Marked

House of Night Book 1
by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
306 pages

Zoey is a typical high school student, struggling to pass geometry and worrying about her almost-boyfriend's alcohol intake.  Then a vampire tracker comes and marks Zoey as a vampire fledgling, ending her normal life once and for all.  Zoey, through a genetic mutation, is now undergoing the "Change" and is becoming a vampire.    She must move to the House of Night and re-start her entire life.  However, something happens to Zoey before she makes it to the House of Night, filling in her mark and making her unique among vampire fledglings.  It appears that the goddess Nyx has something special in store for Zoey...

In many ways this was your typical ya novel, full of teen angst, romance, and girl drama.  However, the vampires portrayed here are unique.  They do not become vampires through vampire bites or other traumatic events.  They become vampires due to a random genetic mutation.  Each vampire is born human, but undergoes the change in their teens.  This was definitely unique.  Vampire religion was also unique in this novel. Vampires appear to have worship rituals that have strong Wiccan elements, with nature being the heart of the religion.  There does appear to be an anti-Christian sentiment in this novel, though it appears to be aimed toward intolerance, rather than a complete condemnation of Christianity.  Definitely an interesting read that ends with unfinished business.  However, I'm not sure whether I'm invested enough to read the next book or not.