Marked for Change

I just finished reading Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast. Which is my 2nd novel read for 2010...34 to go! Overall it was an interesting story & take on the world of vampyres. At one point it was taking me forever to read a couple of pages at a time, but after psyching myself out with an old, reliable trick that, for some reason, never fails, I managed to close out what was taking 2 months to read, in 2 days. If you plan to read this book, stop reading this now. Know that it was good, I liked it and move on. I guess what I'm saying is "spoiler alert." This book deals with very practical things that people tend to go through: Trying to be true to yourself, not being accepted by those who you love & care about & losing relationships that you thought would never go away, but ultimately finding a place that is all yours, where you can grow into who you are meant to be. In this case, it is a house/school for vampyres, but there are still real-life applications for many of the basic things that occur in this story. One that stuck out for me was Zoey having to deal with not only the transition of her remarrying, but that new marriage changing how her mom related to & treated her. On top of that, having to deal with this new father figure who, in order to play the role of the male in the house, found a way to make her mother OK with relinquishing not only the role she played as the family leader for 13yrs (Zoey is 16), but also made her content with having no true emotional attachment to her daughter. To be 16 & come to your mother after having been publicly marked for life (or death) as a vampyre & seek out her help, comfort & understanding after having your best friend & some other associates your age treat you like a freak, & your mom's response is not to comfort you or even ask how it happened, but to call up her husband, whom you don't like, & her prayer circle to attempt and exorcism on you. There are things explained in the storyline of this book that make such an attempt ridiculous. I, in no way doubt or scoff at the value & power of a real-life prayer group/circle. To not once hear your mother say that she loves you & will miss you, knowing that she will never see you again, is hard for any child to take, no matter their age. Add to that the fact that you now know that your life will never be the same & no matter what you do when you leave, no matter how well you prepare for your new existence, it could all end in your death. Imagine being a cancer/AIDS/lupus patient, or someone serving in the armed forces, in a combat or non-combat position. Imagine looking your mortality in the face & knowing that, no matter how many treatments or surgeries you have, no matter how many pills, injections, courses or drills you take, the end result is out of your control & ultimately, you may never see your death coming. On top of that, having been visibly branded as different so that, upon coming to this new environment, those who you now have to come to know & hopefully befriend, see you as weird & either gawk at you, treat you like a freak or are so nice to you that you know it isn't genuine. These are the things that Zoey had to face as a 16 yr old fledgling. Many adults would be completely intimidated & overwhelmed by this kind of experience. To have to face the uncertainty of a situation & then attempt to deal with it all on your own & succeed...& not die! Many adults are crumbling now under the uncertainty of today's condition &, when seeing that they can't handle it, have resorted to murder &/or suicide just to be rid of it. But as my mom has often said, suicide is a permanent end to a temporary situation. Ultimately, Zoey finds that she can & must rely on her new friends & a spirit guide to help her get through & deal with what she will encounter in her new life. The same is true for me (& you, if you agree). I(we) must learn to rely & depend on God to help me(us) deal with the daily struggles I(we) encounter. And I(we) have to learn that its OK to, not only ask the friends & support system that He has blessed me(us) with for help, but to trust that even when they have no answer, He always does & although the answer may not come right away or as I(we) want it to, it will & does come. I(We) just have to be on the lookout for it. And YES!!! I just went from talking about a vampyre book to talking about my God.