Review: Marked

Title: Marked
Author: P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast
Date Released: May 1, 2007
Pages: 306
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description: ENTER THE DARK, MAGICAL WORLD OF THE HOUSE OF NIGHT. a world very much like our own, except there vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre. 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 ordinary 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 un 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 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.

Review:
...Confused after that description? Yeah I was too. I always saw this book on the shelves of bookstores and Walmart and well everywhere, and I assumed (like I do very frequently) that is was another supernatural, stupid, thin and meaningless book that barely masked the girlyness of it. And guess what? I was pretty wrong. Again.

What I loved most about this book was the balance between normal teenage drama and the supernatural. Zoey has her own teenage problems like any other normal adolescent, such as boys (of course) and family drama, and they don't magically go away when she's marked as a vampyre. Unlike other books where the main character suddenly grows up, Zoey keeps her wittiness and her spunky teenager-ness throughout the novel.

I was also really impressed by how the narration was very true to us teens. Seriously it was like Zoey could think exactly like me! It added to the believe-ablilty (is that a word?) of the novel and the true typical feel of Zoey's character. She had to deal with going to a new school and the following feelings and reactions to the events seemed natural to me, as I've been the new kid before and know what it feels like. I felt like I could really relate to Zoey, which definitely added to my interest in Marked.

I also thought Zoey's heritage as a Cherokee was really cool. It added some background and ethnicity to her character. Her grandma is also definitely an awesome character and I wish there was more of her in this novel. Because awesome old ladies are pretty entertaining xD

Another thing I really like was the feel of how real the book was. It made me totally think vampyres were normal - I believed in the world of the House of Night, it felt like MY world whenever I was lost in the novel. It's really one of the main things I look for in a novel - its ability to make the book's reality YOUR reality and not just some wispy floaty story you can't relate to.

However, I did give the book a 4 out of 5 because some things weren't explained to well to back up the novel. Such as how is someone chosen to be Marked? Why was Zoey chosen? Why was Erik so suddenly interested in Zoey? And in my opinion Erik could've been a deeper character he's almost too ... perfect. Too typical. But hot hot hot indeedly so its okay ^-^

So overall, I really did enjoy Marked: it was a great break from all the classical stuff I had to read for school, which made my brain really hurt. Its mystery and humor definitely left me looking forward to the sequel and to continue pursuing Zoey's journey in the House of Night.

Cover Review: Eh...personally I'm not a huge fan of the cover. The pattern's really cool, but I think if more of Zoey was pictured, it'd capture my attention more. The review quota thing also takes away from the pizazz - y - ness of the cover. I do like the font of the title along with the crescent - very eye catching!

keep on reading fellow book geeks!
MarMar<3