Cast, P.C., & Cast, K. (2007). Marked. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press.
ISBN-13: 978-0312360269
Genre: Fantasy,
Romance, Vampires, Magic
Reading level/
interest age: 14+
Plot summary:
Zoey Redbird lives on a lavender farm in Oklahoma with her
grandmother. When Zoey becomes marked as a vampire, she is forced to leave her
home to attend a new school. The House of Night is where young fledgling
vampires go to learn about their culture. However, not everyone survives the
change from fledgling to vampire. Zoey quickly makes both friends and enemies
as the school head and High Priestess, Neferet singles her out as being
special. The vampire goddess, Nyx, appears to favor Zoey as well. Neferet asks
if Zoey would join a Dark Daughters ritual to worship the goddess on a special
evening. Zoey reluctantly agrees and has to step in when the ceremony goes
horribly wrong. Evil spirits try to prey on the Dark Daughters, Zoey finds her
courage and steps in to close the ritual and banish the ghosts. Nyx, pleased
with Zoey’s commitment to her, shows her appreciation by marking Zoey’s face
with a beautiful tattoo pattern. Now, instead of fitting in, Zoey stands out
even more and begins to learn that not all is as it seems at the House of
Night.
Reader’s annotation:
Zoey is the youngest High Priestess to ever have been chosen
by the vampire goddess Nyx. Instead of embracing being unique, Zoey just wants
to fit in. But that’s a little hard to do with a tattoo across your forehead.
Information about the
author:
P.C. Cast
“P.C. Cast was born in Watseka, Illinois, and grew up being
shuttled back-and-forth between Illinois and Oklahoma, which is where she fell
in love with Quarter Horses and mythology (at about the same time). After high
school she joined the United States Air Force and began public speaking and
writing. Since her tour in the USAF, she has been speaking and teaching
professionally.
“Ms. Cast is an award winning fantasy and paranormal romance
author. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Prism, Holt Medallion,
Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers' Best, and the Laurel Wreath” (Amazon.com,
2014).
Kristin Cast
“Kristin Cast was born in 1986 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Along
with her mother, Phyllis Christine Cast, she is responsible for writing the
popular young adult book series House of Night. The House of Night series
includes nine vampire-themed novels which all center on the adventures of a 16
year old girl, Zoey Redbird, who is forced to attend the House of Night
boarding school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cast's hometown.
“All of the novels in the series are marked by eerie, single
word titles — Marked, Betrayed, Chosen,
Untamed, Tempted, Burned, Awakened, and Destined.
In addition to the nine full length novels of the series, Cast and her mother
have also written several other House of Night novellas to supplement the
series, including Dragon's Oath and Lenobia's Vow, with a third work titled Neferet's Curse set to be released in
February of 2013.
“Cast attended Broken Arrow High School, where she graduated
in 2005. She then attended the University of Tulsa for her college education.
In addition to the new novellas she is writing with her mother for their House
of Night series, Cast announced that she had also begun working on her first
solo novel” (EpicReads.com, 2014).
Curriculum ties: N/A
Booktalking ideas:
1.
How would you feel about having to leave all of
your friends behind to attend a new school?
2.
Would you rather be a regular human or have the
chance at becoming a vampire?
Critical evaluation:
The House of Night
series closely resembles many other books containing vampires. There are some
differences in that there are organized schools to teach young vampires. It
also appears that vampires, though they can drink blood, can keep their
cravings under control. This can cause the reader to lose some interest and
respect for these fabled creatures. The main character, Zoey, is also caught up
in a typical love triangle between two extremely handsome and devoted boys.
Unable to choose, she strings both along and does not do anyone, including
herself, any favors. All three suffer from her inability to choose and Zoey
spends quite a bit of time moping over her dilemma rather than discussing her
change from human to fledgling. The book contains quite a bit of inner dialogue
and can ramble. Dialogue between characters is not much better and is full of
slang and unnecessary exclamations. This first book in the series is difficult
to get through but as the series progresses, the writing gets better and the
characters develop.
Challenge issues:
·
Negative views of Christianity
Defensive Maneuvers:
·
Have the library’s collection development policy
memorized and on hand in case a situation arises.
·
Keep positive reviews on hand to refer to or
hand out when needed.
·
If the book has won any awards, mention them to
the patron and briefly explain the award.
·
Listen to the patron and practice good customer
service skills when communicating. Let the customer know where or if he/she can
escalate his/her complaint.
·
When necessary, cite sections of the ALA’s
Library Bill of Rights or refer to the ALA's
Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials.
Why included:
The House of Night series is still very popular with a large following. The last book comes out later this year (2014) which wraps up a long and entertaining series.
Reference:
Amazon.com. (2014). P.C.
Cast. Retrieved August 22, 2014 from
http://www.amazon.com/P.-C.-Cast/e/B001H6U4KC
EpicReads.com. (2014). Kristin
Cast: Bio. Retrieved August 22, 2014 from
http://www.epicreads.com/authors/kristin-cast/260/
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