Product Description

The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampyre - that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It's tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But 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 club, 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #229536 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

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

Customer Reviews

Wow!
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!

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
"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

A good start in a new series, but not to be read as a stand alone
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.