over a very tall tale that hasn't been 'fessed up to. And Lili doesn't like that their former threesome is looking to become a permanent foursome. Especially since they're faced with rivals. Like, for the first time ever!

Ashley grows up a little, Lauren chooses sides, A.A. throws down the gauntlet, and Lili asserts herself. A good, fitting conclusion to the Ashley series. I'll be taking a break from tween drama for a bit now.

Title: Lip Gloss Jungle
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 141693409X
ISBN-13: 978-1416934097
Paperback: 239 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2008

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library, Series

153. Birthday Vicious by Melissa de la Cruz...

About the book:

Ashley Spencer considers her birthday to be the most important event next to...well, ok, it's just the most important event, period. Hello.

So when the invite list is cast and the custom embossed invitations are sent, it's a who's-who list of San Francisco's best tweens. If people don't yet know whether they are in or out, this party is sure to draw the lines of coolness in the most permanent of inks. Ashley intends to prove that there's a reason she's been at the top of the social food chain her entire life, and she's not about to be unseated by some lame website ranking. She's also like to solve the problem of losing her boyfriend. Will all her birthday wishes come true? Or is it more like it's her party and she'll freak if she wants to?

drey's thoughts:
Okay... I thought these girls were just a tad too bratty in the last installment, Jealous? But nothing really prepares you for the over-the-top extravaganza that is Ashley Spencer's birthday party. Or for Ashley's all-me-all-the-time attitude. If she were mine, she'd be grounded till she's 25. Or maybe 45.

Then again, it's just a book. About a bunch of over-privileged girls who can't imagine not being the center of attention. And the lengths to which they'll go, so that it's not a possibility, ever.

The intricacies of tween friendships are touched upon--who do you trust? Who is "your" friend vs. someone else's? Who defines who's in and who's out? How long before one of the Ashleys decides that she's not going to get pushed around anymore?

I'm waiting for the girls to grow up a little. Yes, they're tweens. But that doesn't give them a license to be brats. Lip Gloss Jungle is up next!

Title: Birthday Vicious (Ashleys #3)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 1416934081
ISBN-13: 978-1416934080
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2008

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library, Series

145. Jealous? by Melissa de la Cruz...

About the book:

They have it all: Money, looks, popularity, anything their little platinum-encased hearts desire. They also have a new face. After Lauren Page's unexpected and brilliant maneuver at the fall VIP dance, she is in so tight with Ashley Spencer, the number one Ashley, that she might as well be Ashley's favorite pair of leggings.

But a new website, www.ashleyrank.com, catches on like the flu in February, and for the first time since kindergarten it's open season in the popularity race. Lauren Page sees a way in, Ashley Li and Ashley Alito see a way up, and Ashley Spencer sees a way to prove there's only room for one at the top.

drey's thoughts:
Well. Things are shaking up at Miss Gamble's. And all is good, as long as Ashley (Spencer) is (still) at the top of the new popularity ranks. That girl is all about her, and only her. She's navigated her way in with A.A.'s "boy". She still walks all over Lili. And she's gotten rid of that usurper, Lauren. But not for long...

When Lauren approaches the Ashleys about being on a reality show with her, as her friends, they jump at the opportunity. All of a sudden, they're trying to shine individually--because, duh, only one gets to go to the next round. The length to which these girls will go to, to one-up each other, makes me really really glad I didn't grow up with girls like them. With them for friends, who needs enemies?

Jealous? is full of pre-teen drama, and bad behavior. But, of course, I will have to finish up the series. Because it is entertaining. =) Birthday Vicious is on my library list, and should come home in the coming days. Lip Gloss Jungle is already waiting its turn...

Title: Jealous? (Ashleys #2)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 1416934073
ISBN-13: 978-1416934073
Paperback: 239 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2008

Challenges: Support Your Local Library, 100+, Series

144. The Ashleys by Melissa de la Cruz...

Yes, I'm still on my Melissa de la Cruz kick... *grin*

About the book:

The Ashleys rule Miss Gamble's Preparatory School for Girls. They are gorgeous, rich, impeccably fashion forward, and yes, all named Ashley. Lauren Page has gone to the same school with them her whole life, and the Ashleys, if forced to remember, might recall only a faint memory of shoving mud in the poor girl's mouth in kindergarten.

But Lauren Page is no longer the mud-eating loser she once was. And though she has completely changed her exterior from bargain-basement cast-offs to off-the-runway couture(props, of course, to her new personal shopper) she is still the same person on the inside. And that person has had enough of the current reginme.

Look out, Ashleys. There's a new name in school.

drey's thoughts:
Hoo boy. I never remembered twelve being particularly stressful or nasty. Maybe it's 'cuz I wasn't at Miss Gamble's? I never liked spoiled brats, and it's no surprise that really rich kids who do whatever they want and get away with it are spoiled brats. Like the three Ashleys. And even Lauren, who used to be one of the "picked upons," who thinks that because she's now rich (well, her dad is at any rate), that she can get "in" with the Ashleys. But that's not so easy.

The Ashleys is a story about trying to fit in, and maybe, just possibly trying to one-up the leaders of the pack. Only, those things never seem to work the way you want them to, or plan for them to. And do you really want to, anyway? Fit in, I mean? Blaze your own course, Lauren! Break free, Lili! Stand tall, A.A.!!

Yeah, I never thought much about the "in" crowd, while in school. But it sure is entertaining to read about them. Even if my mom would've smacked me upside the head if I ever behaved like these girls do.

Title: The Ashleys
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 1416934065
ISBN-13: 978-1416934066
Paperback: 245 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2008

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

138. Fresh Off the Boat by Melissa de la Cruz...

About the book:

Dear Peaches,
America is PERFECT! I love it here. I wish you could come visit--we could go shopping on Market Street and you could meet all my new friends...

Okay, so Vicenza isn't being totally honest with Peaches, her best friend back in Manila. But what fun is it being the new girl at snooty Grosvernor High? Or rooting through the Salvation Army for unholey cashmere sweaters? Or having culture-shocked, embarrassingly clueless parents? Maybe being Claude Caligari's ignored geometry partner is sort of fun, but Vicenza would rather be his girlfriend... or at least his date to the annual fancy-schmancy Soirée d'Hiver.

But Vicenza won't be friendless, fashionless, or "fresh off the boat" for long--it's only a matter of time before she sees what's right before her eyes and her luck begins to change.

drey's thoughts:
Fresh Off the Boat is a mostly funny, pretty heart-tugging, wide-eyed look at the life of an immigrant teenager. I sympathized with her need to "show off" to Peaches, because you cannot tell those at home how homesick you are when you're the one who made it to America! Or shopping at the Salvation Army when you used to wear designer duds. Or having no friends when you used to rule the roost. High school's hard enough without all of this, isn't it??

But Vicenza learns that while life in America's not all it's cracked up to be, she's lucky to have a friend who likes her just the way she is, even if she does think Isobel is a little weird. Sometimes. And the boys you want aren't always the boys you want to be with, because sometimes you're better off just window shopping. Pick up this entertainingly quick read from Melissa de la Cruz if you're a fan of her books, or of the genre (YA). Or if you've been an immigrant at one point in your life. Because seriously, some of the "FOB" stuff here applies regardless of whether you came to America for the first time in high school, or college. *grin*

Title: Fresh Off the Boat
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 0060545429
ISBN-13: 978-0060545420
Paperback: 243 pages
Publisher: Harper Trophy, 2006

Challenges: 100+, Support Your Local Library

136. Revelations by Melissa de la Cruz...

About the book:

Schuyler Van Alen's blood legacy has just been called into question: is the young vampire in fact a Blue Blood, or is it the sinister Silver Blood that runs through her veins? As controversy swirls, Schuyler is left stranded in the Force household, trapped under the same roof as her cunning nemesis, Mimi Force, and her forbidden crush, Jack Force.

When an ancient place of power is threatened in Rio de Janeiro, however, the Blue Bloods need Schuyler on their side. The stakes are high, the battle is bloody; and through it all Schuyler is torn between duty and passion, love and freedom.

Romance, glamour, and vampire lore collide in the highly anticipated third book in best-selling author Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series.

drey's thoughts:
Oh, Schuyler. She's living with the Forces--just about Hell on earth, if that were possible. And if that weren't enough, Mimi's planning her & Jack's bonding ceremony. She's also been elevated to the Conclave, to take her father's spot. Why do the witchy people get rewarded?? Dylan's back, and seems possessed. Bliss still has her blackouts. And Schuyler has been meeting Jack secretly, which cannot possibly end well...

When it seems as though her grandfather has run into trouble in Corcovado, the entire Conclave is called there. Schuyler and Oliver follow, because it's her grandfather! Romance, romantic triangles, nefarious plots, and betrayals abound in Revelations, which just whets your appetite for The Van Alen Legacy--hurry up and get published already!

Title: Revelations
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 1423102282
ISBN-13: 9781423102281
Hardcover: 264 pages
Publisher: Hyperion, 2008

Challenges: Support Your Local Library, 100+, Vampire, Series

135. Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz...

About the book:

Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver, Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding the one man who can help--her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly under way for the Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city's wealthy, powerful, and unhuman--a true Blue Blood affair.

But it's at the after-party, a masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force, that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will forever change the course of a young vampire's destiny.

Rich with glamour, attitude, and vampire lore, this second installment in the Blue Bloods saga will leave readers thirsting for more.

drey's thoughts:
So after reading Blue Bloods, I couldn't NOT pick up Masquerade. Especially when it was sitting in my library pile, just looking at me...

In this installment, Schuyler and Oliver head to Venice to look for her long-missing grandfather, Lawrence. Hoping against hope that he has something, anything to help them discover who the Silver Bloods are, and how to stop them from killing any more vamps... In addition, Schuyler finds out that she's actually related to Mimi (horror of horrors!)--her mother and Mimi's father are twins.

On that note--I should mention that I'm not too thrilled with the taboo relationship that is covered here. I know that it's in context of the original cast having roles to play and fulfill, etc., but it's still a little disturbing in my lil' ol' brain...

In any case, Masquerade picks up where Blue Bloods left off, and continues the saga, without giving anything away. There are new characters, and new plot lines for some of the existing characters. If you've never read this, and are a fan of vampire series, then you need to give it a try. I'm off to consolidate my thoughts on Revelations!

Title: Masquerade
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN-10: 0786838930
ISBN-13: 9780786838936
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Hyperion, 2007

Challenges: Support Your Local Library, 100+, Vampire, Series

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