Marked by the Night! (Marked - Kristin Cast)

Member Name: chugglebunny

Product:	Marked - Kristin Cast
Date:	07/07/09 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to Read, Simple Engrossing Story

Disadvantages: Bit Simple, Shallow Characters to Start With

I am a nearly 23 year old female who is one of those sad "twilight" fans. I worship the books and thought the film was great.

My other half, who incidentally was the one who introduced me to twilight, has also been helping me on my mission to find another book that I can read, after many failed attempts to get into another book, as my sad twilight obsession continues.

Enter the "House of Night" series.

Background
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The book "Marked" is the first of the soon to be 6 book series (Number 6 is not out yet) centring on a 16 year old girl, Zoey Redbird.

Setting
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Set in Tulsa, America, in this world Vampires not only exist but are openly known about. To become a vampire in this series, there is no need for biting and blood drinking. The person is simply marked with a crescent moon on their forehead; this means they will now have to move to the House of Night, which is basically a boarding school for vampire fledglings, as they learn over 4 years all that is involved with vampirism; including their beliefs, powers and abilities.

This change that is happening to the fledglings isn't guaranteed to complete and a small percentage of fledglings' bodies will reject the chance at any point and they could die.

Story
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Zoey was a normal 16 year old girl, worrying about boyfriends and exams when she is marked and has to move to the house of night. This book follows Zoey as she tells her family who now do not except her and as she moves and settles into the new and strange world.

Zoey makes a close knit group of friends who together, along with Zoey's advanced and unique abilities must learn what it means to be vampire fledglings.

Zoey seems to have a unique link to the vampire goddess of night "Nyx" which helps her to put her new found power to use as she and her friends decide to take down "Aphrodite" a mean and spoilt girl who is leader of an elite school club and misusing her position.

That is the overall basics.

My Opinion
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Written by a mother and daughter duo, these books are kept in the children's section in most book stores but tend to have a "Not for younger readers" stickers on them.

Although much in the same style as twilight, both being based on teenage girls and written in the first person, the whole of the "House of Night" series is a lot darker.

There are some detailed scenes, including in this book, references to sex and drugs.

Although written very well as the story is being told by a teenager, we do get a lot of detail on these aspects and I do not think it would be received well by children at all.

The first person narration keeps you hooked well throughout the book and the events build up and the tension in this instalment makes for some very enjoyable reading. As the whole book is only based over less then a 2 week period, the events that happen are believable and well paced to keep you reading.

I particularly like the fact that through the writing, PC and Kirsten Cast have really made the reader get in Zoeys head. With the use of side notes and brackets throughout the book, you completely understand everything that is processing through her head as and when she thinks it. Rather than have a lengthy paragraph afterwards to explain a dialogue exchange between 2 characters with what Zoey really thinks about it all.

There are also a lot of pop culture references in this book; from modern recent movies, actors and events. I think this helps give the reader a sense of realism and involvement into the house of night world, as all of these things could so easily be happening in the real world. If the characters are on the way to the cinema to watch a new movie release and discussing how gorgeous Johnny Depp is, then I find I can relate myself a lot more to the situation and it really grips the reader into the book. This makes it very hard to put the book down and I have found it very easy to breeze through the chapters without even noticing. I do think this is also a negative for the books though as it really dates them, and in a few years time will make it harder for readers to relate.

The fluid and simple language of the writing is by no means award winning. It is supposed to be first person perspective of a 16 year old girl and it reads just as I would expect. A little naive at times but this is all to help build the relationship you feel with Zoey as you go through her troubles, remembering what it is like to be a 16 year old girl myself I'm sure helps enjoy this more.

Conclusion
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Overall this is a great book for the intended audience, although I feel this is a smaller audience than the likes of "twilight" I still think most women would enjoy this. I do not see as many men liking this however, and definitely think it is best avoided by those under the 14 year old mark.

It's easy to read and very engrossing. The story moves along at a realistic but not dull pace and we learn a lot more about this world of vampires that PC & Kirsten Cast have created. The characters start out a little shallow and predictable, but do grow as they go through these journeys.

I have enjoyed all the series so far and this introduction to the "House of Night" world is indeed very enjoyable light reading. The 4 books that follow so far are better as larger events start unfolding, but this introduction is more than enough to have you wanting to read the rest.

Thanks for reading :)

Summary: One that will get twilight fans to actually read another book!