Courtney Wika (VOYA, December 2007 (Vol. 30, No. 5))
All Zoey Redbird wants is a place to belong. In Marked, she is just trying to keep her almost-boyfriend sober and her best friend close and to find a place to fit in at her high school. It is difficult, however, for her to maintain "normal girl" status when a Tracker stalks her to her locker and marks her with a sapphire crescent moon tattoo smack in the middle of her forehead. Marked as a fledgling vampyre, what little security she has had is destroyed as her friends reject her as a freak and her family labels her a demon. Zoey finds that she must make the transition to her new school, the House of Night, with only the support of Grandma Redbird. There her mark sets her apart from the others. Bestowed with an affinity for the elements and power beyond her years, Zoey must learn to balance aspects of her new life with those of her old existence. Not only must she make the Change from human to vampyre, dethrone her enemy Aphrodite, and shake off her almost-ex-boyfriend Heath, with whom she has accidentally Imprinted, but she must also pass her classes, make new friends, and land the hot older guy (and Aphrodite's ex), Eric. When two students at the school die after their bodies reject the Change, she is left to wonder whether she and her new friends will make it through. In Betrayed, Zoey has finally found a place to belong. She has a loyal group of friends at the House of Night, a supportive mentor in the High Priestess Neferet, and a new position as leader of the Dark Daughters and Sons. Admittedly things have become more complicated as her guy problems have tripled, her mother and "step-loser" have been banned from the school, and Aphrodite seems to be out for revenge. But Zoey has everything under control--until human teenagers from her old life are viciously murdered and her intuition tells her that their deaths are somehow connected to the House of Night. Unfortunately what Zoey fails to sense is that terrible loss and ultimate betrayal are imminent and that it will take the support of her friends and everything she has to set things right. This highly addicting series offers a unique twist on the standard vampyre story and is sure to please a wide variety of readers. Although she is a vampyre, Zoey Redbird's journey is one for every teen. Her voice is genuine, and with the exception of a few vocabulary pitfalls, captures the sincerity and frankness of a teenager in search of a new home and a place where she truly belongs. The emotional portrayal of Zoey's troubles and tribulations enhances the quality of these books. True to life, she struggles with issues of trust, loyalty, love, sexuality, and identity and moves through a myriad of conflicting emotions from happiness to confusion to grief. These books will have the reader laughing hysterically and sobbing unreservedly--sometimes all at once. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2007, St. Martin's Griffin, 320p., $8.95 Trade pb. Ages 15 to 18.