Field Trip #4: Vampire Academy
Dampirs and Moroi and Strigoi, oh my!
The YA novel Vampire Academy (written by Rachel Mead), about an elite boarding school for peaceful blood-drinkers and their guardians, was adapted for the screen in 2014. Written by Daniel Waters (Heathers), and directed by brother Mark Waters (Mean Girls), one might predict this team was perfectly tailored for a tongue-in-cheek vampire teen comedy/thriller. But then again...
After surviving a car accident that killed the rest of her family, vampire Lissa runs away from St. Vladmir Academy with her guardian and BFF Rose. But they can't outrun Dimtiri and the other vampiric truancy officers sent to return them to school. It's not a happy homecoming, however, as someone seems to be threatening Lissa with cryptic messages and dead animals. Is it schoolyard bullying? Or is someone looking to exploit Lissa's unique powers.
Kristen and Mike discuss pertinent information left out of the adaptation, structural issues, and suggest different ways to handle all that exposition.
PLUS! Your vampire curriculums!