The Vampire Diaries Book

The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth volume, Dark Reunion, which was released the following year. The first four novels in the original series: The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury and Dark Reunion all feature Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert as the main protagonists. The first three novels in the original series are from both Stefan and Elena's points of view, but the last book in the original series, Dark Reunion, is from Bonnie McCullough's viewpoint.

After taking a hiatus from writing for several years, in 2007 Smith announced a new spin-off trilogy entitled The Vampire Diaries: The Return with Damon as the main protagonist. The first installment, Nightfall, was released on February 10, 2009. Shadow Souls was released on March 16, 2010. The final book of the trilogy, Midnight, was released on March 15, 2011.

The trilogy after The Return trilogy, The Hunters, will be written by a ghostwriter. Smith signed a "work for hire" contract, which means Alloy owns the copyrights. Alloy fired her for unknown reasons and replaced her with a ghostwriter. Smith had originally intended to call the books in The Hunters trilogy Phantom, Evensong and Eternity, but she retained the name Eternity and will be writing a book unrelated to the series called Eternity: A Vampire Love Story. The title of the third book in The Hunters trilogy is Destiny Rising according to goodreads.com.

The new trilogy will feature Stefan and Elena as the main characters. It will focus on Stefan and Elena in college. Phantom was released on October 25, 2011. Moonsong will be released on March 13, 2012. Destiny Rising will be released on October 4, 2012.

Like The Hunters trilogy, the Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries series is written by a ghost-writer.

The Vampire Diaries has been adapted into a loosely based television series that premiered on September 10, 2009, on The CW.

The Awakening

Elena Gilbert is, on the surface, a typical high school senior. She’s pretty, popular and has several close friends. She’s the “it” girl that boys want to date and girls want to emulate. But there’s more to Elena than meets the eye. Deep down, she’s lonely and struggles with feelings of abandonment due to a tragedy that occurred when she was younger.

Elena feels an intense connection with a handsome new student named Stefan Salvatore, and they fall in love. However, Stefan is soon suspected of attacking and murdering local residents. When Elena confronts him, she discovers that Stefan is a vampire and that his diabolical older brother, Damon, is the real killer. Elena later meets Damon and rejects his advances, angering him. In a fit of rage, he provokes Stefan to fight. When she cannot find Stefan, Elena believes that Damon is to blame for his disappearance.

The Struggle

Picking up where The Awakening left off, Elena confronts Damon about Stefan's disappearance. When Elena rejects his romantic advances, he refuses to help her find Stefan. Bonnie, who is believed to have psychic powers, uses magic to track down Stefan. The girls and Matt discover Stefan trapped in a well, close to death. After they rescue him, Elena gives him her blood to speed his recovery. Because of the common belief that he has attacked area residents, Stefan still faces hostility in the town. As Founder's Day approaches, Elena learns that Caroline Forbes has stolen her diary, whose contents can be read as evidence that Stefan is a violent criminal. Bonnie, Meredith and Elena break into Caroline's house to search for the diary but fail to find it. Damon offers to help Elena's cause - if she gives him her blood. Elena initially refuses, but she gives in when Damon threatens to feed off of her little sister, Margaret, instead. Damon and Elena do a blood exchange. Soon after, Elena tells Stefan about the missing diary. Stefan tells Elena that even if Caroline reveals the contents of Elena's diary to the whole town, because of his love for Elena, Stefan will stay. On Founder's Day, when Caroline prepares to read the diary in public, Elena learns that Damon has switched Elena's diary for Caroline's. Damon accepts Elena's thanks, but his satisfaction turns to anger when he hears about her engagement to Stefan. Aunt Judith is also displeased. Frustrated by their reactions, Elena storms off in her car and soon detects something malevolent about the weather. She tries to cross running water, as she thinks this will keep her safe. As she drives over a bridge, it breaks, and Elena drives into the water. She then drowns and becomes a vampire.

The Fury

This book begins with the newly "turned" Elena watching Damon and Stefan engaged in a fight to the death. A flicker of memory causes her to realize the one she loves is hurt and needs her help. The reader is led to believe she is referring to Stefan, but Elena attacks him and declares her love for Damon. Damon hides her in Alaric Saltzman's attic and once she has rested, her disorientation begins to lift. Elena is deeply bothered about the way she attacked Stefan. She hears Alaric speaking about vampires and a memorial service. Elena goes to the service and is found by Stefan and Damon, who agree that they should work together. Stefan is relieved when Elena remembers their love, and Damon is enraged. The three are soon distracted by the strange behavior of the town's pet dogs, which are attacking their owners. More strange events lead the three vampires to conclude that the Power that forced Elena off of the bridge is stalking the town. It transpires that Katherine, the vampire who turned Damon and Stefan, faked her own death 500 years before in a vain attempt to bring the brothers closer. Her plan failed, and the brothers killed each other and rose as vampires. Katherine was infuriated by the brothers' continuing feud, so she fled to Klaus, who had turned her into a vampire on her death bed. Under his teaching, Katherine became powerful and unstable. She ties Damon, Stefan and Elena in a crypt, where she plans to torture and dispose of them. After freeing herself, Elena forces Katherine into a shaft of sunlight and tears off her protective lapis lazuli necklace. Elena is badly burned and dies in Stefan's arms after she makes him promise to take care of Damon.

Dark Reunion

As a psychic, Bonnie has dreams of Elena in the Other world. But the dreams turn frightening, which causes the death of one of their friends. A source of power has infiltrated Fell's Church, putting its inhabitants in danger. Meredith, Matt, and Bonnie use a summoning spell to call for Stefan and Damon. Bonnie takes the leading role as she writes in the diary. She also finds a possible romance with Matt Honeycutt. After performing research, Stefan realizes Tyler Smallwood is a werewolf. They lure Tyler into the graveyard, and Tyler reveals startling information. They find out that Klaus, the vampire who turned Katherine, is the killer. The four find out from Meredith's mad grandfather that the only thing that can weaken Klaus is White Ash wood. Klaus makes a deal with Stefan to come with him. Although Stefan warns Bonnie, Meredith, and Matt not to follow, they do. They see Stefan with a branch of White Ash wood, and Bonnie realizes it's a trap. There is a fight at the old Francher place deep in the Old Wood. They are losing the fight, and Stefan is on the brink of death. Damon appears and stakes Klaus. However, Klaus isn't hurt badly, and he attacks Damon. Bonnie screams for Elena, who appears as a glowing mist along with the spirits of Civil War soldiers that had fought and died in Fell's Church. They charge Klaus and carry him away. Elena almost leaves forever and then is granted another chance to come back to life.

The Return: Nightfall

Picking up one week after Elena was brought back to life, she is in a child-like state and cannot read, write or speak, except with mental pictures. Caroline awakes early every morning to talk with a reflection of herself in the mirror, as Damon observes. He feels a sting at his neck, but asks Caroline to invite him in. He is about to drain her of blood but realizes something is influencing him. Stefan allows Bonnie, Meredith, and Caroline to visit Elena, who kisses Caroline on the lips to identify her. This upsets Caroline, who is ordered to leave. It is revealed that Mrs. Flowers is a witch and her mother died at the turn of the twentieth century. Meredith, Bonnie, and Matt crash into a tree, which grows larger and larger, trapping them inside their car. Bonnie calls Damon for help, and he saves her. Stefan saves Matt and Meredith, while Damon heals Bonnie. Elena wakes up one morning back to normal. She and Stefan invite everyone for a picnic, where they agree that malach, evil parasitic creatures, have infested the Old Wood and are under someone's control. A kitsune, a fox-spirit from Japan who calls himself the "Hell Shinichi," appears. He and his sister Misao want the town of Fell's Church. Damon makes a deal with Shinichi to let them destroy the town, but let him and "his girls" get out safely. Shinichi makes the malach inside Damon (that entered him though the sting he felt earlier) grow. More malach also enter. The young girls of the town are acting strangely. Meredith and Bonnie find Caroline scuttling like a lizard. Elena uses "Wings of Purification" to heal Damon from the malach. She also uses the "Wings of Redemption" and "Wings of Remembrance" to help Damon regain the memories when he was possessed.

The Return: Shadow Souls

Damon, with Elena and Matt, follows Stefan into the Dark Dimension to set him free from the prison he has been tricked into. When Matt sees Elena and Damon getting too close, he turns back and sends Bonnie and Meredith to inform Elena about what's happening back home. Bonnie and Meredith join Elena as all three are forced to enter as the property of Damon. Elena and Damon exchange blood many times throughout this book and grow closer. Stefan is imprisoned, and only Elena can free him by finding the hidden halves of the kitsune key to his cell. Back home, Matt is hiding from the law and trying to fight the evil kitsune who are destroying their community. He enlists the help of the local doctor and her nephew, the boarding house owner, and Isobel's grandmother, who was once a priestess, to keep their home together. Elena and Damon go to Stefan's prison and free him. Elena then feeds him her blood. As they leave, a good kitsune gives Elena a bouquet for Stefan. Damon's curiosity gets the better of him, and the flower turns him human with one smell. Stefan and Damon wish that they could switch places with each other: Stefan as a human, and Damon as a vampire.

The Return: Midnight

Damon is now human. He uses Misao's star ball to reopen the gate to the Dark Dimension and takes Bonnie with him by accident. Damon is then turned back into a vampire by Princess Jessalyn. Bonnie is arrested as a runaway slave and taken to an auction house to be sold. Shinichi buys Bonnie to extract information about Misao's star ball. Since the group has drained Power out of it, Misao is dying. Shinichi throws Bonnie out of a window, but Damon saves her. Meanwhile, in Fell's Church, Matt is arrested for assaulting Caroline, and Stefan, Elena, and Mrs. Flowers go to court to get him out. They bring in Saber, a hell hound Sage left to protect them. Caroline changes into a werewolf at the sight of him. The officials at the court turn into werewolves as well. When Matt is free, Stefan and Elena go into the Dark Dimension and find their friends. The four then travel to the Nether World in search of the largest star ball ever made in hopes that it will save their town. Sage is the guardian of the Gate where the treasures are, including the star ball. He lets the group visit one of the seven gateways. During the journey, Shinichi and Misao die, and Mrs. Flowers changes into a younger version of herself. Meredith discovers that she has a twin brother named Cristian, and Klaus took him when they were three years old. She also tells the group that she is a hunter-slayer and a new type of vampire with small fangs. The kitsune are working for Inari, Isobel's grandmother. She is the most powerful Kitsune in the world, and the star ball is hers. In the Nether World, on the smallest moon, the group finds the star ball in a tree. Damon is killed when the tree stakes him in the heart while he saves Bonnie from falling to her death. Elena uses her "Wings Of Destruction" to destroy the tree and star ball, killing Inari. Sage tells them that maybe the Celestial Court can reverse the damage done in Fell's Church. There the leader of the blonde Guardians reveals that Elena was originally destined to become a guardian. The Celestial Court agrees to reverse what was done in Fell's Church and erase the memories of what happened there. Elena can go home as if she never died, and Stefan will be accepted as her boyfriend. Vicki Bennett, Sue Carson, and Mr. Tanner get their lives back, but nothing can be done for Damon. Angered, Elena begins to unleash her wings of destruction, but a soldier named Lenea stops her. The Three Guardians of the Celestial Court decide that Elena is unfit to wield the wings, so they clip them. Elena's wings and telepathy (with everyone but Stefan) are lost, and she is practically fully human again. The book ends on the Nether World's smallest moon. It is raining from the tree Elena destroyed, and liquid drips onto a body that thinks of two girls: Elena and Bonnie. It says if he can remember who he is, he can live again, and a name comes: Damon.

The Hunters: Phantom

The group explores the restored Fell's Church, but they are still sad that Damon has died. Elena is reunited with her family, which has hired Caleb Smallwood to work on their yard. He says that he's Tyler's cousin and that he's been staying with Tyler's parents since Tyler "ran away." As the friends leave to pick up Alaric and his friend, Dr. Celia Connor, at the train station, a rose that had appeared at Elena's doorstep cuts Bonnie. The blood pouring out of it spells "Celia" on her arm. At the train station, Celia is almost killed when her scarf gets caught in the train door, but Stefan saves her by ripping the scarf. The shreds spell "Meredith." Meanwhile, on the Dark Moon, Damon crawls out of the mountains of liquified ash. Sage finds him, helps Damon remember who he is, and lets him use the Mystical Elevator to return to Fell's Church. Up to this point, Damon has appeared to Elena in dreams. Elena sees him in her room one night, and he tells her that the energy from Inari's Star Ball gave him life. Elena goes to the cemetery to visit her parents and sees Caleb, who has also lost his parents. Stefan shows up and throws Caleb against a tombstone out of jealousy that he might like Elena. He says that he discovered evidence that Caleb is evil. Later, Bonnie knocks down Mrs. Flowers' knitting, which spells "Bonnie" on the ground. She tries to do a spell to contact Damon, but ends up in a coma after being overcome by darkness. Now Elena knows that Damon is alive. When Elena tells Damon, he investigates by letting the darkness take him. His consciousness ends up on the Dark Moon. Stefan takes Elena to the Smallwoods' shed, and they see that Caleb had collected many photos and newspapers about them. They detail both realities - of the events that actually happened and everyone's fabricated memories. Stefan and Elena conclude that the Guardians just changed these, but Caleb can see some of them for what they really are because he is supernatural. He is descended from werewolves and possesses some witchcraft abilities. Stefan and Elena go shopping, but Elena sees people from high school and becomes jealous that they have normal lives. Darkness overtakes her, and she passes out after Stefan notices a shopkeeper's hair flowing in the shape of the name "Matt." Stefan takes Meredith and Matt to the Smallwoods' house to confront Caleb. Matt passes out after he thinks about Tyler's popularity. Caleb says that he deduced that the group of friends was behind his contradicting memories and gave Elena the rose, hoping to get closer to her so that he could find out where Tyler went. At the boarding house, Mrs. Flowers says she believes that a phantom that is feeding off of jealousy may be the culprit. They perform a spell to summon the phantom. Meanwhile, Elena meets Bonnie in the land of the flowers that can hold special spells. Matt also arrives, and Elena tells them to look for the way out, which they find. They see Sage in the nexus room and run to the Dark Moon, where Damon is battling a misty blue figure. They all start fighting it, and suddenly they end up in the garage of the boarding house. Damon says that the creature is one of the original phantoms, which is much more powerful than an ordinary phantom. The original phantoms were trapped on the Dark Moon by the guardians, but Elena destroyed their prison, and the phantom of jealousy followed them to Fell's Church. The phantom tells everyone why they should be jealous of others, pitting Stefan and Damon against each other in a brutal fight. As the rest of the group admits their jealousies and casts them away, weakening the phantom, Elena makes the brothers reconcile. Damon throws a candle at the phantom, setting it on fire, and Elena reaches into the creature's core and pulls out the rose inside, destroying the phantom. Damon gives Elena his blood to heal her burns as the fire department arrives to put out the fire. Everyone then looks forward to the future.

The Hunters: Moonsong

In stores March 13, 2012.

L.J Smith said she wanted this book to be about the group going to Dalcrest College. Damon would help Meredith to control her bloodlust, although that issue seems to have been resolved in the ghostwritten books. In an email, Smith wrote:

"I wanted to write Moonsong, and give Bonnie an admirer who is just as sweet and even more naïve than she is—a pure white wolf with radiant blue eyes, who happens to be a werewolf with moonlight colored hair and the same blue eyes when he’s human. I wanted to show Damon’s surprising reaction to Xander the good werewolf (not at all happy about it—so much that he “accidentally” almost kills the poor innocent wolf).

I also wanted to show how Damon rescues Bonnie from a vicious wolf-pack attack, and then let her fly away with him. And I wanted to show how Bonnie, who knows a little medicine from her sister Mary, helps Damon deliver Caroline’s twin babies when she goes into labor deep in the woods. But that’s one scene that I would have had to fight tooth and nail for, because even the glow that Damon and Bonnie share at seeing new life come into the world wouldn’t be enough for them to call it decent. They would undoubtedly have tried to make me cut it. But I still want to write it, so badly.

I even had the last book in that trilogy plotted out, where Stefan’s worst nightmare comes true and he takes so much blood from Elena that she has to be taken to the hospital for a massive transfusion. He then decides to Influence Elena so that she will forget his existence, and he does so, to Damon and Bonnie and Meredith’s consternation. I wanted to show how this affected each one of the characters, and how Bonnie once again begins to write in her diary, since Elena’s diary is also forgotten, along with Stefan. I like to write things from Bonnie’s point of view, as I did in Dark Reunion. But none of these things will happen, because I won’t be around to write it."