Marked by P.C. and Kristen Cast

Posted on May 17, 2011 Updated on May 17, 2015

Marked tells the story of Zoey Redbird, a high school student from Oklahoma who unexpectedly changes into a vampire when a strange young man follows and “marks” her with the tattoos of a vampire fledgling. Zoey is then forced to leave her normal life (school, best friend, and even her boyfriend) behind and is enrolled in The House of Night, a school for fledglings like Zoey to seek refuge from the human world. When she gets to her new school, a lot of her peers and professors notice that she is no ordinary fledgling because the tattoo on her forehead (a blue crescent moon) is completely filled in, instead of being just an outline, like most new vampires. Zoey discovers that being a vampire is not as bad as she first expected, except for having to deal with new hot guys, making new fang-bearing friends, and adjusting to going to school in an almost college-like environment.

This is one of the few books I’ve read more than once. It’s a quick and easy read, and you don’t have to read about vampires that sparkle and have sappy relationships with weak girls that only have one facial expression throughout the entire series. There’s a bit of cursing and a few sexual situations, but the authors try to keep it PG-13. Other than that, it’s a pretty accurate description of a teenage girl having to switch schools in the middle of her high school career and of how difficult it can be to adjust to the different traditions and lifestyles of the people native to the new area you move to. It also provides a different and unique perspective of the vampire world, instead of the one that almost all teenage girls are familiar with.

I’d give Marked a 3.5 out of 5; it’s an interesting read and it’s really easy to get hooked on this series!