Marked - House of Night - P.C. and Kristin Cast

This is book one in P.C.& Kristin Cast’s House of Night series, Marked. The title has to do with what happens when a teenager develops a crescent moon mark upon their foreheads. This mark means that the teenager is going to be possibly turning into a vampyre. This happens to the novel’s protagonist, Zoey Redbird. She has been “marked,” or chosen to become a vamprye. Therefore she must leave her hum drum mortal high school and enter, The House of Night, what is basically a finishing school for those who survive the change to become adult vampyres. Not that all of those chosen do make it to adulthood. Sometimes the fledgling's body simply rejects the change, in other words, either the young make it or they die.

For Zoey being marked first truly frightens her. Until she discovers the vampyre Goddess Nyx has also chosen her to become something more than an ordinary fledgling. She enters into The House of Night light years ahead of other fledglings. With powers and abilities that shouldn’t be open to her for years. On the downside, a bloodlust and the ability to “imprint” upon humans (neither of which should be a problem until she’s an adult) keep her wary of these gifts.

When the Mistress of the House discovers her abilities, she is made the leader of the most exclusive group at school, The Dark Daughters. However, not all is as it seems at first glance. Even the ousting of the former leader of The Dark Daughter’s and Zoey's taking her place is called into question.

If there is anything that Neil Gaiman (Coraline, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
& The Graveyard Book) and JK Rowling (Harry Potter 1-7) have taught me, it’s to not pay too much attention to a Young Adult label. Stephanie Meyer (Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)
may be the person responsible for so many vampire novels for YA’s, but I believe Marked is a stand out amongst these. The entire vampire finishing school aspect is new and worth your time to check out.

The Cast’s have several nice spins on the old vampire mythos. Plus, some lovely addition’s of their own. You can tell there are more books in this series by what is revealed and what isn’t, but it doesn’t disappoint. The clues and hints dropped in Marked simply insure that you’ll want Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2) even more. Marked is the beginning of an enjoyable series.

Marked receives a Good rating: 3 out of 4 Stars

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Make sure to check out Tempted (House of Night Novels) Coming 10-27-09 .Visit P.C. Cast’s website or visit the official website for the House of Night series.