Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast

Title: Marked
Author: PC Cast and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 2007
Pages: 320

Rating: C+
Plot - 17/20
Characters - 15/20
Writing - 15/20
Originality - 18/20
Entertainment - 7/10
Recommendation - 7/10
Total: 79/100

Summary:
Enter the dark, magical world of The House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change--and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, 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 group, 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.

Review:
When I first started this book, it got me hooked. The writing was neat and the characters cool. But soon enough, it got . . . strange. Some of it felt unreal, and some of it was just plain weird. Like Zoey and her deal with the words 'pooh' and 'poopy'. And Erin and Shaunee with that 'Twin' thing. It's just not real, you know.

But other then that. The plot was very interesting. Zoey and her transition through The Change was peculiar, but it kept me reading (after I stopped to read Marley and Me.) Zoey and her friends were kind of two-dimensional. The Casts were average writers, good, but not anything spectacular.

The whole plot was very original and alluring. The beginning was exciting, the middle was slow and the end was entrancing. Riveting enough that I want to read the next novel in the House of Night series, Betrayed, but maybe not right away.