Elena Gilbert is, on the surface, a typical high school senior. She’s pretty, popular and has several close friends. She’s the “it” girl that boys want to date and girls want to emulate. But there’s more to Elena than meets the eye. Deep down, she’s lonely and struggles with feelings of abandonment due to a tragedy that occurred when she was younger.

These feelings cause her to almost demand that others like her. Elena, self penned the “queen” of her high school, isn’t the most beautiful girl in school, but her outward self-confidence makes her appealing to most of the kids there.

So she’s quite shocked when the new boy at school, the mysterious and darkly handsome Stefan Salvatore, goes out of his way to avoid her. Elena soon realizes that her usual schemes don’t work on him. He’s “so not into her.”

Or so it seems.

So begins a cat-and-mouse game that’s interesting to watch. We learn why Stefan tries to hard to avoid Elena. We also see Elena realize that her pursuit of Stefan hearkens to something deeper than she could ever imagine.

I have to tell you, Elena and Stefan’s growing feelings for one another are sweet to watch. But of course, trouble soon rears its ugly head.

Enter Damon, Stefan’s corrupt and wicked older brother. Damon is dangerous, ruthless and totally evil. He’s also darkly gorgeous – a beautiful and completely scary villain. He’s come to the town of Fells Church to cause trouble for baby bro and soon discovers Elena. Damon, ever the bad boy, decides to make her his own.

The love affair between Elena and Stefan, intermixed with Damon’s wickedness, is brilliantly described in The Awakening. After the first 30 pages of this book I was completely hooked. L.J. Smith has created multi-dimensional and complex characters in Elena, Stefan, and Damon. None of them comes across as superficial or stereotypical; quite the contrary – as the story develops we learn more about their motivations, their insecurities and their fears. The characters are richly drawn and quickly come to life off the written page. Even the supporting characters have lots of personality. I can see why these books were selected as the basis for a new TV series – there’s lots to work with here.

Although the primary backdrop for The Vampire Diaries books is a high school and the book is billed as “young adult fantasy” I can honestly say that this book has immense crossover appeal. Why? Because L.J. Smith’s characters are nicely fleshed out and believable. Because the storyline is at times dark and complex. Because the settings are described in such a way that you’re encouraged to use your imagination. In a nutshell, the books will appeal to adults because they’re so well written.

Additionally, L.J. Smith’s pacing is superb; there’s a comforting flow to the words she writes. I’ve not felt this way about a book in a long time and I’m glad I read this book. I actually have a confession to make: I started with the second book “The Struggle” because I couldn’t find the first book in the store. After only reading a few pages of that book it was clear that I’d discovered something good. So I went back to the store and searched for this book. I’m glad I found it.

See also: Vampire Diaries Stars Arrested!
To read the book you can either:

-purchase The Awakening as a single book
-purchase The Awakening and The Struggle combined into one book.

I’d recommend purchasing the books combined since it’s cheaper that way. Either way, at least get the first book. You won’t be sorry!

Come back and tell me what you think!

See also: The Vampire Diaries Episode Guide