Welcome back, Wolves! I hope your summer was full of excitement, and I hope that this summer you found the time to stop by the library to find your summer reading book and maybe one to read in your free time.

I know what you’re thinking, “I didn’t even touch my summer reading book and you expect me to read one in my spare time?” Well, yeah, I wish that you would, but for those of you who need a good read, pick up Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz. This is a series that follows the lives of four high school students: Schuyler Van Alen, Jack and Mimi Force, and Bliss Llewellyn.

Schuyler (pronounced Skylar) Van Alen is the main character. Along with the rest of the characters, she attends New York’s most prestigious private school, Duchesne. Almost every student can be spotted with Prada bags, Louboutin shoes, and Citizens of Humanity jeans (that’s like the True Religion of the nonfiction world).

Schuyler, however, prefers her vintage tops and baggy bottoms. She doesn’t fit in with Duchesne’s students. She only has her protective best friend, Oliver Hazard-Perry, and their new friend Dylan Ward. She liked her life that way; it was normal. What wasn’t normal was that Jack Force, the son of the filthy rich and very powerful socialite, Charles Force, beginning to pay a little extra attention to her.

Jack Force was Duchesne’s popular guy. He had good looks, skill on the lacrosse field, acting chops, and the grades that would have the admissions board at Harvard speechless. His best friend was his twin sister, Mimi Force. She fit the stereotype of being the popular, mean girl perfectly. She was gorgeous, got everything she ever wanted, even offers to do modeling gigs.

The Force twins were Duchesne’s royalty and people were desperate to be friends with either one of them. In Mimi’s clique, every decision is made by her, permission is necessary to leave her side, and if anyone dared to disobey the Force, they’d get her cold shoulder.

Mimi’s best friend is Bliss Llewellyn. She’s a native Texan that Mimi decided to let in the circle. Finally, a rebel steps into the circle. She likes having Mimi as a friend, but she also enjoys making her own decisions.

The rich kids in this book are known to everyone as the Committee. It’s an honor to be recognized by someone in the Committee. Absolutely no one gets in without that special trait that lets them in.

What is it that makes them so special? Aside from the large amounts of money that runs in their families, they’re vampires. Schuyler, Jack and Mimi, and Bliss come from ancient families of powerful vampires that once came to America on the Plymouth. Initially, Schuyler wasn’t in the Committee, but she soon finds out that in order to make it in, you have to be a vampire. Suddenly, she’s invited to parties and modeling gigs.

Everyone in the Committee lives a comfortable life. They practically run Manhattan, but very early on, the death of a Committee member, impacts the Committee in more ways than one. Schuyler is haunted by the death of her classmate. She discovers that as an immortal vampire, she’s in grave danger. Something is after the once indestructible vampires and Schuyler is determined to find out who, with or without help.

This series takes a new twist on the world of vampires. I was expecting to read another bore about the human outcast that meets this really hot guy, ditches her best friend to be with him, and soon has the desire to become an immortal vampire to live with him forever. Blue Bloods wasn’t like that. You’re entering the world of Manhattan’s elite.

The narration is third person so it is able to detail what’s going on in not only Schuyler’s world but also with Mimi and Bliss. Every chapter, whoever it follows, is amazingly detailed.

In the beginning of the book, you’re given three separate stories that come together beautifully by the end of the novel. With dramatic events happening from the first page, I was sucked in and I was anxious to know what’s going to happen next. The emotions are so raw and real.

One chapter, I’d hate Mimi Force; in another, I’d admire her intelligence. De La Cruz does an excellent job of showing the different sides of everyone. Jealousy causes a duo to rethink their friendship while it also brings a couple together. This is only the start of the backstabbing, the lies, the romance, and blood sucking mystery.

I enjoyed De La Cruz’s use of irony. She gave away the right amount of information to one character without giving the other too much. The decision to narrate not only Schuyler, but also Mimi and Bliss, was a very smart move on her behalf. It made me more emotional throughout. Characters retell different stories of their past that created an excellent visual for the reader. Although the amounts of information were  initially hard to digest, it made complete sense by the end of the novel. I’m interested to see what’s next for the vampires.