Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast

Imagine a world where vampires (or rather vampyres as it's spelled in this story) live openly among humans. That's the world in which Zoey Redbird lives. Zoey lives an average teen life near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Then one day at school, she is Marked. That means Zoey will turn into a Vampyre- unless she is unable to survive the change from human to vampyre. In Zoey's world, becoming a vampyre is not cool. Her society is generally prejudiced against vampyres, and Zoey is horrified to have to admit to her friends and family that she will become one. Plus, being marked a vampyre means Zoey will have to leave her family to go to House of Night, a vampyre boarding school where fledgling vampyres learn how to be, well, vampyres.

Zoey finds strength in her Cherokee heritage as she tries to deal with the loss of her prejudiced family and friends and learns the ways of her new life. However, she must deal with the extraordinary details of life as a vampyre fledgling. Zoey has unusual powers for a new vampyre, and this causes jealousy and suspicion among some of her new classmates at House of Night- especially Aphrodite, the leader of the Dark Daughters, an exclusive club. Compounding her problems, Zoey's ex-boyfriend becomes obsessed with her. Luckily, Zoey gains a new group of supportive friends and a mentor to help her navigate through her first days at the House of Night.

Marked is the first book in the House of Night series so don't expect all of Zoey's problems to be solved in these pages. I was worried that with two authors, the book would be disjointed and difficult to follow, but that is not the case. The story unfolds smoothly and it is difficult to put down without trying to peek at the next chapter. Some parts did feel a little long to me. For example, the rituals are described and more detail than I cared for, but that might just be me. I tend to like my books to get to the point quickly. Overall however, I enjoyed this story and look forward to reading the next installment.

Book; 13+; ISBN 978-1742141862; New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer was my first foray into young adult books. Well, my first foray since I was maybe 20. I expected this YA book to be predictable and unchallenging, like most of the books from my own teen years I had outgrown. Surprise! I love this book! I couldn't get enough of it and devoured it. Oh yeah, in case you actually haven't heard of Twilight, or read it yet, Meyer's first book is about a young woman and her relationship with a vampire. Don't care about vampire stories? Give this one a chance. The story is amazing, if a bit fluffy. It has a good mix of love story and adventure. Bella Swan moves from sunny Phoenix to the rainiest place on Earth, Forks, WA to live with her father after her mother remarries. Since there is very little sunshine in Forks, the place is a great spot for vampires to live. Super clumsy Bella finds herself falling in love with Edward, a member of the local vampire family. I'll let you read for yourself to see how Bella and Edward navigate the dangers of love between a vampire and a human.

If you love this book, I recommend reading the rest of the series. Also check out Stephenie Meyer's website http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/. I enjoyed reading about how she came up with the idea for the Twilight series and her experiences getting her first book published. But, beware of spoilers!

Book; age 12+; ISBN 9780316160179; New York: Little Brown & Co., 2005