Marked
A House of Night Novel
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- ¥1,200
Publisher Description
Enter the dark, magical world of the House of Night series by bestselling authors P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed.
One minute, sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager dealing with everyday high school stress: her cute boyfriend Heath, the school's star quarterback who suddenly seems more interested in partying than playing ball; her nosy frenemy Kayla, who's way too concerned with how things are going with Heath; her uber-tough geometry test tomorrow.
The next, she's Marked as a fledgling vampyre, forcing her to leave her ordinary life behind and join the House of Night, a boarding school where she will train to become an adult vampyre. That is, if she makes it through the Change—and not all of those who are Marked do.
It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint with Heath, who just doesn't know how to take "no" for an answer. To add to her stress, 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 group, 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Cast, best known for her adult fantasy romance titles, enlists the help of 19-year-old daughter Kristin for her first YA book, a teen vampire melodrama that tries a bit too hard to be cool. Zoey Montgomery is "Marked" by a "vampyre tracker" while at school one day, meaning that she too, will become such a creature. Vampirism is an accepted fact of life in this world, but her distant mother and clueless, Christian stepfather don't understand, so she flees to her beloved Grandma Redbird's home. After a frightening encounter with the vampire goddess Nyx, Zoey awakens at the House of Night, a surprisingly dull school with all the usual problems and petty squabbles found in the "normal" world. Girls in this vampire kingdom aren't that different from any other teen milieu: there are fashionista snobs and there are country music fans who have Kenny Chesney posters over their beds. Zoey quickly finds herself running afoul of the former and making friends with the latter. Aphrodite, leader of a group of girls called the Dark Daughters, distrusts Zoey and is jealous of the unusual mark she bears; Zoey learns that the popular girl is using her position for illicit purposes, leading to a power play and ultimately a showdown. There are points of interest along the way-young vampires can die at any moment if their bodies "reject the Change" and Zoey struggles with early-onset bloodlust-but too much time is spent on endless teen-speak conversations and winking asides to the reader. Ages 13-up.
