Marked: A House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Sysnopsis:
The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But 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 club, 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.

My Review:
I saw this series of books in Sam’s Club which is why I was really compelled to read them because Sam’s usually carries best-sellers. Now I am confused as to why this is considered a best seller. This is a great concept in theory: Mother daughter writing team which will lend the knowledge needed for the generational gap and an interesting plot that could go in many different directions which offers a great basis for a series. Someone who reviewed this book on Amazon.com said it best: This book was like watching a train wreck that, for some unknown reason, you can’t look away.

Let’s talk about the pitfalls of the main character Zoey. Her language is that of a 12 year old and she is suppose to be 16, she is self-centered and gets annoyed easily and rarely considerers other people’s point of view, and she does not develop as a character what so ever and so she continues to respond to everything in her childish manner. This book lacks the sophistication needed for me to continue reading this series. I mean, please, shows like “Gossip Girl” are a guilty pleasure for me and I consider that show silly and humorous so I am not asking for a lot to be entertained here people. But there is more whit and smart comments in one scene of “Gossip Girl” then there is in this entire book.

But maybe I am being too harsh. I do demand and expect more from books because I consider reading a prime form of entertainment and reading is somewhat sacred to me. Having said that, there was something about this book that pushed me to finish it. Maybe it was only the desire to find some redeeming quality in the main character Zoey or just to know that I did not waste my time reading this book. What I found is it was an easy read, the dialogue was ridiculous, and the plot itself was the only interesting thing keeping my attention. I liked the book, just not enough to recommend it to someone else or to want to see what happens to the characters.