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Title: Marked (House of Night 1)Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: 1 May 2007
Date Finished: 29 September 2010
Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid
Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge, YA Reading Challenge, GLBT Challenge, Hogwarts Reading Challenge, R.I.P. V
The Short and Sweet of It
Recently marked as a vampyre and chosen by the goddess Nyx, Zoey Redbird feels under prepared for the House of Night. But when she runs up against the beautiful and malicious leader of the elite Dark Daughters, Zoey must embrace her destiny.
The Sex of It aka Why It's Banned
This one definitely ranks up there on the explicit sex scale. It's no Full Moon Rising because people aren't actually having sex, but sex - primarily of the oral variety - is discussed quite often:
Yes, I was aware of the whole oral sex thing. I doubt if there's a teenager alive in America today who isn't aware that most of the adult public think we're giving guys blow jobs like they used to give guys gum (or maybe more appropriately suckers). Okay, that's just bullshit, and it's always made me mad. Of course there are girls who think it's "cool" to give guys head. Uh, they're wrong. Those of us with functioning brains know that it is not cool to be used like that.
This statement comes right after our heroine comes across a dark hallway where two students are engaged in said nefarious activity...sort of...we're in the beginning stages anyway. I really enjoyed the reference to adult perception of teenage sexual activity. How many times has the issue of teenage fellatio been on news programs and cop shows? The authors really hit the nail on the head here as adults do seem to believe that rainbow parties are weekly activities for all teens and pre-teens, and anyone with any sort of logic knows that this just isn't true. Despite the positive "we're not all doing it and smart girls know it's not cool" message in this text, I'm sure book banners are still angry that it's even mentioned. And then there's the word bullshit which as we all know the hearing of which will cause spontaneous orgiastic activity.
The text also challenges religion of the fanatic variety, questions the infallibility of parents, and features a gay character. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
Overall Recommendation
While I didn't feel compelled to read this in one sitting, I still very much enjoyed the experience and will be continuing the series, at a leisurely pace. The combination of pagan and Native American mythology kept me interested; the action kept me excited; and the characters kept me intrigued. I will say, however, that the plot of the novel seemed to take place in a very, very short amount of time, limiting the depth of the feelings I had for the book. Everything entertained, but it flirted over the surface instead of weaving through the layers.
This Book Around the Web
If I've missed your review, let me know!
From the TBR Pile; The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia; Jenny Loves to Read; Bart's Bookshelf; Literary Escapism;
A Sexy Question: If a book mentions sexual activity but encourages teens to not engage in it, why is it still ban-worthy? Isn't that counter-intuitive or am I missing something?
Sexiness Kiss Quotient:
Don't worry Trisha, there are... 12 more books in the series to bring more lions and tigers and bears... but it does continue to stay more at the surface and have very quick plots :)
ReplyDeleteI like the mention of parents' perceptions of teen sex, too. There's such a disconnect there sometime. Definitely fired by the media.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this book all over the place, but didn't know all the details. I think that the book sounds like it deals with some pretty relevant issues in a non-reactive way, so I am excited about that. I am glad to hear that you liked it and I am hoping to read it soon!
ReplyDeleteMy sixteen-year-old daughter is reading this series right now, and I'm glad she's getting some smart messages from it. Good to know.
ReplyDeleteAs far as your sexy question, I suspect if the author makes it sound too good (despite warnings not the participate), it looks too good to do.
ReplyDeleteAmy - Good to know. I still haven't decided if this is a series I should stick with. I have so many going!
ReplyDeleteAndi - The way the media tells it all of our 12 yr olds are hosting rainbow parties and getting secret abortions. Ah, sensationalism.
Heather - I can't wait to hear what you think of it.
Shelley - I think she's definitely getting smart messages about sex from this one.
Jenners - Good point. Like look at this beautiful hunk of chocolate but don't eat it...
I read this and that is the end for me... This series did not do a lot for me at all!
ReplyDeleteI like how the quote you include in this one is a positive message from the teen.... crazy that people want to shelter kids from things they're going to come across in real life..
ReplyDeleteKailana - Yeah, I just can't decide whether to continue or not.
ReplyDeleteJenny - Agreed completely. Unless you live in a closed society with no television and padlocks on doors, there's no sheltering teenagers from sex.
I would imagine most teens have heard about "giving head" before, and at least this book tries to offer a message based on self respect and personal responsibility.
ReplyDeleteStephanie - Absolutely! I distinctly remember the first time someone told me about fellatio: fifth grade...at a Catholic school...there's very little doubt in my mind that all high schoolers know what it is.
ReplyDelete