Review: Marked (House of Night Book 1)

Title: Marked
Authors: P. C. and Kristin Cast
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fiction
Pub Date: May 2007, St. Martin's Press
Trade Paperback, 306 pages

Synopsis

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.

My Thoughts

Well, originally I was planning to wait awhile to read this book, since I read all three Vampire Academy books recently and wanted to take a break from the species. However, when I realized I left my current read at the office, I wanted to see if I could fit in a book in one sitting this evening and Marked was the best choice from my large stack of unread books.

I really wanted to like this book, but something about it just didn't work for me. I think it was the fact that it was so clearly written for (somewhat immature) teenagers, and to be honest, I don't think I ever really was one of those. Sure, I had my moments, but Zoey and her friends got on my nerves frequently and I think it was simply because I couldn't relate to them. Zoey's use of childish terms (poopie and boobie, for example) just didn't feel right to me, and I also found myself rolling my eyes frequently when she was talking. While I am long past my teenage years, even when I was a teen I was mature for my age so that made it more difficult for me to really enjoy this book. But I can see why many teenagers would love it.

What did work for me was the vampire/vampyre (there we go again with different spellings for the same word! Remember my remarks about faerie/fairy/feary a few reviews back...) lore and and a rather original storyline. I always enjoy learning different aspects of paranormal and mythical folklore, and this book didn't disappoint. I do also think that the Casts did a good job with the characters in respect to what they were trying to achieve. Obviously I just wasn't the reader they were trying to reach since I seemed to miss out on the teen angst and drama during that phase of my life. I will say that as the book was reaching the end I did find myself more drawn into the excitement of the story, but I don't think it will be enough to make me go out and get the next book in the series.

My rating:

Other reviews of Marked:

Look At That Book ~ Readings of a Teenage Tree
Unmainstream Mom Reads ~ Bart's Bookshelf ~ Love To Read
For the Love of Books ~ Read, Read, Read
Bookshelves of Doom ~ The Written World

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