Marked by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Title: Marked (House of Night #1)
Author: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
Format: Paperback, 306 pages
Pub. Date: May 1st 2007
Source: Purchased.

★★★

Three stars.

** spoiler alert ** It's been a long time since I've been this frustrated with a book. If vulgarity offends you, don't read this.

Let's get the negatives out of the way, since I feel that will go on longer. My first major issue with this book is the writing style. Zoey can say/think such words as "clit", "cock", & "fag".... And yet, she still says words like "poopie" & giggles at the word "boob"? She's supposed to be in high school, grow up. It's not even the character I dislike. It's not Zoey's fault that her vernacular wasn't written cohesively. The word "ho" is used more times than necessary, & it makes this book come off as really immature. Mixed with the over usage of parenthesis that only distracted from the plot at hand, it just wasn't very well executed as a whole.

Then there's the abundance of pop culture references. A few? Fine. But this was excessive. All it does, in my opinion, is sound like an attempt to prove to the reader that "I'm hip, look, Zoey likes hip things". And that's great... Until time moves on. Celebrities & movies aren't topical forever, & in the end the references only date the book.

My last major flaw in this book is the negative stereotypes. Emos, goths, & "dorks" are all dissed, even if only gently. It adds to the immature tone of Marked. By the by, watching Star Wars or Indiana Jones doesn't make you a dork. It means you have taste. I understand they're not everyone's forte, but there's a reason why they've made millions of dollars- people enjoy them.

With all that being said, I do have some positives to say.

Overall, I like the concept & plot of this novel. House of Night sounds like a pretty awesome school that I'd like to visit. I like the mythological aspects with tones of paganism, and I found the characters both well described & relatable. I probably will read book two, I do want to know what happens next. But I'm reading forward with the severe hope & prayer that the speech/writing is stepped up.

I give this a weak three stars. Don't go out of your way to buy it. If you're wanting Shakespearean speech, don't buy it. But if it's in your house or you really have a vampire obsession, then maybe check it out