Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Book Review: MARKED by P.C. and Kristin Cast



“Of course, there’s always a catch, and this one’s nice and simple: if you fail, you die.”
Marked is the first novel in a series of young adult books by P.C and her daughter Kristin Cast. In all, there is (or is going to be) 9 (!!!) in this series. The sequel is Betrayed, then after that, it is, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, and the to-be-released tempted.
Zoey Montgomery always had a bit of trouble fitting in…that is, until she’s marked. In Tulsa, vampyres are accepted in society, and the mark that defines them from humans is a cause of junk DNA. When a teenager is marked as a vampyre, a (normally) hollow crescent moon outline appears on the vampyre fledgling’s forehead.
Not that Zoey doesn’t have enough trouble in her life: nearly-ex-boyfriend Heath is always there to bug her, her mother isn’t capable of looking after her, her step-loser dad is totally shadowed by his faith and then, on top of everything else, she has to attend the House of Night, vampyre boarding school for the next four years. Of course, there is the possibility that the change to a vampyre will kill her.
Marked is undoubtedly a very unique novel. “Vampyres” are not the stereotypical type: no inch-long fangs or red eyes. This novel and its sequels got me thinking and daring to expand my horizons in writing, yet the realistic points of the stories are not over-looked by the fantasy elements in there.
I think, as a character, Zoey is very quirky and likeable. Her view on everything is funny at times, and I believe many teen girls today can relate to Zoey and her excessive dilemmas. I also like Zoey’s friends, and I quickly became attached to characters like Erik and Stevie Rae.
The only things I don’t like about this novel is that many readers may find Zoey and her friends too far-fetched/stereotypical (like Erin and Shaunee being clothes obsessed). The traits of the characters seemed to fit all-too-comfortably with templates many people do not like. Another point I would make is that when reading, it took me a while to get hooked. The last crit I’d have would be that the main plot point climax only started very late in, and lasted around 20 pages. Yes, there was a lot of build up, but that build up didn’t increase the terror.
But overall, I loved this novel, despite the flaws.
5/5 stars.

-Becky

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