I was thirteen years old when I first read Marked. It was a book that felt like a best friend as I Carrie it with me through some really dark times. I felt like the story was some weird parallel of the Darkness within my own life, and a I got older and matured, so did the story. It transformed from a cute YA novel about magic and vampyres to a coming of age tale of love and trust and strength.
I remember commenting often on Zoeys immaturity and whining. But in this book I really see the honesty in the title. Redeemed is more than fitting to describe it. Gone are the teasing teenagers who bickered over school cliques and boyfriends, and in their places bloom the powerful young adults who look to life, love, and the future in all of it's ugly beauty. In this, the year that I turn eighteen, I come of age and look down the road to my future at the same time that these character who have been constantly by me for six years do the same. They are my parallels in all ways and they give me an uplifting hope. It's a new goal on my bucket list to meet the Casts and tell them how growing up next to these people has change me for the better. I embrace the sadness that comes with the end of this series, and I look foreword to reliving it along with my adolescence someday.