The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
Harlequin/Harlequin TEEN (April 24, 2012)
Hard cover: $18.99; ebook: $14.99
ISBN: 9780373210510
Excerpt
Favorite Lines: “Go too long without feeding, and the result will be the same. And this is why vampires do not become attached to humans, or anyone. Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. Accidentally or as a conscious, deliberate act. It is unavoidable. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?” (p. 96, egalley)
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die or become one of the monsters.
Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.
Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.
But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.
Book one in Julie Kagawa’s Blood of Eden series is The Immortal Rules. It’s set in a dystopian world in the aftermath of a devastating virus which affected humans and vampires. The end result has placed vampires as the rulers of society and humans as slaves and food. Humans live hard lives. But Kagawa’s world contains more than just vampires and humans. There are terrible creatures called rabids who hunt humans. The world is ugly, raw and painful.
The Immortal Rules is aimed at young adults and revolves around an orphaned teenager named Allison Sekemoto. She is street smart with an inner soft streak. As with most young adult novels, she’s at the start of a new journey. One which will transform her in many ways and force her to grow up, even as her body is stunted in death. That journey is not just a physical transformation, but a mental progression that all kids must make as they learn there is so much more to life than their small, immediate circle.
The story is broken apart into four sections which are indicative of Allison’s life: human, vampire, monster and wanderer. I enjoyed some sections more than others and at times became quite irritated with Allison. She whined about decisions that she made and made silly choices. Then I had to remind myself that the heroine was a teenager so her reactions and actions would be those of a teen.
In addition to Allison’s story line, there is one which connects the ugly world to its creation. One character plays a key role in both story lines. The revulsion others’ feel toward that individual is easily transferred upon those with no knowledge of the event. I can’t wait to trace the story of the most reviled character ever to exist in Kagawa’s Eden world. Book two in the series is still untitled but will be released in 2013.
Bonus: For those who like discussion topics there are questions for discussion attached to the end of the book.
Scooper Speaks 
Hey S.
I loved this book. I have not read anything by Kagawa before but her writing style was really fluid to me. I enjoyed the struggle that the heroine Allie had to face within herself and her resolve.
I LOVED her. I can’t wait until book 2.
I haven’t read Kagawa before either. It was easy to follow and interesting. I want more about the psycho vampire and Allie’s maker.
I am pretty sure the sequel with give us more insight as to who those people are. She laid just the right amount of foundation to keep our curiousity piqued. Not too much, and not too little. I hate having to wait a year for sequels.
I just compiled a list of completed series and I think I will focus on those. At least series with 3 books in.