The Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Megan is used to moving around with her dad, but never has a move taken her as far as a tiny town in the south of Ireland. But her dad seems to really like the place, and so Megan does her best to settle in. She makes friends, gets used to a school system that’s foreign to her, and listens to her father. But throughout all of this, she still can’t get one thing out of her mind, and that’s Adam DeRís. His entire family is shrouded in secrecy, but Adam is another mystery. Megan finds herself increasingly drawn to him, though she’s not quite sure why. There’s something strange about Adam and his family that may be connected to a tragic event in her past, something that binds them all together. It’s with the DeRís family that Megan discovers her true destiny and finds herself in a new world of power, magic, and corruption.

I will preface the rest of this review by saying that I had really high hopes for this novel. It is currently the only book to have been “discovered” on InkPop, a community writing site, which is exciting on its own, but it has also been surrounded by a lot of hype otherwise. And, unfortunately, with such huge expectations, I was bound to be disappointed. The Carrier of the Mark certainly does have its merits, and I can see why the HarperTeen editors wanted to snatch it up. Fallon has a way of transporting readers to the lush landscape of coastal Ireland with her flavorful scenic descriptions. Her ideas that back the supernatural element of the book are certainly unique, and I don’t think I’ve seen the type of magic in this story elsewhere except in my own dreams. However, everything else in this novel needed work. I had difficulty connecting with the characters because they felt just shy of truly realistic and likable. The dialogue was similarly off and felt inauthentic compared with the rest of the feel of the story. Transitions between scenes are poorly done, especially the flashbacks. Sadly the combination of all these little details really added up and lessened the quality of the book. What really irritates me is that these problems are ones that could have been cleaned up; I feel like more time, editing, and revision could have made this story so much better. Even though it is very exciting that this novel was found online, that doesn’t mean it should be rushed to be published. With its fascinating ideas and given more time, The Carrier of the Mark could have been really great, but sadly, for me, it misses the mark.

The Carrier of the Mark will still be enjoyed by fans of the Dark Elite series by Chloe Neill, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier.

Rating: 3.25

Review copy from BEA