House of Night (1) - Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast
And another vampire-series... this time by the worlds best mother-daughter-team P. C. and Kristin Cast, starting with Marked (in German Gezeichnet - House of Night, in French Marquée - La maison de la nuit). I read it in German, where it had 437 pages. You can read this book at the age of fourteen (when you are a girl), like I did, but the rest of the series is probably somewhere between written for teenagers at the age of 16 or for adults. Originally published 2007.
Zoey Montgomery is a totally average girl from a normal High School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Her family's messed up, her nearly-ex-boyfriend a drug addict... but she fits in. Until she sees a boy next to her locker – and a half moon pops up on her forehead. Which means she's chosen by a strange goddess to become a vampyre – or choke on her own blood in the process. But, as if this wouldn't be bad enough – or the fact that she will have to go to a boarding school at night and drink blood someday – she's even at the fledgeling's all kinds of special, as the goddesses eyes and ears in the mortal world... and with more gifts any vampyre ever received. While trying to find a way to fit in, Zoey finds that she might need those gifts... And lots and lots of courage.
The first book of this series is really well done. The style in which it's written is very... well, it's colloquial, sometimes a nudge too much for my taste. But it fits to Z. Our main character can be described with very many adjectives, but I wouldn't use the word “bright” to describe her. But Z has enough charme to balance that out. She's a typical teenager: She loves make-up, fashion and all that stuff, her main aim in life is to fit in. She'd nearly do anything to reach that. She feels left alone by her mother (which is true) and has weird friends. But she's also strong – if she really wants something, she works for it. She believes in what is right and what is wrong, she stands up for herself and others, doesn't forget her roots, knows much about plants and rituals and her view on other people and situations is refreshing – I like her. I probably read this book as many times as Glass Houses (which is like a million), and it's still nicely done. What's fascinating is the background and the world – but let me finish with the characters.
Z's family is, as I said, quite messed up. Zoey basically hates her siblings because they won't stick up against their mother – additionally, she thinks her sister is a whore and her brother just stupid. Her mother has given up her whole personality and, well, role as a mother since she married Z's stepfather. The only one in the family Zoey actually loves dearly is her grandmother, a cherokee – and a strong, kind and wise person as well. She's supposed to have a good knowledge of the people around her (… well, except for Neferet) and she's always there for Zoey.
Her BF, Kyla, is really a bad person – and Heath, her nearly-ex-boyfriend, is plain old stupid. Seriously.
Okay, let's go to the fledgelings (vamps to be): I love Stevie Rae. She's country sunshine. She's trusting, trust worthy, kind, sweet and clever. Additionally, she sticks up for Z in any situation – as do her friends.
Damien is the local brain of the series, and a little knows-it-all, but he's still funny and kind.
The Twins are... well, they're interesting. They are basically complete contrasts, but they think very much alike. They concentrate mostly on girlie-girl stuff – boys, boys, make-up, boys, clothes, and talking about other people – and not necessarily in a good way. They basically know everything that happens in their school.
Erik is just the perfect boyfriend – talented, beautiful, young, strong, kind, and insert everything else you want your future husband to be. Plus, of course, he has a history with the meanest girl in the school (because of a totally honourable reason... or not) and wants to shove her away – and then falls in love with the main character (not cliché or anything) and would do anything for her! Yeppers. But you can't not like him, he's kind of cool. And way better than Heath. At least in this book. He understands Z's situation and tries to help her. Aaaaand supposedly, he knows all the lines from the Star Wars movies, Chewbacca included.
His ex-girlfriend, Aphrodite, is the richest and meanest girl in the school. She's the head of the Daughters and Sons of Night (like, the school club) and, as the head, supposed to be the next high priestess of Nyx. Which fits, because she has a pretty handy talent. She's more or less the villain of the book.
Now to the teachers: Love Lenobia. She's sarcastic, kick-ass and doesn't let anyone “dance around on her nose” like we'd say in Germany. Neferet seems like the perfect mother figure and counsellor. The cats are, by the way, the best characters of the book.
Okay, so far, so good. Now to the background and the world. The House of Night is a boarding school for vampyres-to-be called fledgelings. It's a high school where they learn how to be a good little vamp, with courses like sociology, literature, and lots of sports – like riding. Additionally, there are cats everywhere. Nyx is a gentle and overall cool goddess who allows basically everything – since she believes in free choice and all that jazz. To learn more, you should check out the world article.
Okay, apart from the fact that the characters are a little cliché and the style is colloquial, the authors have really good and original ideas. Additionally, the story is really, really tense, no matter how often you have read it, so, that's a plus. Plus, this book doesn't have content mistakes.
In brief:
All in all I conclude the following: Stars for ideas and content plus half a star for each characters and style (because it works – it's tense).
Sequel: