Review: The Mark by Jen Nadol

The Mark by Jen Nadol


My rating: 4.0/5.0

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publish Date: January 19, 2010
Hardcover, 228 pages


FTC Disclosure: ***I received this book through Around the World Tours.***  I also do not receive money through the links provided to Amazon.com.  The Amazon Associates program does not pay out to residents of NC.


My Review:

The Mark has a very interesting premise. What if you could see that someone was going to die. What would you do with that knowledge? Would you share it with the person, would you try and change the future by protecting them? Would you let them know so they could live what little is left of their life to the fullest? Or would that harm them more than do them good?

This is what Cassie is trying to come to grips with when she finally figures out why she sees a glow around certain people from time-to-time. It's a haunting story and you can really feel and see what Cassie is going through with Ms. Nadol's storytelling. Cassie has to grow up a lot and I think she grew up too much too fast, but she really learns what the real world is all about.

This book is haunting and beautiful - it asks questions that are hard to answer and it deals with the characters in an amazing way. At times I felt irritated with the characters but that soon passed and I really took a lot away after finishing this book. I look forward to more from Ms. Nadol in the future.

About the Book:

Cassandra Renfield has always seen the mark—a glow around certain people reminiscent of candlelight. But the one time she mentioned it, it was dismissed as a trick of the light. Until the day she watches a man awash in the mark die. After searching her memories, Cassie realizes she can see a person’s imminent death. Not how or where, only when: today.

Armed with a vague understanding of the light, Cassie begins to explore her “gift,” seeking those marked for death and probing the line between decision and destiny. Though she’s careful to hide her secret—even from her new philosophy-obsessed boyfriend—with each impending death comes the temptation to test fate. But so many questions remain. How does the mark work? Why is she the only one who sees it? And finally, the most important of all: If you know today is someone’s last, should you tell them?