Vampire Knight: Book One by Matsuri Hino

The first installement of many books, Matsuri Hino's Vampire Knight is a very visual and telling tale of two people who's joobs it is to fight Vampires, while keeping the fact that they exist a secret.


Two friends, Yuki and Cross and Zero Kiryu are tasked with protecting the students at Cross Academy. However, it is not strangers that the two warriors must fend off, but other students. In fact, Cross Academy has two schools: A day school and a night school. The students who attend the cademy during the day are cheerful boys and girls, with very few cares in the world. In fact, they are naive of the dangers that await them on a daily basis. You see, the Night class is their enemy. The night class is not comprised of ordinary students, but of vampires who have their eyes on the day class students.

Yuki and Zero are tasked with keeping the two classes separate and avoiding any conflict that might arise between them.


I like this book for many reasons. First, it's a graphic novel. Thus, there are many illustrations that pull the reader into the story. Second, I love reading about vampires and so do my students. In fact, my third reason for liking this book is the fact that it is part of a long series, with no end in site. At my school, anime has become the newest fad. Everyone is either reading graphic novels, or watching anime television. Ths, this book is an excellent way to get my students to read more.


I believe this book would be better suited for high school students rather than elementary and some middle school students, simply because of the nature of the text. Besides having blood-sucking vampires and warriors with sharp deadly blades, it also has some inferences to sexual behavior. In fact, in parts that discuss how Yuki and Zero meet, their are hints as to how deep and meaningful their relationship is.


Still, I would definitely recommend this book to any anll who are interested in reading an exciting and heart-pounding graphic novel.