Young Adult Literature; Fantasy
Marked hits both of these genre categories, and it hits 'em pretty hard. We consider the book young adult lit because the main character is sixteen, so she's dealing with all the normal stuff teenagers go through: dating anxiety, worrying about school, trying to figure out her relationship with her family, and freaking out about whether or not she fits in…
… And then there's all the other stuff that happens to Zoey, which totally place the book in the fantasy genre: She has a mystical connection with the ancient goddess Nyx who places the Mark of the vampyre on her forehead; she can call each of the five elements to create a ritual circle; she learns very early about vampiric bloodlust and how dangerous it is. You know, not stuff any teenagers we know are trying to navigate.
The blend of teenage concerns with fantasy elements makes this book a perfect combination of the young adult and fantasy genres. Where else would you find a passage like this: "Could this day get any worse? Elliott dies and I'm attracted to his blood. I have to go to the Samhain ritual tonight with a bunch of kids who hate me and want to make sure I know it, and I've probably Imprinted on my ex-almost-boyfriend. Yep. Today really, really sucked" (25.69-70)? We're definitely in hybrid genre land with this one.