Whatever!
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The concept for the House of Night series is not a promising one. Vampyre Finishing School. It just shouldn't work. Apart from being an obvious Harry Potter moneyspinner rip-off, it just feels like there is something basically wrong in the concept. Vampires are solitary creatures of the night, predators, driven by bloodlust, so how many lessons are you going to need to learn how to suck blood from a neck?
Evidently the concept needs a twist and it's in the fact that we are in an alternate world here where vampyres are if not an acceptable part of society, at least one that dominates the arts, with nearly every prominent musician, movie-star and writer (going right back to Shakespeare) having been chosen to wear the mark of the Vampyre. So when a dead man appears and places the mark of the crescent moon on her head, 16 year-old Zoey Redbird Montgomery almost welcomes the opportunity to escape from an unhappy life with her weak, inattentive mother, religious fundamentalist Step-Loser father, her hateful siblings and her Jock boyfriend - even if she is made to feel like something of a freak.
And that's how Marked works. It's not an original idea - teenagers realising they are creative and different and finding a need to live outside the normal rules of society - but the situations are easy for a teenager to identify with. The snappy pace of the plot and the authenticity of the dialogue (helpfully proofed by the author's daughter Kristin who gets a co-writer credit), also helps, managing to sound real without being forced, getting beneath the surface of a teenager's attitude to the underlying emotions and confusion beneath.
Unfortunately, that's also the drawback of the House of Night series (or at least the first part of it in Marked), since although it's nominally about vampires (and not even then that aspect isn't terribly plausible), there is nothing really all that different here from any other high-school dramas. True, instead of math and geometry they do drama, fencing and horse-riding, but the authors find nothing more interesting or deeper in the vampire twist than combining normal American high-school teen lust with bloodlust, Zoey endlessly drooling over hot movie-stars, hot teachers and hot enigmatic older boys while she tries to keep out of the way of dorks and slutty blonde-girl cliques.
The series is for young adults of course, but it has a very preachy and condescending tone (it's all about controlling your urges until you're mature enough to handle them), which is not helped by the tiresome conversations of limited vocabulary between Zoey and her friends that become like totally irritating, okay? The writing is also lazy, falling back on stereotypical characters and a strong, beautiful central figure who has no real challenges to face, supported as she is by a network of trustworthy friends and an understanding mentor. It might suit an American readership, but with its childish tone I think it's unlikely to be as successful with a more mature British teenager, and its quite frank depiction of sexual situations will make it unsuitable for a younger age-group.
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Wow!
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I didn't expect much from this book - I picked it up when I really needed something to read. I have tried to read some of P.C. Cast's goddesses series and hated them (her prose just didn't work for me). But this book is different: I haven't finished the last 100 pages yet (I've had an essay to do today!) and I have already ordered the next book Betrayed.
The book starts out very 'Meg Cabot': "Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker." But it quickly develops a style of its own. Zoey's world really starts to develop once she gets to the academy. N.B. Do not buy this book for you 13 year old cousin - there is some adult content (and I'm not talking about blood sucking). There's romance, mystery, action and theory.
I have enjoyed this book alot - I think P.C. Cast and her daughter make a brilliant team and I would buy any future book they write together! The storyline is interesting and new. My taste runs: Meg Cabot, Elizabeth Chandler, L J Smith, R J Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Laurell K Hamilton etc. So if you've read any of these authors - they are my judging standard! This is meant to be a book for adult teenagers, Zoey is only 16 in the book, but I'm 19 and really enjoyed it. There were Harry Potter undertones, but only in the classroom settings - the context the Casts place the characters in is completely different - which would be hard to avoid. This book is fresh and new, and the prose invite you to empathize with Zoey. I loved this book, if I hadn't this review would be alot shorter.
Anyway - this is my recommendation: buy this book and read at least the first 100 pages before you judge it (as it is slow to develop into its true shinning potential!). The only reason that this book hasn't received more than 4 stars was it's slow beginning: I predict that all further books in the series will be 5 stars! Hope this review was helpful!
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A good start in a new series, but not to be read as a stand alone
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16-year-old Zoey Montgomery (also known as Zoey Redbird, due to her Indian heritage) never asked to be "Marked". When the creepy "dead guy" (read: vampyre) appeared next to her locker, it changed her whole life: she lost her best friend, her almost-ex-boyfriend Heath and she had to move to vampire school. But even as she starts over in the "House of Night" she realizes that not only isn't everything all right in the school but also that she is a very special fledgling... her vampire mark and her unnatural lust for blood seem to indicate that she is much more powerful that your average newly born vampire. That is why Zoey is the right person to save the school from the beautiful and mean Aphrodite, the senior that is the leader of the Dark Daughters, a very exclusive and powerful group within the House of Night.
"Marked" is the first of "The House of Night" books, a new supernatural series for teens.
It was, I guess, mildly interesting. I mean, it's a fairly quick read and the story is not all bad. The take of the authors on vampi(y)rism is more out of your regular sci-fi book than fantasy, but hey, at least they were trying for original.
But... the story, it was definitely lacking in... well, lacking. It was a simple plot, that reeked of Harry Potter undertones (but without it's complexity): you have the 'special' kid, who is special even among all the special kids (read: the main female lead, who is the most powerful of all of them, vampyres); the sidekicks (usually outcasts that join the hero(ine) and turn into super-duper-popular people overnight - literally, was we are talking of vampires) ; the evil, blonde bully (*cough* Draco Malfoy *cough*) and a powerful, older figure that supports the hero(ine)'s decisions (kind of like... hummm... Dumbledore?). The story in itself has little to recommend it. It ends up being about little more than high-school rivalry, with the popular, evil kid/bully being beaten by the hero(ine).
Still, I am giving this book a 4 stars. This because I liked to read the book (it was well written) and because this is the first novel in a series, so I am giving the authors the benefit of the doubt and hoping this is just an introductory book meant for us to know more about the characters. At the end, it is hinted that there are bigger mysteries yet to be revealed, so I'm expecting something good... although I pretty much suspect who the bad guy in this series is going to be, my curiosity is picked. That's why I gave it 4 stars.
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Courtesy of Teens Read Too
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"Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker."
The opening sentence hooks the reader; they will devour the whole book quickly and ask for more.
Zoey's life is about to change forever. She woke up one morning normal and by the end of the day she's been marked. Being marked indicates that she will turn into a vampire. She needs to leave her family and friends behind and start a new life with other marked teens at the House of Night. Zoey's never completely fit in, but now she might have a chance.
After a fight with her mother and stepfather, Zoey goes to her grandmother's house for advice. Before seeing her grandmother, Zoey has a vision of the Goddess Nyx, who states that she is special and names Zoey her personal eyes and ears in the world. Zoey faints, but not before the Goddess replaces her mark with a blue crescent, which is extremely rare.
When Zoey arrives at the House of Night, she finds herself the object of attention because of her crescent. Her roommate and her new acquaintances quickly find their way into Zoey's heart. She finds herself surrounded with friends for the first time, but she also encounters a powerful enemy. As her entire lifestyle changes, Zoey finds peace within herself as she accepts her destiny and steps up to challenge her enemy's misguided judgement.
If you like vampires and enjoy supernatural tales, you don't want to miss this first book in a great new series.
Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel
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