Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
House of the Night book one
ISBN: 9780312360269
I bought this book.
Everything changes for Zoe Redbird when she walks to her locker one day only to be marked, given a magical tattoo that sets her apart from the rest of the world as one of the chosen of Nyx, goddess of the night. Instantly Zoe goes from a normal girl with a less than spectacular home life and disloyal friends to someone destined to be powerful and special—if she survives the Change.
If switching to the vampyre school, House of the Night, her parents not talking to her and facing the real possibility that she’ll just fade and die rather that graduate wasn’t enough there’s something seriously wrong going on in the vampyre world. Zoe must start by standing up for herself against a school bully, made more dangerous with vampire powers and premonitions.
Marked is a paranormal YA novel, complete with to-be-expected subplot lines about peer relationships and boys. There’s also moments of morality intrusion, that can read like the teen voice trying to reassure readers of their intelligence or like thinly disgusted adult lecturing. There is a lot of cliché here, from super sexy and powerful vampires to the mean-popular-school-queen girl. There’s also a matter of the authors clearly and definitely drawing lines between a male-dominated religion that seeks to enforce control on people, and a female/magic led religion that is beautiful and wonderful, etc. These aspects are heavy handed at times, though the pacing and rush to explain everything needed for the story might be a contributing factor.
Underneath is a strong tale of a girl looking for acceptance, for a connection to the things and people around her. In this story being special, favored and working her way toward a power-laden immortality doesn’t make things any easier.
I found Marked to be a dynamic, hard to put down book. Zoe was a driving force comparable to the adult urban fantasy heroines I enjoy. Equal parts humor, personality and intelligence makes Zoe a lead character easy to connect to, which sets the series up to be interesting and fun. After encountering so many books featuring characters I just couldn’t connect with it’s Zoe and her friends who will carry me on, as a reader, to the next book despite other aspects that provided momentary flashes of irritation.