Dear Anne Rice,
I really like your book Interview with the Vampire.
My name is Davone and my family calls me a very big bookworm. I read mainly fantasy and romance books. Since elementary school I've hardly read horror or science fiction stories, unless the teacher made me, or if it had to do with aliens. I was the only one out of my friends not reading the Goosebumps series. It all changed when I found your book in one of my teacher's classes.
I looked through the shelf full of books and there wasn't a single one that had anything to do with romance. So I thought to myself, "Hey, why don't I just try to read one for once?" So I took a look at the selection again and picked out Interview with a Vampire.
At first I thought it was just another boring book, but then again it was pretty capturing. I mean what's a vampire doing TALKING to a human and not threatening to suck the heck out of the person's blood like all those other books I heard of?
Then I decided to read on to feed my curiosity. Slowly building up to the point where I couldn't put the book down, I finished the book in a week's time, with interuptions and all. I stayed up at night just reading it until my sister told me I had better go to sleep before I turn out being late to class the next day. I am willing to bet that if I didn't have any interuptions or school to bother me, I would have finished it in less than two days.
The book brought a lot of meaning to my attention. I always thought vampires were some sort of cold hearted monsters, but I figured that they also had feelings. I noticed this by the way the main character, Louis, was acting throughout the whole story. He was kind and caring which made me comprehend that no matter what you are you can still have feelings.
I realized some other things too. You might be dead, but you're still living in a way, because when you die, people will still remember you. I found that out by the way vampires are dead but still roam the night. Louis said in your book, "Lestat, in fact, had aroused in me feelings which I hadn't wished to confide in anyone, feelings I'd wished to forget, despite Claudia's death."
In other words, Louis never could forget the death of Claudia, but he wished he could have.
Interview with the Vampire helped put through a thought that some friendships and love lasts for eternity unless sin and evil came between the two. Louis had always loved Claudia until she was killed for attempting murder, right? It seemed Louis had no love in himself afterwards, but maybe he did.
When Louis changed into a vampire he still acted the same and yearned for humanity, I became aware that a person may have changed into a totally different creature but who the person really is deep inside still remains.
It is because of your feelings when you can't usually live your life in solitude and cannot withstand without friends. As humans, sometimes you just need someone to talk to. The vampires in your book always had to have a companion and in the beginning of their formation they couldn't survive without some knowledge of being a vampire from another vampire.
I learned from the book that you can't trust anyone but yourself by seeing how some vampires kept secrets and played tricks.
Well, your book seems really educational, and I compared all the stuff from your book and real life and most of the things in your book seems real and you could related to it. Maybe a vampire's life isn't as different as a human's after all, huh? People use each other to survive in society and so do vampires. Eternity can be a cruel thing.
Anyway, let's get straight to the point now, I like your book because it's moving, unforgettable, and it has a lot of meaning and passion.
Sincerely,
Davone Khamleu
8th grade
Clark Middle School, Anchorage
Teacher: Mr. Dennis Stovall
Biographical Note About Davone
Davone is 13 years old, one of five children at home -- she's the youngest. Her three brothers are Souveng, 16; Sommith, 17; Khamkeo, 22; and her sister, Sithone,19. They're raised by both parents. Two other siblings, one a sister back in Laos who died, and one brother who was stillborn.
Davone's parents came from Laos in 1987, escaping from the communist government. They escaped as boat people, spending time in refugee camps, first in Thailand, and again in the Philippines, before finally making it to America. They finally entered America, sponsored by an aunt and uncle now living in Colorado. As she related the story she said, "I was born when my parents were in a camp in Thailand. My sister told me about the tags they had to wear as my family made their way from camp to camp."
