Friday, January 8, 2010

Marked - P.C. Cast



Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007
Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy from publisher

Unlike books like the Twilight Series, vampires are out in the open in this book. I mean they seem to be an accepted part of this society. I can’t say I would get the next book. I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it. I am undecided as yet. Zoey has been marked to become a vampire. Zoey spends quite a bit of time preaching against sex, drugs alcohol etc. She comes off as if she was trying to convince people of her beliefs. She seems fake, a phoney. If you like vampire stories then you would like the book, especially when Zoey decides to accept who of what she is. At times I felt the content was too mature for my students yet other times it seemed very immature. This is definitely a book I will loan to my vampire loving students to get their opinion before I decide whether or not to get the second one. Their reviews will give me a look at things through different eyes and give me a different perspective. For this reason I will withhold final judgement on this book.

5 comments:

  1. I bet I'd like this book. I'm reading the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series right now that True Blood is based upon. I love that show! Good book too, interesting to see how the show expanded upon the plotlines and characters.

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  2. I'm a huge urban fantasy (especially vampires) fan but I did not like this series. The characters were silly and cliched.

    I'm a teen (18 going on 19 now and younger when I first read this series) and I was insulted by how teens were portrayed. I also thought the sex was put in to pull readers in and didn't really track well in the story.

    I agree in that sometimes Zoey is too mature (sexually) but then came off very immature in other ways. In the second or third book she ends up having sex with her boyfriend, ex-boyfriend and her professor. Not for me.

    In regards to Kelly's comments, I love the Sookie Stackhouse series (older - very older - teens only) and I was really excited when True Blood (HBO) came out. My mom and I had both read the series.

    However (or should I say HOWEVER - caps are important) True Blood is NOTHING like the books. Basic plot yes, but the hard core sexuality in the HBO series is nothing like the books. I watched the first few shows in the HBO series and then quit in disgust.

    It is a funny story about how my mom and I set ourselves up to watch the first True Blood (and Jake and Gregory decided to join us) and then we were totally surprised by this major sex scene that comes up. My mom and I are frantically trying to hit the PAUSE button and shouting for the boys to get out of the room.

    We (my mom and I) gave it a few more episodes but finally gave up.

    Anyway, I would not suggest that your 7th graders read the Sookie Stackhouse novels and I would certainly not recommend they watch the True Blood series.

    Sorry for the rant but I felt compelled to make my suggestions.

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  3. One of my friends adores this series, and so on her recommendation I started reading it. I am still waiting for it to get that good, but I have managed to read more in the series. At the moment I am listening to the fifth book, but I am glad that I am not buying them but rather borrowing them from the library.

    There are a number of things throughout the series that bother me. There is the sexuality, and the fact that just about every boy she meets falls for Zoe, I didn't really like the way that until around the fourth book, every Christian she meets was quite extremist in their beliefs. I don't have belief myself but I disliked the lack of balance.

    Anyway, this is a very long comment to say hi! I have just found your blog through Bloggiesta.

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  4. When I was teaching, I liked to withhold judgement on books until hearing from my students, too. I think sometimes people forget the insights students can bring to the discussion of a work. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this one!

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  5. I've had this one sitting there in the TBR and just haven't been able to get it started. Maybe I'll pass it on to a MS teacher.

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