Reading Vampire diaries: part 1

Plain and simple: I love this book. Elena is a way better character than Bella swan. Elena can take care of herself, has flaws, is brave, and not a wossy-cry baby like Bella. Basicly Vampire Diaries so far is what Twilight wants to be. I also noticed that the two books are very similar in ways, even though VD came out way before Twilight came out. Did Twilight plagarize?