Amie Rose Rotruck (Children's Literature)
Schuyler Van Alen never was comfortable at her elite private school. Despite having as impressive a pedigree as the next student, she has always felt like an outcast. During her sophomore year, though, she finds the students who once ignored her reaching towards her in various ways. After a fellow student is murdered, Schuyler finds out that she and many other students at her school are Blue Bloods. Blue Bloods are vampires that trace their lineage to the Mayflower and beyond. They are used to being immortal, but now something appears to be hunting them. While teenage vampire stories are numerous nowadays, this title adds new elements about vampires that keep the story and legend fresh. The story is told not just from Schuyler’s point of view but also from the point of view of Bliss (a transplant from Texas), Mimi (a spoiled rich girl), Jack (Mimi’s twin brother), and even uses diary entries from an ancestor in the 1620s. This book is a worthy addition to the vampire genre. 2006, Hyperion, $15.99. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 7))
A juicy, voyeuristic peek into the lives of rich Manhattanites-who happen to be vampires. As shown by a diary in a handwritten font, vampires came to this country on the Mayflower. In contemporary Manhattan, the ensemble of protagonists attends an elite prep school. They're old souls, because vampires return in new shells (bodies) indefinitely; however, until mid-adolescence, they don't know it. Fifteen-year-old Schuyler, intelligent and vaguely Goth, has no idea she's a vampire. Neither does Bliss, newly arrived from Texas. Mimi and Jack, glamorously haughty twins with a suspicious bond, already know the scoop; the adults know too. The others are meant to learn slowly and keep strictly to the Code (for example, never suck so much blood that a human dies). Name-brand clothing and luxuries abound, but a mysterious danger lurks: Someone is killing the supposedly immortal. Schuyler's destiny is to bring the vampires-cast out of heaven with Lucifer-back into a state of grace, but her immediate goal for the next installment is to find the murderer. Delightfully trashy. 2006, Hyperion, 256p, $15.99. Category: Fantasy. Ages 13 up. © 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Karen Coats (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, September 2006 (Vol. 60, No. 1))
The richest and most elite families of New York are the ones who can trace their history back to the Mayflower. Schuyler Van Alen belongs to one of these families, as do her classmates Oliver Hazard-Perry and the popular and glistening Force twins. When Schuyler receives her invitation to join the prestigious charity organization known as the New York Blood Bank Committee, she learns that her heritage can be traced back even farther-all the way back, it seems, to Lucifer and company's shining fall from heaven. Condemned by God to an eternal life on earth, these old souls are known as the Blue Bloods, vampires who cycle through 100-year stints on Earth before taking a rest and reappearing. The Committee ensures that the vampires remain as humane as they are urbane, introducing young members to the vampire code of ethics and obligations to their human familiars that will govern their lives as they come of age. It also controls the flow of information, which Schuyler finds unacceptable as she learns that something out there is preying on the undead. It seems that an ancient enemy-Croatan-followed the Blue Bloods to the New World, but Miles Standish chose to stay despite what happened to the Roanoke colony. History, mythology, and the contemporary New York prep-school and club scene blend seamlessly in this sexy and sophisticated riff on vampire lore that never collapses into camp-indeed, de la Cruz's cosmology is frighteningly believable, and it would clear up questions in many quarters were it true. YA central casting has been here, but the familiarity of the high-school types makes their vampire status all the spookier. The cliffhanger ending will have entranced readers throwing back their heads to howl and sprout fangs of their own as they impatiently await the sequel. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2006, Hyperion, 302p, $15.99. Grades 9-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2006)
Schyler Van Alen comes from an elite old New York family--they're Blue Bloods, vampires reborn into new lives since ancient times. Silver Bloods, who prey on other vampires, threaten the Blue Bloods' existence. Clearly intent on a series, de la Cruz overstretches the creeping exposition and falls short of a climax, disappointing all but the most devoted vampire followers. Category: Older Fiction. 2006, Hyperion, 307pp, 15.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 5: Marginal, seriously flawed, but with some redeeming quality.

Vikki C. Terrile (VOYA, April 2006 (Vol. 29, No. 1))
Schuyler, Mimi, Bliss, and Jack live the good life in New York City. Young, beautiful, and rich, they are members of the exclusive philanthropic society known as The Committee. More than just a charitable board, The Committee guards an ancient secret that the blue-blood members of the American upper class are actually Blue Bloods, a four-hundred-member ancient race of vampires that might not be as invincible as it believes. Combining historical references to the lost colony of Roanoke with high-fashion name-dropping and the threat of an evil hunting the Blue Bloods, de la Cruz takes her trademark brand of high-society chick-lit and turns it into a fresh and engaging vampire tale. The four main characters develop from character types to believable teens struggling with the realities of being both young and undead. To be sure, most teens do not get modeling contracts in the hallway of their high schools, but many deal with distant, ill, or embarrassing parents, much like these teens. With tongue-in-cheek explanations for everything from how the no-sun or garlic myths began, to vampirism being the reason that these elite girls can eat their weight in cupcakes without gaining an ounce, de la Cruz opens the vampire genre to readers who cannot get enough glimpses into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Recommend this title along with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005/VOYA October 2005) as a delicious reading feast and be prepared to be asked when the next Blue Bloods book is due. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, Hyperion, 256p., $15.99. Ages 11 to 18.