The Mark by Jen Nadol - Review

Description from Goodreads:

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?

When I first heard about The Mark from Jen Nadol, I was intrigued – the cover as well as the description, makes the book sound amazing. I knew it was a book I wanted to read, so I was excited when my preorder got here (they did not even tell me it was on the way, so it was a surprise).

I was not disappointed...I read The Mark in a day...I could not put it down, and every time I tried, it called to me. In the beginning, I cried my eyes out – even though the book had just started, when Cassie's grandmother passes away, WOW the emotion's that Jen describes, placed me right back in the room when my own grandfather was not doing well. I find it remarkable how people like Jen can write so powerfully!

The Mark was not a book full of fluff...it's one that really made me stop and think. I mean, what would you do if you would see that today was that person's last day. You could tell that Jen did a lot of research, and soul searching, for this book, Cassie, our main character, thought about all the scenarios. Cassie thought about not just weather she should tell these people but also how...how do you tell someone you don't know that today will be there last day; Cassie even thought about if she should.

This book still has me thinking about it...several days after I have finished – I have even tried to write this review, on 2 separate occasions, however I keep finding it hard to put my thoughts into worlds. I did really enjoy The Mark, the premise is original and I really enjoyed Cassie as a main character.

However, with that being said – the book was a bit strange to me, on one hand you have all the "should I tell, was this gift given to me to be able to tell...ect" things going though Cassie's mind – but then on the other, there's the mystery surrounding her mom, as well as her relationship with Lucas. It seemed like a lot going on, and I REALLY did not like Lucas from the beginning, something about the way he "slid" into Cassie's life so easily threw me off. Not to mention her letting him think she's older than she really is, a relationship built on lies is always doomed to fail.

Bottom line – The Mark left it's mark with me, I enjoyed Jen Nadol's writing and will be sure to be on the look out for more from her, I am hoping maybe a sequel, there's totally enough here for one, and maybe more of a resolution. It left me asking questions about my own life, would I want to know if today was my last day...and how might I feel if some stranger came up to me, telling me that today was my last day! Defiantly recommend picking it up! A 4 star read for me!

The Mark
Written by: Jen Nadol
240 Pages
Published: January 19, 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury