Book {Carrier of the Mark}

Before I get started with this one I need to tell you that before it I read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (author of The Time Traveller's Wife, which I haven't read).  I also  need to tell you that you do not want to read that book.  Just don't.  Really.  I promise.  One of the chapters towards the end of the book is called "He Comes Undone" and what it really meant was "The Book Comes Undone".  It was alright, but when things finally started to get going, it was like she lost control and they story just fell apart.  Such a shame.  So  don't bother about picking it up, especially if you read and loved The Time Traveller's Wife.  You will be incredibly disappointed.

Okay, onto Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon.  I picked it up because I was in need of something fun, easy to read and not at all serious and one of my oldest friends, Miss Morgan McD(now S) (hi, friend!), had been talking about this book and how her friend wrote it, etc, etc.  So, there we are.

Carrier of the Mark probably falls into the "teen paranormal romance" category.  Ok, not probably.  It lands square in the middle of it.  What can I say?  I love me some paranormal romance, teenage or otherwise.  (Ok, that's starting to sound creepy.)

Nearly all of the reviews I read about it before I started reading it claimed it was a Twilight knockoff.  Having read the entire "Twilight" series (unfortunately), I worried that those reviews would sway me and have me see similarities that weren't there, but I shouldn't have worried about that because there was nothing subtle about it.

Meghan's mother died when she was 5 or 6 in an accident they were both in.  She and her father moved around a lot because he couldn't seem to settle after his wife's death.  Mysteriously, he is offered a job in Ireland and they move there to a quiet little town that I couldn't help thinking of as Forks, WA.  She starts school and is immediately drawn to Adam, a brooding, handsome, mysterious young man who has a reputation (along with his sister, brother, and guardian) of being strange (rumors abound of them being witches), super good looking and too good for everyone else.  (Sounding familiar, right?)  The attraction between Adam and Meghan is mutual, but Adam (of course) tries to fight it off, which he can't.  They don't really talk to each other, just kind of stare at each other across the school yard and/or classroom.  Meghan and her friends sign up for sailing (which Adam teaches), Meghan falls in the water, he rescues her, stays with her at the hospital until her dad can get there.  (Twilight readers, I know.  I know.)  One thing leads to another and they are stuck like glue.  They burn hot and bright and will not, devil may care, be separated.

Adam's family turns out to not be witches, but have a different kind of paranormal power that I don't really want to take the time to describe, but it's way cooler than vampires or werewolves.  Meghan turns out to be one of them too.  (That's not really a spoiler.)  She has to decide if she wants to accept her powers or not and there are a few complications that give her second thoughts, namely that she might not get to be with Adam *in that way* if she keeps her powers.  You'll just have to read the book to find out if she keeps them or not.  (Mwa ha ha ha ha!)

Anyway, the similarities to Twilight, like I said are not subtle.  I was kind of shocked by it, to be honest.  I mean Adam's family is very similar to Edward's family; Meghan's friends at school are very similar to Bella's friends; there's a group similar (although not too similar) to the Volturi called The Knox; Meghan gets kidnapped by a bad guy.  And really, that's not all of it.  The story line follows a similar path.

However, not being a Twi-hard, I was not at all annoyed with it.  Do you ever read a book and think, "Man, that could have been SO much better if someone else had written it?"  That is what I thought about Twilight.  Lucky for me, Leigh Fallon did a much better job with the idea than Ms. Meyers did.  The characters were mostly better (re: Meghan was not a whiny, indecisive, muling, idiot) and truly, the story was much better.

I do have some nit-picky things about the dialogue (do people really talk like that when they are in love? did I ever talk like that?  why is it so cheesy?  I was at a loss), but I had to keep in mind it was written for teenagers, which I haven't been for many moons, so maybe they get it.

I don't know if Ms. Fallon set out to write a better "Twilight" on purpose, but she did.  I wish she had written her's first, though, maybe we could have been saved from all the Twilight nonsense, and more specifically, Kristen Stewart as Bella.  (Don't get me started.)  I really enjoyed the book and will be picking up the remainder of the trilogy when they come out.  It was quick, it was fun.  And honestly, Meghan's power is awesome.  She can kick some trash.  So, if you are in the mood for something like that, go get it.