A review by kspag206
Marked by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was a series I read in middle school (back in 2011ish) and decided to reread as adult to see if it still held up to my 12 year old expectations of what a fantastic book was. Unfortunately, it did not, at least not fully.
First, the writing style felt inconsistent. I’m not sure if this was due to the two authors or not, but the first 5 chapters were not well written at all. The middle was more captivating.
Second, for a book written in 2007, I have to say the cast of characters is fairly diverse. However it shows that it was written in 2007, and that two white women were very clearly playing on stereotypes of Native American culture, black culture, and gay culture. That being said, to have the cultures represented at all, in positive ways, as lovable characters, is still better than not.
Third, the pace of the story and the character’s moral development and acceptance of her fate/the development of an intense love interest was just felt immature. The whole first book takes place in the course of a week. Without giving away spoilers, there’s so much that happens, it just seems too rushed.
That being said, I loved the friend group, I loved many of the characters, I loved the aspect of fantasy in which normal life is just slightly altered, and I appreciated the different perspective on vampire stories. Worth a read, but also definitely NOT a YA book if you’re under the age of 16
First, the writing style felt inconsistent. I’m not sure if this was due to the two authors or not, but the first 5 chapters were not well written at all. The middle was more captivating.
Second, for a book written in 2007, I have to say the cast of characters is fairly diverse. However it shows that it was written in 2007, and that two white women were very clearly playing on stereotypes of Native American culture, black culture, and gay culture. That being said, to have the cultures represented at all, in positive ways, as lovable characters, is still better than not.
Third, the pace of the story and the character’s moral development and acceptance of her fate/the development of an intense love interest was just felt immature. The whole first book takes place in the course of a week. Without giving away spoilers, there’s so much that happens, it just seems too rushed.
That being said, I loved the friend group, I loved many of the characters, I loved the aspect of fantasy in which normal life is just slightly altered, and I appreciated the different perspective on vampire stories. Worth a read, but also definitely NOT a YA book if you’re under the age of 16
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, and Vomit