The House of Paranormal YA

Marked by Oil, Caught in Love 

Book Review on Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast

*May contain spoilers!!!

“Zoey Montgomery! Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!” He lifted one long, white finger and pointed at me” (P.C. and Kristin Cast 3).

Marked by P.C Cast and Kristen Cast is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Zoey who, on top of being a teenager, has to deal with a huge change in her life: being marked as a vampyre. After being marked, Zoey must leave her family and friends to go to a boarding school called “House of Night” where all of the marked teenage vampyres must go to be educated and trained on how to live if they survive the “change.” This change is when fledging vampyres become full, adult vampyres and unfortunately some are killed in the process.
Zoey is a very special girl, however, because the goddess Nyx has chosen her to be her “eyes and ears” in the modern world and has blessed her with powers that nobody has ever seen. On top of everything, Zoey has a complicated love life, or should I say lust life. Heath, Zoey’s ex-boyfriend, is bitten one day, causing an imprint that forces Zoey to crave his blood. The desire increases more and more every time they are close.

Although Zoey has a complicated life she is able to find true friends that stick by her no matter what happens. Her friends are: Stevie Rae, Damien, Erin, and Shaunee (in the following books of the series these characters become essential to the story as does) Aphrodite who in this book is Zoey’s enemy. Aphrodite thinks that she is the queen of the school, and when Zoey arrives with her colored in mark she feels threaten and jealous. Aprhodite thinks that Zoey wants to take everything away from her, on purpose. Her anger and jealousy become dangerous, risking the lives of the people Zoey loves.

This is the second time that I’ve read this book, and it was as if I was reading it for the first time again. I could not put it down. What I enjoy most about this story is that, although it is a paranormal romance the story does not revolve around this. It focuses on Zoey and her relationship, not only with boys (Erik and Heath), but also with her family, friends, and goddess Nyx. P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast have created an interesting and unique story.

 What makes this story different from others that I have read is that it mixes Native American culture, mythology, and the contemporary world all shown through the eyes of Zoey. The background information provides a wonderful setting in which the characters can grow and flourish on the page, and even though it’s fiction it’s still believable. An example is during the “Full Moon Ritual” when pentagram is drawn on all vampyres foreheads with oil. The book explains that for many humans the pentagram is a symbol of evil. For the vampyres, it signifies “wisdom, protection, perfection. Good stuff like that….Four of the points stand for the elements. The fifth, the one that points up, stand for the spirit. That’s all it is” (139). I also think that it is great that Zoey is really strong because I know a significant portion of girls as the main character whose personality and role in the book are not strong and are instead undermined by male characters.

This is a story that I would recommend because it is intriguing and it has characters that you will fall in love and cry with and you will want to read, re-read and continue reading the whole series. No matter what genre you may prefer both YA or adult fiction, this book is amazing, and I encourage you to give it a try.

By Gilma Velasquez