Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Imagine a world where vampires (or rather vampyres as it's spelled in this story) live openly among humans. That's the world in which Zoey Redbird lives. Zoey lives an average teen life near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Then one day at school, she is Marked. That means Zoey will turn into a Vampyre- unless she is unable to survive the change from human to vampyre. In Zoey's world, becoming a vampyre is not cool. Her society is generally prejudiced against vampyres, and Zoey is horrified to have to admit to her friends and family that she will become one. Plus, being marked a vampyre means Zoey will have to leave her family to go to House of Night, a vampyre boarding school where fledgling vampyres learn how to be, well, vampyres.

Zoey finds strength in her Cherokee heritage as she tries to deal with the loss of her prejudiced family and friends and learns the ways of her new life. However, she must deal with the extraordinary details of life as a vampyre fledgling. Zoey has unusual powers for a new vampyre, and this causes jealousy and suspicion among some of her new classmates at House of Night- especially Aphrodite, the leader of the Dark Daughters, an exclusive club. Compounding her problems, Zoey's ex-boyfriend becomes obsessed with her. Luckily, Zoey gains a new group of supportive friends and a mentor to help her navigate through her first days at the House of Night.

Marked is the first book in the House of Night series so don't expect all of Zoey's problems to be solved in these pages. I was worried that with two authors, the book would be disjointed and difficult to follow, but that is not the case. The story unfolds smoothly and it is difficult to put down without trying to peek at the next chapter. Some parts did feel a little long to me. For example, the rituals are described and more detail than I cared for, but that might just be me. I tend to like my books to get to the point quickly. Overall however, I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the next installment.

Book; 13+; ISBN 978-1742141862; New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007