“The Mark” is a fascinating light fantasy perfect for the young adult audience.  I was drawn in by its cover, with its almost hypnotizing pattern on the cover with its single golden mark. 

In this fantasy/romance, we follow the lives of four teenagers brought together by the strange microscopic mark on their hands in the same spot, and other strange similarities in their lives, such as all being adopted.  They have to find out their true natures, and it keeps you guessing until the very end of the book.

I found that I really felt for the characters and that they were given interesting traits, such as the main girl practicing her Gerswhin piece throughout the book, and showing the passage of time by showing her progress.  The premise  was original and I found myself walking down paths that didn’t feel like I had taken them before.  Sometimes the dialog made it seem that the characters were older than teenagers, but overall, I enjoyed her use of dialog, even including some IM conversations.  That was a very interesting touch that I think will appeal to teen readers especially.   

From the way things ended, it looks like there will be a sequel, which I will definitely pick up.  You can find more about Marilyn and her writing at http://www.mrbunderson.com/.