Choose a Location:
Book Reviews Links:
Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows
Marked
P.C. and Kristin Cast
-- Kahlia Roberts (Staff Writer)
Marked takes place in modern-day Oklahoma in a school for vampire fledglings called the House of Night. The main character, Zoey Redbird, is marked as a vampire fledgling when the outline of a crescent moon appears on her forehead, and she subsequently travels to the House of Night to learn all that there is to know about being a vampire, including how to worship the vampire goddess, Nyx. As soon as she arrives, she is happily accepted by her classmates, but is also marked as special. She is the only vampire fledgling ever to have a colored-in mark, and soon finds that she has the ability to call upon the five primary elements: air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Because of her unique abilities, Zoey is accepted into a group of fledglings known as the Dark Sons and Daughters, who are supposedly talented fledglings being groomed for important religious roles after they complete the Change to vampirism. However, Zoey soon sees that their leader, Aphrodite, is a fake, who uses her position of power to gain favoritism and control for herself and her friends. When Aphrodite’s antics spin out of control, however, Zoey knows that it is her Goddess-given responsibility to stop her. Standing against Aphrodite’s army of virtually brainwashed friends and followers, Zoey has to prevent the Dark Sons and Daughters from making a terrible mistake. She puts her special powers and the strength of her newfound friends to test as she battles with undead evils that threaten to take life and blood from them even as soon as they are released.
Zoey’s story is an entrapping series of events that whirl uncontrollably around her, interrupting her life as she not only tries to find her place at the House of Night, but also juggles her own battles of acclimating herself to vampire classes and dancing around romance. It is fast-paced as well as fun; the colorful array of personalities creates a spicy tale of teenage drama tied into the mysticism of fantasy and religion. If you enjoy teen stories and magical fiction, Marked is something you will enjoy. It is followed up by Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, and Hunted consecutively, so the delicious web of tales doesn’t end with just one book: there’s always more to come!
