5 comments about Stories for Around the Campfire.

1. This book is definitely geared to Scout camping. The guy can't write an interesting story,but I guess he's not an author but a scoutmaster and was trying to get his tales on paper for others to use as their own.
   the typeface in book is also quite amateurist.
   
   that being said, it does have one redeeming merit, it does have a bit in the beginning regarding campfire storytelling advice, which I found quite helpful. If you take the time to change stories and make them your own, and don't read them verbatum, then and only then could this collection possibly be a hit around the fire.



2. As the cover of this book would suggest, Ray Harriot's collection of original campfire stories is meant for Boy Scouts, although they can be adapted for telling to other kinds of youth groups.
   
   Being used to working with older youths myself, I found some of these stories (particularly the first ten) too silly for use with the 13-and-up crowd. That doesn't mean they are not good stories. They have potential, but are better suited for Cub Scouts and Webelos. An example is "The Boy Who Cried Werewolf," which is every bit as obvious as its title sounds.
   
   The latter fourteen tales are more ghostly and weird, but not violent or very scary. I'd compare the plots to something one might see in a "Scooby-Doo" short. Still, youths under the age of 14 will like them, particularly if told in a dynamic, animated fashion. Harriot offers a variety of themes here, from Indian legends and ghosts from long-ago battles that seem plausible, to the familiar "dare-to-spend-the-night-in-a-haunted-house" story with a nice surprise ending. At least these tales are original, so they're worth adding to your collection.
   
   Besides the general dissatisfaction I had with the joke stories in the first part of the book, production elements cost this title another star. The dialogue could use some tweaking, and many pages are littered with distracting typesetting errors. Ten pages in the beginning of the book are spent on storytelling advice that could best be summed up as "Duh!" A whopping eight blank pages are left at the tail end, each bearing the heading "Notes," and even the back cover is blank. That having been said, this ten-year-old book could shine with a redo.
   
   -Byron C. Justice,
   author of Haunted Camps
   and Violent Night



3. This handy little book was written for the Boy Scout leader, to give you stories to tell around the campfire, as well as tips on how to tell them. There are twenty-four stories here: ten funny stories, and fourteen scary ones. Couple all that with the Telling A Story chapter, and you have got yourself a handy Scout resource!

   Now that I am going on some Scout campouts, I have found the desire to be able to tell some "ghost" stores at the campfire, and this book (which is NOT an official BSA publication, by the way) is a nice thing to have. The stories are great, but I must say that their length at six pages does rather tax my memorizing abilities. That said, though, I did like this book, and highly recommend it.




4. Fun book to have with you when camping with kids! A few stories may not suit children too young, but otherwise, light and great around a campfire!



5. If you are interested in camping out in the woods, and telling ghost stories this book would be a great read. My favorite tale is "The Boy Who Cried Werewolf" which is a take-off of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" story. Harriot is effective at being both funny and scary with this story whose ending is reminiscent of shaggy-dog stories. The second half of the book has some pretty frightening works, like "A Night at the Delany House", which is a creepy tale about two kids who are dared to stare at a haunted house for a night. Kids will love it, especially the funny ones.

5 comments about Who Killed the Homecoming Queen? (Fear Street, No. 48).

1. One book I recently read was Who Killed The Homecoming Queen? by R.L Stine.It's a book out of his Fear Street series. This book is so wonderful. It's about a girl named Tania. Her life is going great. She gets a cute boyfriend, she gets a new stepbrother, she gets voted homecoming queen, and she gets to star in one of her friend's films. Suprised by all this her "enemy" Leslie gets jealous. Tania has everything Leslie's ever wanted. Then one day while shooting the film she starred in, her friends find her on the bleachers-limp and lifeless. Just as they get back from dialing 911, they come back with the paramedics only to find empty bleachers. They couldn't find Leslie any where around. And while the paramedics are questioning them on if it's all a joke, they are trying to figure out what happened to Tania. Now a whole feud begins on who really killed the homecoming queen? I would recommend this book to those who like to read suspenseful books or stories. The other good thing about the book, other than it's suspenseful is that it deals with kids close to our age- which I think makes it more interesting.



2. This book was just great!!! This is a book that really keeps you guessing. Almost all of my friends have read this book. This book was soooo good that i read it in 2 days.



3. Who Killed the Homecoming Queen, by R. L. Stine is a book I read recently. From page one I became interested to know what was going to happen next! I couldn't put it down. While in class I wanted to hurry up with my work so I could read. Right when I got home I would read! I was so anxious to read it and get to the end! I read a lot of R.L. Stine books but this book was absolutly the BEST book I ever read! It kept me guessing the WHOLE time, you will not BELIEVE the ending! I was so sad that the book ended. I haven't yet found another book that amounts to this brillant book by R.L. Stine!!! Read this book and find out who killed the homecoming queen!



4. this book was so cool the ending had a real twist when they find out who the killer was was a really good twist r.l.stine can still keep them coming



5. This was the first Fear Street book that I've read and I thought that it was fantastic. It kept me guessing until the very end and I couldn't put it down at all. It was a really great book and I would recommend it to everyone who likes Fear Street books.

5 comments about Revenant (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

1. In Revenant, Willow has a Chinese friend, which sets the scene for lots
   of conflict with Chinese gangs, Chinese mythology, and allows for plenty of beatdowns by the Buffster.
   
   Gang types, as opposed to demon types, don't mind spraying the lead
   around, though, which can be a it of a problem when you don't run around packing heat yourself as a high school girl.



2. I think Revenant is a top rate Buffy book. the mixture of Gang warfare and chinese magic clash spectacularly. But, what with me being a big Angel fan and all, I mostly like the way Angel gets to come out of Buffy's shadow in this "Buffy" season 3 based novel, & gets to shine on his own, with detailed accounts of his own encounters & search for clues.

   Also, Xander's obssession with the mysterious swordswoman adds for light entertainment, just as Willow's encounters with Lok Rong at the Rong residence are frightening. Even Buffy's Mum gets in on the act, Planning the interception of a dragon statue.

   With its Graphic action sequences & killer climax, no regular 'Buffy' reader should bypass this novel, no matter how big or small fan you are of the series.




3. The most action-oriented of all the Buffy books, though the fights are excellently written. The book is more slam-and-tussle than plot - the reviewer who equated it to anime was dead on the money - but, hey, nothing wrong with that. As with several of the Buffy books, this one has too many irons in the fire to satisfactorily resolve them all, but overall it is quite satisfying.

   In a plot almost ripped out of the day's suppressed headlines, a Chinese power broker is shipping heavy arms to California street gangs. The ensuing chaos provides excellent cover for occult behind-the-scenes activities, keeping Buffy and Company distracted. Several out-of-town players get involved in the act, including a likeable Chinese warrior-woman who nearly fills the void in poor luckless-in-love Xander's sex-life.

   Welcome additions in this entry are Mayor Wilkins and his faithful hench-vamp, Mr. Trick, but they are relegated to incidental roles when they should have been much bigger players in this plot. And where is Faith, for God's sake? One of the worst failings in the entire book series is the all but complete negation of one of Sunnydale's most notorious personages, Faith the Fallen.

   A strong entry in the series, well-written. Most recommended for lovers of action and anime.




4. At first in "Revenant," it seems that the real world is suddenly intruding into the quiet little town of Sunnydale. As if being on the Hellmouth was not fun enough, a Chinese gang has hit town and is clearly trying to take over. But this is a Chinese gang that employs not only automatic weapons but also demons and a bit of good old fashioned Chinese magic. Mel Odom does a nice job of incorporating some elements of Chinese mysticism into the Buffy mythos and his characterization of the Slayer and her cohorts is certainly above average. The most interesting sub-plot involves the arrival of a beautiful martial-arts warrior, with whom Xander becomes hopelessly smitten. This is carried off well until the very end of the novel, at which point, following a hysterical exchange of apologies between Buffy and Xander, we suddenly jump ahead to the post mortem and are denied the actual farewell between the couple we have been rooting on throughout the story.

   By the time I finished reading this Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel I kept thinking there was too much of one thing and not nearly enough of another. With all the weaponry the Chinese gang brings to town, you would have to think that somebody else besides Angel was going to be hit by all those hail of bullets (nice touch by Odom having Angel's face get messed up for a while in the story). Guns are a touchy item in the Buffy universe, where only the occasional vampire (Darla in "Angel" comes to mind) bothers to try and shoot it out with the Slayer. This is because it is awfully hard to get close enough to kick somebody in the chest when they are shooting an Uzi at you. That being said, I have to admit I was surprised that Mayor Wilkins was not more of a presence in the story. After all, Sunnydale is his town and has been for well over a century. Consequently, it very hard to believe he and the Dark Forces he serves would not do something about these invaders. Of course, this would open up the opportunity for some sort of temporary alliance, but at the very least the Mayor should be doing a lot more to defend his turf. Despite these caveats, "Revenant" is an above average Buffy novel and I will be interested to see what Odom comes up with the next time around.




5. A wonderful Buffy novel! The only fault I have found with it is that it begins very slowly. If you can make it to the middle of the book, be prepared to reap wonderful rewards. The plot is a bit confusing at times, but the action sequences are astoundingly good. Odom writes very discriptively and litterally paints pictures with words; at times they are very grusome pictures, which makes it even better. Many of the characters are well trained in martial arts and wear costumes reminiscent of the Anime genre, a real treat to read.

   Continuing in the Buffy tradition, the author of this book adds things we've *never* seen in Sunnydale before to make the plot work. This happens all the time on the show, to the point where the characters even make fun of the fact ("I've lived in Sunnydale for a few years now, you know what I've never noticed? A big honkin' Castle" ~Buffy vs Dracula). In this book we get a large Asian community stuck smack dab in the middle of what until now has been what seems to be a mostly white community. If you can get past that, though, this is a great book!

5 comments about Beach House (Point Horror Series).

1. I seresly loved the book and don't know why. I als don't know why I waited this long before writing this review (it's been more than a year). But trust me, this one is HARD TO FORGET! I think this his BEST YET! It revolves around a boy named Buddy (don't be fooled, hes no buddy!). It takes place in the summer of 1956 and now. I can't tell you much without revealing any big stuff! Just read it! There may be murders and be pretty sad but, trust me, if you like his books, get it. And if you think Goosebumps suck and this probably no better, you're wrong. This is the farthest thing from it! Goosbumps if for little kids and I'm pretty mature for 13 and read this when I was late 11 or early 12. All I can say now is, BUY IT, BUY IT, BUY IT!



2. THIS BOOK IS THE BEST BOOK EVA READ. It is an absolute page turner that I read in one day. I couldn't look away. It has a great ending twist and is a great horror better then any I have ever read!!!!!!!!!! It is about kids on a beach and one by one they're killed I do recommened this book --UNLESS YOUR EASILY SCARED!!!!!!!!!



3. This was the first 'scary" book I bought by myself. I wasn't supposed to read scary books so i had to sneak it at night when my mom was asleep. I still remember how scared I was while I read it. It is a book that I will never forget. Because of this book I went on to read almost everything by R. L. Stine and Christopher Pike. Enjoy this book it really is a good one!!!



4. I think that The Beach House by RL Stine is an excellent murder mystery book. It kept me on edge with book in hand, with a surprise at every turn of a page. You can really think about what's going on. In the parts of the book when it is set in the fifties, I read about the "modern" furniture of their day, which would seem really old fashioned to people today. One example of that would be when Lucy and Kip go into the beach house and see the fifties furniture and laugh about how old it is. This made me laugh too, and think about how times and styles have changed over the years. Boys and girls in middle school would deeply enjoy reading it, for the suspense keeps you hooked until the end.



5. R.L. Stine, switches about every 30 pages back and forth from two time periods. This Summer and Summer of 1956.
   In 1956 maria, Amy, Ronnie, and Sturat played a mean joke on a guy named Buddy. He doesn't like it.In fact he hates it so much he could kill...
   In this summer Ashly has a crush on Brad, but she doesn't know he might be a killer...
   I hated this summmer but I sort of liked 1956. So I guss that evens it out to 3 stars.
   
   --Scottie Schaeffer age ten

5 comments about The Third Evil (Fear Street Cheerleaders, No. 3).

1. In the third book about Corky and the squad, the girls go to a very creepy camp! Still upset about her sister Bobbi's tragic death, Corky finally thinks the spirt killing her sister and members from the squad is gone. Guess Again!
   I would rate this book only 4 stars because I read the series out of order and began with the 3rd one. It didn't make as much since, it was still good though. Recommemded for anybody who loves Fear Street!



2. This time Corky Corcoran, Kimmy Bass, Debra Kern and Ronnie Mitchell visit a cheerleading camp. Their cheerleading camp is so creepy because the evil is still alive. Wow!. I can't believe Corky was possesd here. Will she die?.



3. Another work of art by R.L. Stine. This book is about a young girl named Corky recovering a tragic accident of the death of both her sister and her boyfriend by an evil killing them and taking over her friends' bodies. She goes to a cheerleading camp only to find out the evil, so evil to say, overtakes her body. If you are an R.L. Stine reader...you know,your in for the third evil twist.



4. Corky's sister, Bobbi, had just been killed two books ago ('The First Evil') by the...thing. She lately has had dreams of her sis haunting her at night, opening her own head.... Then at Cheerleader Camp, there are unexplainable incidents: Hannah's plait is cut off and Corky finds the scissors on HER dresser. But what she doesn't realize is that it's because The Evil no longer inhabits Kimmy, but her...
   If you want a scary, edge of your seat book, dig into this one by R.L Stine. Even if you haven't read the other two ('The First Evil' and 'The Second Evil') the book still explains for you what had happened lately. A fantastic read!



5. I read this when I was eleven or twelve, almost 10 years ago. It freaked me out then, but I was surprised that I still found it entertaining. Corky's been battling this evil spirit for a while now. In the first book, it killed her sister, and in the second book she strangled her friend over the bathtub until the evil spirit got flushed down the drain. But you know, "IT CAN'T BE DROWNED" so the evil spirit is back again like an unwanted relative, and feistier than ever in the last-and best book in the trilogy. This is an ancient evil, and the characters think various cheesy, fearful thoughts whenever they refer to it. Most of the time they just call it "the evil".
   The whole thing with Corky kept the plot from lagging, and this book from suffering sequel-itis. When you think about it, it's the coolest way he could have ended it. This book is laughable sometimes, the cheerleaders discuss the evil spirit sometimes like they are discussing something they forgot to pick up from the store and then get back to their "ra ra" lives. My favorite quote "Maybe Debra's under the car?". The evil spirit thinks this hopefully after trying to run this character down in the mall parking lot and missing. Also, Debra, after almost getting run over, climbs up to the top of a mill with the cheerleader who was possessed. Hmm, you think warning bells would have gone off in her head after that. These cheerleaders are kind of dumb.
   But this is a young adult book, and I found I still enjoyed it after I recently read it.

5 comments about Spiders in the Hairdo: Modern Urban Legends.

1. This is a book for older kids who want to have some different reading, besides chapter books. My daughter likes to read this book before bed. It has some off-the-wall stories which appeal to her sense of humor. It has some "adult type" topics [like the woman hiding in her closet naked] which may not be suitable for all children.



2. Spiders in the Hairdo is a collection of well known and in most cases frequently told myths, camp fire stories and I heard from a friend of a friend or a friend rumours. The majority you will have heard before but this is a good compact sized collection of some of the best tales. You've got the knife wheeling maniac in the back seat (as told by Auto on the Simpsons) who in this book is a rope strangler. The unwashed hair full of poisonous spiders, the hook on the lovers' car door, scuba diver in the tree after a forest fire and all the world's favourites.
   
   They are quite good versions in this book and this collection is just as good as as lot of other books out there such as The Big Book of Urban Myths or the Darwin Awards Trilogy.
   
   Spiders in the Hairdo is not however in the same high quality league for this genre as Hippo Eats Dwarf by Alex Boese, Great Mythconceptions by Karl Kruszelnicki,The Truth Behind Old Wives Tales by Thomas Craughwell



3. All those fun stories that you grew up with as a kid are here in this book. The next time you complain about all these new legends on the Internet, remember we all told the one about the bloody hook attached to the car door. And you know that story about the roach eggs in the taco meat made your skin crawl, no pun intended. This book is too much fun and a good source for nostalgic reflection or for retelling to all those people who you just want to scare a little! ...



4. This book does not explore anything new in terms of presenting new Urban Legends. But, it does dramatize well known legends giving them a new flare. Very good book.



5. I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. My teenagers love this book, too (I think that's a first--Mom and the kids liking the same book!). Yeah, I've heard some of the stories before, but that doesn't make them any less funny. And the illustrations are a hoot, too. Good fun all around!

5 comments about College Weekend (Fear Street, No. 32).

1. This book was the first I read of these books, that was during the summer. This was a great book, easy to read, and left you wanting to keep reading on and on. I could not put this book down, I read it in one week!



2. I wish I could say this book was great.Yet it was awful.The book revoles around Tina Rivers who wants nothing more than to spend the weekend with her Boyfriend Josh at Patterson College.Yet her parents won't let her go unless her cousin Holly goes too,No big deal.Only when they arrived at the train platform Josh is not waiting like he promised.Instead his roomate Chistopher is and he says Josh is in the mountains.Yet Tina thinks why would Josh got Hiking in the mountains when he knew she was coming to visit.So he takes them to Josh's dorm to wait.Then a girl named Carla shows up and also claims Josh is with her Boyfriend Steve in the mountains.Holly then asks Carla if Christopher has a girlfriend.Carla then tells a sad story of how Chris and his girlfriend Judy were on a boat and Judy fell over and died.From here the story gets really boring from Tina searching for Josh to supposed phone calls about car trouble.To Holly disappering.To finally finding out Christopher is'nt as nice as he seems and that Tina may never see Josh again.



3. I LOVED THIS BOOK. IT'S ABOUT TINA AND HER COUSIN HOLLY. THEY ARE GOING TO SEE TINA'S BOYFRIEND BUT CHIRS TELLS THEM THAT HE IS AWAY ON A CAMPING TRIP. THEN A LOT OF WEIRD THINGS START HAPPENING. READ THIS BOOK IT'S THE BEST.



4. The College Weekend killer was obvious,but the motives were not obvious.Read this one if you like good Fear Street Books.



5. I've just finished this book and i think it was great!
   Tina and her cousin Holly visit Tina's boyfriend Josh on Patterson College. Tina can't wait to see him, but when they arrive nobody is there. After a while Josh's roommate Chris takes them from the train station. He tells them, Josh is still on a camping trip in the mountains and can't come back, because of snow. Tina is disappointed, but soon Holly and Chris persuade her to come to a party with them. There Tina loses Holly and is alone with Chris, who seems to become more and more interested in her - and doesn't interested in finding Holly. But Tina has to think of Josh so often and when she kisses Chris she feels very sorry and starts to miss Josh even more. In fact Tina starts to see signs that show her that Josh can't be on a camping trip. Chris or his friend Carla? Anybody lies and Tina has to find out!
   So, that's a "short" version of this book. But, of course, I don't tell, who the "murderer" is like some other reviewers.
   I hope i could help you with your decision for buying this book. I really recommend it, but the beginning is a bit boring - so, 4 Stars!

5 comments about Broken Hearts (Fear Street Super Chillers, No. 4).

1. Broken Hearts is a dramatic book that will keep you on your toes the hole way. It's about four high school students living in a nightmare! Rachael, Erica, Josie, and Melissa. Rachael and Josie are twins; Erica is there younger sister and Melissa is there chhildhood BFF! Things start to go wrong though after Rachael falls off a horse and gets a trip to the hospital and permanet brain damage. To top it off theres a murder out there.First they kill Josie and stabs Erica. Now Melissa is geting valentine threats a year later just like Josie did during Valentines day. Will melissa die next??? Find out in the exciting book by R.L Stine Broken Hearts Fear Street.



2. Broken Hearts is a dramatic book that will keep you on your toes the hole way. It's about four high school students living in a nightmare! Rachael, Erica, Josie, and Melissa. Rachael and Josie are twins; Erica is there younger sister and Melissa is there chhildhood BFF! Things start to go wrong though after Rachael falls off a horse and gets a trip to the hospital and permanet brain damage. To top it off theres a murder out there.First they kill Josie and stabs Erica. Now Melissa is geting valentine threats a year later just like Josie did during Valentines day. Will melissa die next??? Find out in the exciting book by R.L Stine Broken Hearts Fear Street.



3. Broken Hearts is a tragic and creepy story that will make you wonder until the end of the story. Broken Hearts is one of the juciest books you can get your hands on . It makes you want to read more after reading the first chapter.
   
   Broken Hearts is based on four girls: Racheal, Josie, Erica, and melissa. Racheal and Josie are sisters and the other two are just friends, but are one big happy family because they grewe up together. Racheal, Josie's sister, had got her self into a terrible accident and what she endded up with was a trip to the hopital and brain damage. Josie and her friends couldn't believe what had happened to Racheal in front of their eyes. But Josie wanted jno part of what happened to her sisterk, Racheal. When Joise was suppose to watch Racheal she would always say she's busy or somthing. She didn't care about her sister, but as days go by things are getting worse. Somebody is giving death threats in a poetic form. "Roses and red, violets are blue, on valentines day, you'll be dead too." The more she didn't care about Racheal, the more letters she gets. But who is the killer??
   
   If you have seen movies like this book then you can picture it the story very well, beacuse R.L STINE the author is very descriptive about the charaters in the story.This story is so dramtic that maybe you will want a part two to broken hearts.
   If you decide to read this myserious book i hope you enjoy it from start to finsh.



4. It was an excellent book! There are a lot of twist and turns and also a lot of suspects and I couldn't figure out how it was all going to come together.



5. This is an excellent book! I would recommend it for any fear street lover. The killer was quite suprising also. I would recommend it for mystery readers also. It is just great!

4 comments about Night Terrors (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

1. I think that this book was fantastic to those who are avid loyal Buffy readers and fans it was unputdownable. It is a must read.



2. Night Terrors was a great read. It's unfortunate that the Buffy choose your own adventure series only had four books, because this book was a blast. I think there was something like twenty possible endings. It was really fun trying to get the Scoobies out of different situations. I dug the choose your own adventure books as a kid and greatly enjoyed reading a Buffy version.
   
   Alice Henderson is an author to watch.



3. NIGHT TERRORS
   Alice Henderson (2005)
   
   RATING: 4/5 Stakes
   
   SETTING: Season Two
   
   CAST APPEARANCES: Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Xander, Angel, Joyce, Giles, Principal Snyder, Oz, Ethan Rayne
   
   MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: The Night Terror (demon)
   
   BACK-OF-THE-BOOK SUMMARY: "Banished to the realm of dreams, the Night Terror stalks its victims as they sleep. By replacing another's soul with its own, the demon can assume anyone's body and wreak havoc in the real world. But the effect is short-lived. Human bodies soon break down under the tremendous stress of the transfer, and the Night Terror is forced to find a new body to inhabit. That is, until it discovers Buffy's secret and imagines the Slayer would make an ideal-and permanent-host. . . ."
   
   REVIEW
   
   Night Terrors will always hold a special place in my heart because it's the first Buffy Choose-Your-Own-Adventure ("Stake Your Destiny") book I've successfully completed on my first try. Indeed, one of the aspects that sets this book apart from most others in the series is the wide range of possible endings, ranging from complete success to mediocre survival to outright death.
   
   The core plot of the book is an attempt by a demon, the Night Terror, to take over the bodies of residents of Sunnydale by entering into their dreams. This leads to some really interesting and fun dream sequences with Buffy, and shows us examples of how White Hats like Giles, Joyce, and Angel would be like if evil (of course, this last one we know all too well).
   
   The writing is smooth and the dialogue is appropriately quirky. In addition, crisp action scenes and a well-researched bad guy help keep the plot moving. Definitely one of the better Stake Your Destiny books.
   
   Jhaeman's Buffy Reviews: www.geocities.com/jhaeman



4. This is a pretty good Buffy book. Not the best but not the worst. I enjoyed the story. A demon named Mare, the Night Terror, takes control of peoples bodies while they're sleeping. After awhile their astrol cord will break and the persons body will go into a coma. My favorite story in this book is when the Mare takes of your, Buffy's, body and she gets banished into the realm of dreams. It's cool to see what the the other characters are dreaming. The other major story in this book is when the Mare takes over Angel's body. This brings out Angelus too. Ethan Rayne is also involved in part of this book. There is also zombies and a mummy. If you are a fan of Buffy then I think you should pick up this book. The Author did a great job keeping the characters true to the show aswell.

5 comments about The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries Series Vol II).

1. Vampire Diaries was a great series!! I didn't like how the last book in the series was going but it ended up great! The book starts with: girl meets hot vampire Stephen and his also very hot but evil brother Damon. She is in love with the kind hearted Stephen, but evil Damon wants her all to himself. She trys to stay away from Damon but no matter what she does he keeps finding ways to get to her to take her blood, slowly turning her into a vampire. She cannot tell Stephen what is going on because he is still weak from a horrific battle with Damon, and if she would tell him he would become so angry he would try to kill Damon and end up dying because he isn't strong enough to battle him again so soon. The whole series has a great plot, but I definitly recommend buying all the books before you start reading the series or you will be left hanging untill the next book. Trust me I know! I started reading the Awakening #1 in the Vampire Diaries series, and I had to end up waiting for two months to find the second book and another month to find the third and fourth book. I have read the series about 6 times since last year. L.J. Smith is a great writer, if you like the vampire diaries you should read the Secret Circle series and her Night World series.



2. The mystery continues in book 2.
   This book is fantastic,jumping straight in from book 1 you barely have time to breathe as it keeps you guessing.
   I couldn't put this book down



3. Before Buffy and Angel lite up the tv screens spinning off book series there was L.J. Smith's series 'Vampire Diaries". This series was the first vampire books I ever read back when I was about 12. Ten years later, and heavy dog eared copies of the "Vampire Diaries" the story and plot is still fresh as ever, keeping me coming back again and again. If you love the paranormal, a bit of romance, adventure, two good looking vampires, and of course the age old struggle school politics then you'll love this book. Its a story that you wont soon forget.

   In volume #2 "The Struggle" the heat intensifies as Damon and Stefen continue the struggle for Elena, one who looks very much like a woman they both loved long ago. Will she turn to either vampire or is there something sinister keeping watch to stop all three? It continues on to volume #3




4. "The Struggle" is the second book in L.J. Smith's "Vampire Diaries" series, and like all middle books, it suffers from a sense of displacement. It begins in the centre of the story and it ends in the centre of the story, and so one needs both the previous book and the following one in order to make sense of it.

   The premise is hopelessly melodramatic: the beautiful blonde Elena (what, you expected an L. J. Smith heroine that *wasn't* stunning?!) is caught between two vampire brothers, the angelic Stefan and the demonic Damon. Though she loves Stefan she is equally attracted to Damon, and I'm wincing whilst writing this, such is the corniness of the situation. Elena reminds the brothers of a girl they both sought after whilst they were human: the vampiric Katherine who Turned them both, but then killed herself when they wouldn't cease their feud. Now the triangle is replaying itself out once more in contemporary Fell's Church, but with a few differences, namely the presence of another Power wrecking havoc upon the citizens. At first Elena and Stefan think Damon is responsible for the attacks and other strange occurences, but mounting evidence leads them to believe otherwise...

   The love-story is simply painful to behold, and I'm not sure what's worse: the love-lorn wide-eyed declarations of love between Stefan and Elena ("you've stolen my soul") or Damon's painful attempts at seducing her ("You can become a queen of shadows"). Smith is usually quite good at capturing every-day speech, but the dialogue of this book is abysmal.

   But in the face of the awful love-story, there are other little plot strands to consider that keep "Vampire Diaries" from being a complete waste of time. Even though "The Struggle" isn't that important in the context of the entire series, the more mundane occurances hold one's interest. In the previous book, Elena's diary is stolen, which contained several crucial passages about Stefan's involvement in the attacks at Fell's Church. Now little notes are popping up, posting on notice boards, slipped into her bag, that quote Elena's own words back at her. Elena and her two closet friends Bonnie and Meredith suspect their ex-friend Caroline, and dread the fact that she's planning on reading out the diary at the Founding Day celebration.

   In between hatching a plan to steal back the diary, there is a whole range of other problems that need to be dealt with: the previously attacked Vickie is now acting very strangely at school, a new teacher Alaric Saltzman is asking a lot of suspicious questions, Bonnie's prophesies continue to get more and more ominous and class bully Tyler Smallwood is also causing trouble amongst the students. To top it all off, Damon is prowling around, inviting himself to class functions and even Elena's house in the attempts to stir up trouble between the brothers.

   It ends, of course, on a big cliffhanger, and I think it's fair to say that on the whole "The Vampire Diaries" are not L. J. Smith's best work (not that any of her work is high literature). For me personally, I like my vampires evil and dark - but Smith's vampires are technically the good guys, and have no sense of the massive weight of vampiric lore that surrounds the legend; instead they act too much like teenagers. Though the books are backed up by reasonably interesting sub-plots, and one can clearly see from the other reviews that pre-teens swoon over the books and characters, it's only a matter of time before they're looking back and wondering "what was I *thinking*?!" They're good books to take on holiday - quick, easy, entertaining reads that don't need too much brain-power to read, and are no big loss if they are misplaced.




5. Everybody out there; I order you to READ THIS BOOK! It was the best vampire book I have ever read! I fell in love with the characters and the constant tension and twists kept me reading for hours. The plot is brilliant and I'm now officially addicted to L.J Smith's books (and they're vampires). I really felt for the brave and beautiful Elena, and Stephan is so handsom and sad it made me want to cry. But the character I love the most is definatly Damon, the evil and incredibly sexy evil vamp brother. I don't know about you, but I always fall for the bad guy, and this one is definatly HOT!!!And man does the end have a twist! It's totally brilliant and it's even exciting me (the girl who wants Elena to choose the bad guy over the good). So trust me (the girl with style) and READ THIS BOOK!!!