Of one the bad (or good depending on how you look at it) things about reading a manga series that you love is that you fly through the volumes and then have to wait for months in the next installment. I feverishly finished Vampire Knight Vol 11 because I had to know what happened after the two previous and tumultuous volumes. Now I have to wait until late June or early July to read Vol 12.

Description: The secret about the Night Class at Cross Academy is out and now has been abolished. Humans are now aware of their surroundings and Cross's goal of living peacefully amongst humans and vampires is now more important than ever. While Yuki has withdrawn from her past life and tries to adjust to her new lifestyle with the help of Kaname, Zero still attends the Day Class and carries out his duties as a vampire hunter. With their lives changed forever, can they embrace the changes?

Review:  Volume 11 takes place one year after the world altering events in the last two volumes. Though this latest installment has less action and violence, we get more of a story and possibly a new story arc. Volume 11 focuses on the aftermath the battle for Cross Academy on those who were affected. Yuki is learning to adjust to her new lifestyle with the help of Kaname and his companions. She learns a little bit of Kaname's bloody past and admits to her torn loyalties to Zero. I've always liked Yuki. Her compassion and willingness to love is very admirable. I also love that she never hides what she is feeling and is very open about her feelings. While there is angst in this manga, I don't find myself screaming at the characters to admit their mistakes or to speak up.
    While Yuki learns to look inward to help her move on, Zero is trying to turn off his emotions. We can clearly see that he is desperately trying to recover from the heartbreaking events in the last two volumes. Like the loner that he is, he lives in solitude. He tries to channels his emotions of anger, hurt, and pain and use them when he works as a vampire hunter.
  Unlike Yuki and Zero, Kaname is also learning to deal with the consequences of his actions. He slowly reveals what he has done in order to protect Yuki. Kaname, in my opinion, is the most mysterious character in Vampire Knight. He is very secretive and we don't know much about his past. He is a man of power and prestige though we can't but note his loneliness and his fear to show his true self.
  Besides these three main characters, we also get a glimpse at what the secondary characters are doing. Aidou is trying to balance his duties to Kaname and along with his new assignment of helping Yuki. Rima and Shiki are worried about the disappearance of Ichijo and go on an independent search to find him. Both Rima and Shiki are questioning their loyalties to Kaname who seems to not care about anyone besides Yuki. To matters more interesting, a new villain seems to emerge which brings a whole slew of questions that need to be answered. Though Volume 11 is a transition volume, it does seem to set the stage up for the next direction in this manga and I'm more than willing to follow. 

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is some violence in the book. Rated T for Teen.

If you like this book try: Vampire Knight Vol 12 by Matsuri Hino, Vampire Kisses manga series by Ellen Schreiber and Rem, Evernight series by Claudia Gray, Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith