Marked (House of Night, Book 1) (House of Night Novels) [Kindle Edition]

P. C. Cast (Author), Kristin Cast (Author)

Book Description

The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But 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 club, 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.

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

• File Size: 568 KB
• Print Length: 319 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0312360258
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (April 1, 2010)
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001VLXNLU
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,688 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

116 of 127 people found the following review helpful

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

By Tamela Mccann TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

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.

357 of 405 people found the following review helpful

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

By J. Kaufman

Format:Paperback

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.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Impressed... February 21, 2010

By SassySister1000

Format:Hardcover

Oh look! A series about a teenager that has been specially marked and designated The Chosen One, with unknown cool powers who will someday save the world! What an original idea! In case my sarcasm isn't apparent, I wasn't exactly thrilled with this book (and it's unoriginality is the least of my criticisms). It comes up short in almost every category. Allow me to ennumerate:

- The characters were all one-dimensional and can be summed up in 1-2 words each. Her best friend Stevie Ray is a hick (a fact Zoey reminds us of by repeatedly describing her "Okie twang") and friendly. Her two other girlfriends are shallow and ....shallow. The only guy friend is smart and gay. Zoey's mentor is wise, and the antagonist (another student) is evil. Comically so. In fact, she utters lines like "This school is cool because I'm here. So stay out of my way" within the first 2 pages of meeting her. What?? Who even talks like that? Which leads me to my next point...

-The dialogue DOES NOT SOUND LIKE TEENAGERS. I may be mistaken, but I thought the job of the younger of the Cast authors was to make the teenagers sound like teenagers. SHE FAILED. MISERABLY. The conversations reminds one of grade-school kids, not high-schoolers. The writing in general was also sub-par.

- The monologues were a bit disconcerting and annoying. Yes, monologues. Zoey randomly goes off on monologues with herself about the dumbest thing, and she often does it in the middle of a conversation with somebody else. This happens at least once with everybody she talks to, and nobody finds it in the least bit odd.

-The plot was unpredictable insofar that I couldn't guess how Zoey would manifest her powers, but manifest them she would. Besides, we readers might not have taken the hint that Zoey is really cool and special, so the climax includes her using said powers to show just how much the vampire goddess (yes, you read that right) favors her.

- Oh ya, and the authors want you to know that discriminating against homosexual people is bad, but doing so against Christians is ok. The one Christian we meet is her step-dad, who is an egotistical, overbearing jerk. Ok, we get they aren't Jesus Freaks, but the Casts need to get out more if this is their view of every single Christian on the planet. Ironically enough, the vampires' view of the vampire goddess is very similar to that of Christians.

- I found all these elements annoying, but my main gripe with the book was its sheer...unrelatable-ness. I mean, what teenager can honestly relate to a 16 year old girl who is destined to be The Almighty Chosen One, has 3 gorgeous guys chasing after her, has "this is right feelings" about random things that do not fall under the conscience category (such as, I decided to take the long way to class today, and I JUST KNEW that it was the right thing to do), has 4 friends who are not really friends but more like starry-eyed adorers of her awesomeness, and who moralizes about everything from sex (girls who have sex in high school are losers!) to smoking (smokers are losers!) to goofing off in class (people who don't pay attention in class are losers!). I actually agree with these ideas, but the manner in which the authors presented them could have been handled more tactfully (i.e. I would have appreciated NOT being beat over the head with them)