Amazon.com: Marked (House of Night, Book 1): P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast: Books

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
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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 (299 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #312 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

#2 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Girls & Women > Fiction
#11 in	Books > Children's Books > Literature > Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror > Spine-Chilling Horror
#26 in	Books > Teens > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

This is item 1 in The House of Night Series.

Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
adult vamps, hags from hell, rec hall, purification prayer, purple candle, merry meet

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Stevie Rae, Dark Daughters, High Priestess, Zoey Redbird, House of Night, Grandma Redbird, Nyx's Temple, Erik Night, People of Faith, Little Bird, Professor Nolan, Vamp Soc, Full Moon Ritual, Broken Arrow, Kenny Chesney, Equestrian Studies, Professor Penthesilea, Daughter of Night, Cascia Hall, Sylvia Redbird, Smudge Stick

New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

To Stir a Magick Cauldron by Silver RavenWolf

Discusses:

A Witch's Grimoire by Judy Ann Nock

Discusses:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	56% buy the item featured on this page: Marked (House of Night, Book 1) 3.4 out of 5 stars (299) $8.95
	15% buy The Host: A Novel 4.2 out of 5 stars (1,180) $15.59
	10% buy Sookie Stackhouse, Books 1-7 4.7 out of 5 stars (565) $30.76
	10% buy Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4) 3.6 out of 5 stars (4,600) $12.64

Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

vampire(228)

house of night(136)

young adult(123)

paranormal(90)

urban fantasy(79)

fantasy(73)

magic(71)

bloodlust(42)

urban dark fantasy(42)

teen(30)

paranormal romance(17)

See all 124 tags...

Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search

No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

Customer Reviews

299 Reviews

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(52)
2 star:		(44)
1 star:		(46)

Average Customer Review

3.4 out of 5 stars (299 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

49 of 54 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.

Comment Comments (4) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

45 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	mlle. x (Boston) - 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.

Comment Comments (7) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 299 customer reviews...

Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst. Book. Ever.
Besides having completely flat character development with the worst descriptive language ever found in a teen/tween series, this book provides hypocritical lessons for young... Read more

Published 4 days ago by Sci Fi/Fantasy Lover

5.0 out of 5 stars baited
baited with marked. just finished twilight series. hooked on the vamps. zoeys a real teen. awesome read!

Published 4 days ago

5.0 out of 5 stars great ADULT find after twilight
i am an adult mother of two. after reading twilight i found myself hungry for more. i stumbled upon this at the store i reluctantly gave it a try. Read more

Published 4 days ago by N. Goode

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Series!
I really liked this book. It hooked be from the very first page and hung to me until the end. I ran out and bought the next 3 books because I knew I would close one and open... Read more

Published 10 days ago by Octobra L. Betts

1.0 out of 5 stars Not my cup of tea
"Marked" is the first book of the "House of night" vampire series for young adults. Not to be punny, but it sucks. Read more

Published 14 days ago by Lynellen Perry

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, Terrible.
I could not stand the main character of this book. She's terribly Mary Sue, and the entire book follows suit in the sense that it is cliche and melodramatic. Read more

Published 16 days ago by Meagan

2.0 out of 5 stars So much promise wasted
Reading the back of the book, I thought this would probably be pretty interesting. Ohhh how I was wrong. Read more

Published 16 days ago by A. Love

4.0 out of 5 stars Have you been Marked?
This book was so fun after all the suspenseful, thrill ride books I have been reading. I really enjoyed reading the tale of Zoey and how she becomes a vampyre and all the neat... Read more

Published 18 days ago by Trin

2.0 out of 5 stars Depends on the audience.
When I first picked up this book, the premise showed a lot of promise. A tantalizing new world was being unveiled along with a different sort of vampire. Read more

Published 19 days ago by Ravyn

1.0 out of 5 stars Sigh
So before I start, I want to say this. I love books. I give almost any book that sounds mildly interesting a chance. I tend to forgive poor writing if the characters are good. Read more

Published 19 days ago by Tiffany

› See all 299 customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; }

Customer Discussions

Beta (What's this?)

New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.

This product's forum (6 discussions)

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
Kindle Edition!?!?	4	1 day ago
"No similarities to Twilight"? Are you KIDDING?! (series spoilers)	6	2 days ago
Serious issue with these books. SPOILER	7	3 days ago
Is 12 yr old too young to read	5	25 days ago
Frustration	19	26 days ago
Review of MARKED	19	1 month ago

› See all 6 discussions...

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Receive e-mail when new posts are made

Prompts for sign-in

[Cancel]

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
childrens books Twilight series books	5	4 hours ago
young adult I need help finding romancy teen books with a good story line.(:	3	4 hours ago
childrens books What fairy tale does your child like the best?	6	5 hours ago
vampire Need new vampire books to read!	15	9 hours ago
house of night Choice of guy for zoey??	0	7 days ago
paranormal Help finding a book !!!	3	9 days ago