Book Review: Marked: House of Night, Book 1
Rated by 1 member
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that the violence is much milder here
than in other vampire books -- two teens are presumed dead, but
it's barely described. There's some swearing (including
"f--k"), teen use of alcohol and pot (looked upon unfavorably
by the main character), and a teen receiving oral sex in the
dorm hallway -- it's barely described but often referred to.
Some readers may dislike the way the main character and all her
teen fledgling vampire friends embrace goddess worship and
participate in a number of well-described ceremonies. This
worship is contrasted with the church the main character's
stepfather belongs to -- the fictitious,
fundamentalist-sounding People of Faith, whom she believes are
narrow minded.
Families can talk about the occult aspects of this book,
discussing their beliefs on the subject. Do you think Zoey
could have been another religion and still joined the school,
or do goddess worship and vampirism have to go hand in hand in
this book? How do you think this vampire series compares to
others -- like the
Twilight
Saga
? Which version of vampire lore do you prefer? Why?
Written by a fantasy writer and her college-age daughter, this definitely feels more like a fun mother-daughter project than serious sci-fi. There's more gossiping and bad-girl behavior than bloody fangs and supernatural creature battles. In fact, the transition from talking smack about the school bully to casting a circle of elements for goddess worship can get pretty jarring. The authors try too hard to please both the Gossip Girl crowd and Twilighters. There's even a hot older love interest -- a vampire who's also a famous actor (take that, Edward!).
With the vampire training school setting, the authors are also going for Harry Potter grads. But the descriptions of classes aren't nearly as fun, and the pace slows as every hall break and class direction is described. But as the main character gets more comfortable with her powers and the story focuses on a few mysteries at the school, readers will feel more engaged. Plus, the most intriguing mystery is left for the next book in the series. For vampire fans, here's hoping that one's more of a page-turner.
Written by a fantasy writer and her college-age daughter, this definitely feels more like a fun mother-daughter project than serious sci-fi. There's more gossiping and bad-girl behavior than bloody fangs and supernatural creature battles. In fact, the transition from talking smack about the school bully to casting a circle of elements for goddess worship can get pretty jarring. The authors try too hard to please both the Gossip Girl crowd and Twilighters. There's even a hot older love interest -- a vampire who's also a famous actor (take that, Edward!).
With the vampire training school setting, the authors are also going for Harry Potter grads. But the descriptions of classes aren't nearly as fun, and the pace slows as every hall break and class direction is described. But as the main character gets more comfortable with her powers and the story focuses on a few mysteries at the school, readers will feel more engaged. Plus, the most intriguing mystery is left for the next book in the series. For vampire fans, here's hoping that one's more of a page-turner.
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