The Struggle by L.J. Smith

A little over a week ago, I blogged about The Awakening, the first book of the Vampire Diaries.  I wasn't terribly impressed — it was kind of like being back in high school, since the main female character is the queen of the school and, frankly, rather juvenile and snobbish.  But the book also ended on a cliffhanger, and despite my better judgment, I wanted to see what would happen next.

The next book, The Struggle, is also rather juvenile, I'm afraid.  Now the queen of the school has two vampire brothers fighting over her, and a former member of her little clique is trying to ruin her reputation.  Yikes.

Some YA novels transcend their genre, and are read by many adults.  The Struggle isn't one of them.  It's definitely written like it's geared to young girls, and probably rather superficial ones too, judging by all the high school drama.  I'm guessing L.J. Smith either was a cheerleader, or never got over wanting to be one.  Harsh, I know, but jeez...  If writers like Stephanie Meyer can make millions of adult women relive the excitement of their first loves, why is it that L.J. Smith's books do nothing but remind me why I hated high school?

Unfortunately, I still want to know what happens, but I'll need another short break before I put myself through another 200 pages of Vampire Diaries!