Marked (House of Night, Book 1) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kristin Cast (Author) "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker..." (more)
Key Phrases: adult vamps, hags from hell, rec hall, Stevie Rae, Dark Daughters, High Priestess (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—In 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres not only exist but are also tolerated by humans. Those whom the creatures "mark" as special enter the House of Night school where they will either become vampyres themselves, or, if their body rejects the change, die. To Zoey, being marked is truly a blessing, though she's scared at first. She has never fit into the human world and has always felt she is destined for something else. Her grandmother, a descendant of the Cherokee, has always supported her emotionally, and it is she who takes the girl to her new school. But even there the teen stands apart from the others. Her mark from the Goddess Nyx is a special one, showing that her powers are very strong for one so young. At the House of Night, Zoey finds true friendship, loyalty, and romance as well as mistrust and deception. She realizes that all is not right in the vampyre world and that the problems she thought she left behind exist there as well. Readers will identify with many of the characters, especially the protagonist. The story moves quickly (a little too quickly at the end) and purposely leaves many unresolved issues. A good choice for those libraries serving fans of the occult, but be aware that the book contains some suggestive language and sex.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY
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Review

“From the moment I stuck my face in this book it hooked me!  Totally awesome new take on vampires!  Marked is hot and dark and funny.  It rocks!”
–Gena Showalter, author of MTV’s Oh My Goth
 
“Cast reeled me in from paragraph one.  I snorted and giggled through the whole thing, and devoured it in one sitting.”
–MaryJanice Davidson, New York Times best-selling author of the Undead series
 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312360266
• ISBN-13: 978-0312360269
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (343 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,481 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #51 in	Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

• This is item 1 in The House of Night Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marking a Turning Point, March 21, 2008

By	Tamela Mccann "taminator1" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Early on in my reading of Marked, I wasn't at all sure I would like this young adult novel. The story of Zoey Redbird, a sixteen year old girl who is unhappy at home, becoming "marked" as a fledgling vampyre, just seemed a bit forced. I wanted to feel a part of her story but her angst was overwhelming and I couldn't really see where the plot was headed. However, about midway through, the book picked up steam and by the last few chapters, I was eagerly turning the pages in order to find out how Zoey's unusual powers would manifest and where it all would lead.

Marked is an imaginative take on vampyres, weaving "old" pagan religious themes throughout and incorporating ancient history into its background. I liked the idea of a society where vampyrism is openly known and accepted, and I liked the School of Night where fledgling vampyres are taken for further training. I loved Zoey's learning to accept herself and step up as a leader at the school, and even the cursing seems realistic. What I didn't like was the obvious prejudice against traditional religion, and the "mini-sermons" we receive early on against drugs, drinking, and oral sex from Zoey's point of view. I liked Zoey's friends but felt that her acceptance into such a tight group so immediately didn't ring true, and I had to wonder at just why Erik, the hot young vampyre, was so attracted so quickly to Zoey. There are also some very lucky coincidences, such as Zoey's Native American grandmother having taught her purification rites which come in very handy. Thankfully these annoyances were overcome by the general storytelling and the excitement of the last half of the book.

Marked is the first in the series and I'll definitely be looking for the next two. I am captured by Zoey's world and want to see how her special spiritualism develops over time. This book also left enough unanswered questions that I'm drawn to find out more. With a caution that this book would probably be better for more mature readers with its incidents of sexual tension and cursing, I can say I'm intrigued enough to recommend this one.

101 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Before you read this, March 12, 2008

By	J. Kaufman "Bookworm" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ask this question to yourself: Am I an immature, shallow, whiny, the-whole-world-is-out-to-get-me teenager? If yes, then I strongly encourage you to read this book. If no, then I strongly encourage you to to put it down and walk away.

Is it unfair to rate this book against Stephenie Meyer's Twilight? Probably. But I found myself doing just that the whole time I was reading Marked. The main character, Zoey Redbird, especially annoyed me.

Zoey (who is the epitome of all that is Mary Sue) is the most under-developed, cliched character I have ever read about. I'll compose a checklist.
Beautiful: check
Moral: check
Interesting ethnicity (in this case Cherokee): check
Family problems: check
Specially chosen: check
Amazing powers: check
Ah, and let's not forget that she's dating the hottest guy at the House of Night and got on the Queen Bee's bad side.

I have to admit though, that thing that most threw me off about Zoey was her vocabulary. Every time I read the word "poopie" or "boobie" I couldn't help thinking, How old is she supposed to be? I also hated how whiny Zoey was. The girl could not go a paragraph without finding some sort of fault with her life.

Moving on. I was rooting for the Zoey/Erik pair for a while, but decided to drop it after the reappearance of Zoey's ex-boyfriend Heath. Zoey and Erik just lacked the chemistry to pull the relationship off with Heath added to the equation.

The plot was mildly interesting, and what caught my attention was that the story takes place in a world exactly like our own, except that vampyres (vampires; the word is spelled differently in this book. The students never seem to have enough energy to say the whole word, and simply abbreviated it to "vamps." I'll admit, that bothered me too) are common and well known. This book would've been better if it had been written by a different author. Stephenie Meyer would've been good, but I think only James Patterson has the style to pull this one off (though it is NOT something he would write about).

On a last note, the only reaon the book was described as "sexy" was because of one scene (which is continually cited in books two and three. Why, I don't know...) in which Queen Bee Aphrodite was attempting to forcefully administer oral sex to Erik. This scene was absolutely irrelevant to the rest of the plot.
All in all, I would not recommend this book, much less the series; I read books two and three in hopes that is would get better. It didn't. I hope this review has been helpful to you.

49 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars self-indulgent and uncomplicated, February 25, 2008

By	mlle. x (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I liked MARKED. It was light, fast, easy, and fun. It didn't make me think or worry, and it was predictable.

The heroine, Zoey, is a good girl - smart, hardworking, moral. As I read I wondered how the mother/daughter author team affected the overall tone, and I think that Zoey's self-conscious moralizing is the most obvious result. This is a book for teens, so it's nice to see some sensible messages mixed in with all the bloodlust, but Zoey goes out of her way to condemn alcohol, drugs, and casual sex at every possible opportunity. It sounded like most kids do when they try to convince a parent that, seriously, all these forbidden things are totally uncool they would never, ever try them. Which is to say - insincere.

There are "conflicts" and "problems" in the novel - sort of. It turns out that Zoey is a very powerful vampire, that the hottest guy in school has a crush on her, that she's got to choose between an open invitation to join the Cool Clique or the Nice Clique. Yeah, it's a tough life.

We meet the villain very early on, and she goes out of her way to be the most cartoonishly nasty Mean Girl that any fiction writer has ever imagined. She's a beautiful blonde bully with a fantastic manicure and no conscience. She hasn't an ounce of subtlety in her body and the first words she says to Zoey are, more or less, "I'm in charge here, get in my way and I will hurt you."

I would bet money that I can predict exactly what will happen in the next book, thanks to the clue in the title, BETRAYED - but I will probably read it anyhow. Hopefully it will be just as enjoyably vapid as MARKED.