Marked (House of Night, Book 1)

Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager until she was marked to become a fledgling vampire. Her mom and her mean step-dad act like she has some type of plague and instead of being there for her they make her that much more eager to start her new life. So Zoey runs away to her grandmas' house & from there is taken to "The House of Night" which is a highschool for vampires. It is clear from the minute she walks in the door that she is going to have her hands full! She starts a new life, makes a friends that become like her family, & starts on a journey that everyone needs to read! I loved this book!! I couldn't put it down from the moment I started reading it! Its a must read!!

Zoey Redbird, a regular and normal teenager, doesn't feel like she fits in anywhere. And ever since her mother married Zoey's now 'step-loser', she doesn't feel like her mother cares a great deal for her anymore. And just when she thought life couldn't get any worse, a Vampyre arrives at school and `marks' her with the crescent moon, the sign of a 'soon-to-be' vampyre.

Upon arriving home, Zoey is in desperate need to talk to her mother, hoping that she could talk about it with her mother, looking for the caring mother she remembered. However, her mother proves differently and with her step-father there, she's sent and locked in her room. A deeply religious man, her step-father believes that it was Zoey's wicked ways that put her in her position and the only thing that reverse it would be prayers and a talk with a psychologist. But that wasn't the answer Zoey was seeking, and slips out of the house to see her grandmother, the only person in her life that has shown her unconditional love. But Zoey becomes even more sick, falls and blacks-out, only to awaken to find herself at the House of Night: a school where the Marked go to learn how to become a vampyre, to learn to harness their new powers.

And just when Zoey thinks that maybe she'll be able to feel like she finally fits in, Fate would change that. For Zoey has been blessed by the Goddess Nyx herself, and the shape of the crescent moon on her forehead is no longer an outline. It's completely filled in. Once again, her hopes are dashed.

Meanwhile, even at the House of Night, it seems almost like a regular high school, for the kids still act the same. And the more Aphrodite, the leader of the Dark Daughters, antagonises her, the more she notices something not right about the group and becomes determined to bring Aphrodite down, with the help of her new found friends, believing her no more than a regular snobby bully.

For a young adult novel (and I'm 31), I thought this was pretty good. The different spin on the vampire world was fresh, and I'm always looking for something different from the norm.

Zoey, to me, is like just about any teenager out there. I related a lot to her, either in her regular high school or at the House of Night. I've had to deal quite a bit with the snobs and bullies. How they made her feel and think, I've felt and thought as well. The dialogue definitely feels `teen-ish' and some readers might not like that.

I thought Zoey handled everything thrown at her quite well, from dealing with Aphrodite and the Dark Daughters, a new school, a roommate, new friends, new subjects to study (which sort of reminded me a bit of Harry Potter), her now ex-best friend and her ex-boyfriend.

I'd recommend it as a light read.

This book was originally loaned to me by a friend who said I should read it. Honestly, I just took the book to humor her because I thought there was no way I would like it. After the first page I couldn't put the book down and finished it the second day. This series is amazing. I would very much recommend it and even planning on buying copies for my two nieces.

You really need to get a 4 books at the same time! Love the books.

The story itself is great, so much promise... the book though... The writing is fairly bad, even for a young adult book. The characters are obnoxious and inaccurate depictions of high school kids. The dialog is often unbelievable. The timeline is ridiculous. There is a reason that Harry Potter spanned several years and the Twilight series nearly 2 (or 3?). It's hard to believe that THAT much horrible, unbelievable, crazy stuff happens in a month (I'm speaking to the whole series, not just this book). Also, most young adult books try to avoid dropping the eff word and being overly explicit with sex scenes. While, as an adult, I was a little disappointed when the Edward and Bella's scene got glossed over -- I would have been suprised if it had been presented as it is in this series. If you're a parent who is uptight about those sorts of things, skip over this series and find another.

Overall... an OK series. I wouldn't read it again, but I'm upset that I'll never get that time back either.