The Marked: Kristin Cast and P.C. Cast

"The Marked", by mother-daugther author team Kristin Cast and P.C. Cast, is a unique vampire novel thats a great read. Zoey lives in a world where everyone knows vampires exist, and in fact, many of the world's greatest talents are vampires. But the change can strike any one at any time, and young Zoey doesn't know what to do when a tracker appears at her high-school and declares her Marked (a crescent symbol appears on her forehead). She knows her life as she knows it is over, she must leave her home and attend school at the House of Night, where all vampire fledlings go to learn what it means to be a vampire and to see if they'll survive the change, for not everyone Marked does. Death can strike anyone nearing the end of their fourth year after first being Marked.

With support and help from her grandmother, Zoey enters the House of Night and realizes there is much she doesn't know about this new world that she's apart of, but does know that the Goddess Nyx has taken an interest in her and has told her that she'll have great powers (for those unfamiliar with Nyx, she is the Greek goddess of Night, and generally associated with dark and evil, though in this book she stresses to Zoey that dark doesn't always mean evil, nor does light always bring good). While there, Zoey makes quick friends and quick enemies and realizes there may be something very sinister happening at the school, and that she's the one with the power to stop it.

"The Marked" is one of the first books written for teens in which teens talk like teens. Some of the characters swear- quite wholeheartedly- and there is an incident witnessed early in the book that unfortunately probably happens more and more often these days. I'd give the book a PG-13 rating because of the language and incident involved, though I'd feel better recommending it to ages 16 and up. It's a great read and I can't wait to read the next book,"Betrayed", due out this fall.

Books BookTeens Reading The Marked