Marked By Kristin Cast + P.C. CastPublished: May 2007
Pages: 320
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Enter the dark, magical world of The House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change--and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.
In case you haven't already noticed, I am a sucker for both enchanting book covers and all things vampire. So naturally, the House Of Night series was a must read.
When I usually read a book, the first chapter or two are boring or confusing. Marked on the other hand was boring for the first 150 pages.
The story started out at a human high school with the main character Zoey getting marked. Her "best friend" Kayla was too preoccupied with the thought of making out with her boyfriend to care. I can't even imagine ditching my best friend (who I will possibly never see again) to make out with a guy who will always be around. I mean, there are bad friends in the world, but I thought Kayla's character was just impractical and a waste.
The secong problem I had with this book was its repetition. Yes okay, by the twelvth time you said Erik Night was hot I finally understood he was hot. The Cast duo also repeated how pretty Neferet was, how "ho-ish" and stuck up Aphrodite was and how Zoey could never decide if she wanted Heath or Erik. I think if the book stopped repeating facts that had already been stated it could have been half as long and twice as alluring.
However, the book did intrigue me into continuing the series. The plot was so imcomparable to most vampire stories, in a positive way. First of all, the spell it, vampyre. That alone is cool enough to draw me in. Secondly, I enjoyed the idea of vampyres being the elite of society (i.e. actors, authors, poets, and all the millionares out there) but yet still being somewhat outcast by normal human society. The third idea I enjoyed was having a worldwide body of people dominated by females! They make it realistic, but at the same time give the males their deserved credit.
Another element of the story I enjoyed was the casualty of the writing. Instead of using huge words and poetic flow, the Cast duo wrote the book in a personal, almost conversational style. This created a more approachable and normal side to Zoey, as well as her other friends. Instead of always being perfect, they had funny opinions, dorky hobbies, and always got sidetracked when talking to cute boys.
To the benefit of the Cast girls, the book picked up quickly enough to capture my interest and forced me to dive into the series. I look forward to the next book Betrayed, so look for its upcoming review!
3.5/5
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