Darcy+T

This book is about a sixteen year old girl named Zoey Redbird who gets “marked” as a fledgling vampire and must join The House of Night. The House of Night is a school where she will train and become an adult vampire, if she makes “the change” that is. Not everyone who gets marked makes it through the change from human to vampire, and fledglings die every so often there. But Zoey does remarkably well and realizes she is not the average fledgling but that she has amazing powers and that she has been chosen as special by the vampire Goddess Nyx. But along with these special abilities comes bloodlust which really freaks her out at first. Zoey however is not the only one fledgling with special powers. To add to her stress, she realizes that the leader of the Dark Daughters (Aphrodite), the House of Night’s most elite group, is misusing her goddess-given gifts. Zoey has to find the courage to embrace her destiny and take Aphrodite out of power, with a little help from her new vampire friends. · Zoey Redbird- Zoey is the main character of the book. She’s an average sixteen year old girl dealing with family stress, best friend and boyfriend drama, and now becoming a vampire. Zoey has trouble finding who she really is and what she wants to do with her life until her true destiny is discovered when she enters the House of Night and finds that she has special gifts. Special gifts that will one day make her the new High Priestess of the House of Night. · Aphrodite- Aphrodite is the leader of the Dark Daughters group at the House of Night. She has special powers like Zoey does, but she doesn’t use them in the right way. She uses them to her advantage to be the most popular girl at the school, with the most power and the hottest boyfriend. No one besides her followers likes her because of her mean and evil nature. Although she is remarkably beautiful on the outside, the inside of her needs some work. · Stevie Rae- Stevie Rae becomes Zoey’s new best friend at the House of Night. They are roommates in their dorm together, and they click instantly. Zoey’s old human best friend Kayla was not exactly the nicest girl, and Zoey finds out her true intentions, when Kayla tries stealing Zoey’s boyfriend Heath. So Stevie Rae comes in to play just in time for Zoey to realize what true friends are. Stevie Rae is a shy and quiet country girl but overcomes her biggest fears to help Zoey take down Aphrodite. · “From this day on my life would never be the same. And for a moment-just an instant- I forgot about the horror of not belonging and felt a shocking burst of pleasure, while deep inside of me the blood of my grandmother’s people rejoiced.” This quote is going through Zoey’s head when she is looking at herself in a mirror. She sees her new mark on her forehead for the first time, symbolizing her new life. At first when she was marked she was terrified and mad that it happened to her of all people. But as this quote reveals, her Cherokee ancestors have had this journey planed for her, knowing Zoey would succeed amazingly. · “Neferet’s smile was kind. “All will be well, Zoey. Now let me introduce you to your new life.”” Neferet is the High Priestess of the House of Night, which is like a principal to human schools. She is also Zoey’s mentor. Every fledgling has a mentor to help them with whatever they need to survive through the change. At this quote, Neferet is about to open the doors to the school to show Zoey around and introduce her to her new life there. It is an important quote because this is the start of Zoey’s life in the House of Night. · “My Mark had been added to. A delicate swirl of lace-like sapphire tattooing framed my eyes. Not as intricate and large as an adult vamp, but unheard of in a fledgling. I let my fingers trace the curling design, thinking that it looked like something that should decorate the face of an exotic foreign princess… or maybe the High Priestess of a goddess. And I stared hard at the me that wasn’t really me—this stranger who was becoming more and more familiar.” Before this moment, Zoey had just saved a spiritual ceremony that Aphrodite had been running. Aphrodite however had summoned negative spirits and two people were going to die and she wasn’t going to do anything about it. So Zoey, knowing she was the only fledgling there that could stop her, saved the ritual and saved everyone from death. Because of this good deed, her vampire mark on her forehead spread into the intricate designs adult vampires have. This moment proves that Zoey is unique. Knowing that she did such a good thing, she feels more comfortable with herself and really starts to love who she is becoming. __Marked__ is the first book of The House of Night Series. If a reader likes this book, they will certainly like book number two of the series, __Betrayed. __This second book continues Zoey’s journey to become the star vampire of her destiny. Zoey is already settled in at the House of Night, and everyone knows about her uniqueness at the start of this book. She is now leader of the Dark Daughters group, and has a lot more responsibility. If you want to continue reading about Zoey, __Betrayed__ is a good book for you. If readers like this vampire series, they will also like the __Twilight__ series. The __Twilight__ series is also about a teenage girl who goes through the change from human to vampire. The concepts of these books are very different, but anyone who likes reading about vampire action, and vampire love, will like either of these series. Both of the main characters are teenage girls who realize they can reach their full potential and destiny if they become a vampire. Both girls do everything in their power to become the best vampire they can be. Love plays a role in both books, so if you like romance along with action, these series are great for you.
 * Darcy Tashlein **
 * Study Guide: __Marked__ by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast **
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