Marked
2007
- nyt:series_books=2009-05-30
- zoey redbird (fictitious character)
- vampires
- fiction
- children's fiction
- vampires, fiction
- occultism, fiction
- fantasy fiction
- occultism
- occult fiction
The story
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-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 vampire—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.
What it’s like
Bright, teen-paced and breezy, with the easy warmth of a sleepover book. The voice is first-person and chatty, full of school-hallway detail: dorm rooms, dining halls, cliques, and the glamour of a boarding school that happens to sit on a hilltop in Oklahoma under a bruised-violet sky. Its vampyres are sleek and pretty, with tattoos and sweeping hair, and the setting leans on candlelit ritual circles, night-blooming gardens, and the lavender-and-moonlight imagery of a teen fantasy. The tone is cozy and romantic with a mild undercurrent of cliquish drama and social anxiety, never truly frightening. Violence is minimal and mostly implied, with some bullying and a brief, non-graphic sense of danger around the Change; there is kissing and crushes but no explicit sexual content. Reads quickly, in short chapters, and suits a lazy weekend, a comfort reread, or a long commute. Made for younger teens and fans of gentle paranormal romance who want friendship, belonging, and a heroine finding her footing.
More books like Marked
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Markedand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
