FEBRUARY 2010 BOM "Marked" P.C. Cast's House of Night Discussion Week 1

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Traisfire on February 12, 2010 at 4:28pm

I am still waiting on my hold to come in from the library.... Grr..... Hopefully I will be able to catch up

BB
~~Traisfire~~

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Surdam on February 13, 2010 at 8:10am

Hey Traisfire,

No worries--I'll keep the discussion open until we start the next one, so I'm sure you'll catch up. It won't take you long to read the first 98 pages, trust me! :)

Hugs and BB,
jen :)

Permalink Reply by evinithear silverleaf on February 12, 2010 at 11:21pm

evinithear- 16

ok so to start off i thought i would mention that i love this book so much. and its even better the second time around. :)
Now to answer the first question i love the lore/legend that they have written in these stories is amazing. Its a nice change from the typical "twilight vampire story". I love that she is marked at school and that is what causes the "change".Oooh and i love the journey she goes on to meet nyx in that cave when she marks zoey as her own. Her first true U-we-tsi a-ge-hu-tsa v-hna-i-sv-no-yi (daughter of night).Also and the fact that her crescent is filled in is awesome cause she has been choosen. I have just loved reading this book i could just read marked for hours and hours.Also i have a question to ask too. How do you feel about the step father and his feelings towards what zoey is becoming? And how her mother is just standing by, not doing anything.

(sorry if that doesnt make any sense)

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Surdam on February 13, 2010 at 8:58am

No, evinithear, it makes sense.

I think you hit on a very major theme in the book, which is kinda what I was getting at. I would like to know your answer to your own question, too.

Permalink Reply by evinithear silverleaf on February 13, 2010 at 2:38pm

ok well i think its annoying that the step father can't get passed his religion to understand what she is going through and if my child was turning and my husband was trying to get the evil out of them i would stand up for my child because they are the most important thing.

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Surdam on February 17, 2010 at 9:58am

My thoughts exactly! :)

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Surdam on February 13, 2010 at 9:06am

But let me answer all of the questions, as well as yours.

First, I'm 35. Even though this was a teen novel, I actually have been enjoying it so far. I admit to groaning when I went to the bookstore to purchase the novel, but I have to say I'll probably read them all at this point, as I'm enjoying this one immensely! So, as an adult, I'd say they've done a good job of reeling me in. And I'm not into teen novels per se. Tho I did love the Twilight movie (haven't read the books yet).

That said, I found myself literally reading all but the last chapter within just a couple of hours. I couldn't put it down, and didn't want to. I read it while waiting for my doctor's appointment, but I took another book with me, in case I found it abhorrent! LOL ;) So, I guess that answers that, eh?

I found the re-vamped (so to speak!) vamp legend/lore pretty interesting. I like it when authors can come up with their own ways of doing things, and I also like the way it was woven into the story, and not battered at us. I like the way it was discussed between characters, and not tossed in our faces with description.

I also found several interesting and current themes. I found characters that were interesting, but of all backgrounds--maybe a bit cliche in a way to have a group of people with a black person and a gay guy, plus the Okie, but these were the kinds of people you'd find in your everyday life. Then there's the theme of a broken home, the fairly classic example of one very controlling parent who just happens to be the step-parent wanting to exert control over everything in the family. There's the theme of a loving and understanding grandparent to whom you can run away and get away from everything. There's a twist in twins. There's a bitchy blonde with her entourage. There's the fight between the different groups--sorta the "haves" and "have-nots" as far as power goes. There are sooo many things we could talk about here. But I'd really like to hear more about what you all have to say before I go into more detail there.

To answer your question evinithear, I think that it's very common in many broken homes for the step-parent to react poorly to changes like this in a step-child. I think it would be similar to how he might react if she said she was becoming Wiccan, Jewish, or whatever other religion. I think that it's very sad, but I think it's not uncommon. I also think that it's very pathetic that the mother thinks that it is appropriate behavior for her to just let her new husband take that kind of charge and not stand up for her daughter, her own flesh and blood. To not take a stand against her husband, she chooses her husband over her child--that's not something I could EVER see myself doing. Your husband is a man you choose, but your child is of your own blood. Period. JMO... Another thing I feel about this is that if he considers himself to be high up in the church, I think a lot of what he feels is threat, a threat to whatever power he feels he weilds, and this goes toward the competition he may feel there is between himself and his step-child. That's also not uncommon, but it doesn't have to be that way. You should never compete with a child for that kind of thing, and shame on you for doing so, is my feeling! You're a little man for doing so! LOL That kind of behavior must make him feel like a big man, but I think it just makes him feel like he has some control over a situation he doesn't have control over. In his defense, it may also make him feel like he can change things, but he can't, and knowing that may make things all the worse for him. IDK... We can only go on what we're told and have to use conjecture to figure out the rest. We have a very biased opinion about him. Perhaps he's not quite so bad as he appears. What do YOU think?

I will say that the "Marked" theme goes far beyond just her being Marked to be a vamp. I think it has a lot to do with many things. What all do you think about this?

Hugs and BB,
jen :)

Permalink Reply by evinithear silverleaf on February 15, 2010 at 12:22am

I totally agree with you on the step father part, on how he is feeling threatened and that if he dosent try and stop her from becoming what she is then he wouldnt be such a respected member of the church. I also have to add the fact that the the part with the nice friendly grandmas is just perfect even though its a common theme. It just makes me happy cause it reminds me of my grandmothers house. Also the authors make her house and her personality seem so warm and welcoming.

Yes i defenitly agree that the theme of "Marked" goes way further than just the fact that she is becoming a vampire. I also have to say i am really glad that there isn't a main theme in this story that shows the sad deppressed manly vampire that is soo tortured.

Permalink Reply by Reny Halywell on February 15, 2010 at 4:55am

Reny- 16
I do agree with everything that has been said so far. The book goes beyond the mere vampyre theme and also explores the life of a teenage girl who is uniquely marked by her Goddess. It describes several awesome rituals that have a tint of the Wiccan tradition (calling forth the elements, casting a circle, etc).
The author combined some old lore about vamps and mingled it with her inventions. I've read it three times so far, and I can't get enough of the whole series. It took me a few hours to get till page 100!

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Surdam on February 17, 2010 at 10:01am

I'm only now getting into the Wiccan stuff, so since you've read it before, this'll be our next discussion! LOL ;) But I think it does go beyond the vamp theme, and that's something that I've found really great about it. Like I said, I really groaned thinking I'm going to be reading this teen novel. But I'm finding that I can hardly put it down. I also find that while it's vampy, it's also addressing so many issues that kids growing up today deal with, and that's very cool. It's very timely, but with a real twist that hits on a popular theme, too.

I will be saving this for my kids to read, and I'll be reading the rest of them at some point, too, even if we don't do so here!

Hugs and BB,
jen :)

Permalink Reply by evinithear silverleaf on February 17, 2010 at 5:09pm

yes i usually dont like to read teen books because they are just really pathetic but this series is one of the best teen series that i have ever read. and i have also read this book before and the wiccan stuff is great i have to agree with reny. especially on page 247 but i wont give anything away for the people who havent read it before. i also would love to read the rest of the seires i own 4 or 5 of the books but havent had the chance to read them.

Permalink Reply by Traisfire on February 18, 2010 at 10:34am

I got my book last night!!! Yea! So far I am on p 50... will discuss when I am done

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