Chosen (A House of Night Novel)

By: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Reviewed by: gothiclolitamaiden, 16
Rating: Didn't like it


“Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and Zoey Redbird's adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on humanity. Zoey finds herself in the unexpected situation of having three boyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster. Just when it seems things couldn't get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres. But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely affects the truth...”

Once, while I was reading Chosen, I asked myself: why am I still reading these books, even though I’ve had negative opinions of the first two in the series? Then I remembered. I wanted to see if Zoey could continue to date three different guys without any of said guys finding out about each other. I’ve started to see some very disturbing themes in the series, and I just had to write a review to vent, so bear with me.

I still think that Zoey is a Mary Sue. Nothing she did in this book redeemed her. If anything, I think she became more irritating. She has no self-control at all. Some teenage girls don’t, but that’s not an excuse. She doesn’t just have three boyfriends, she makes out with all of them and on more than one occasion and sucks their blood. The girl gets one whiff of blood and she loses all control. I realize that vampires love blood, but I thought she could resist her impulses. In Chosen, Zoey is just a bunch of hormones, which gets highly maddening. She can’t confront her boyfriend dilemma, even though she should just do some thinking and figure out which one she actually loves, or if she doesn’t love any of them and just lusts for them. Aargh.

Is it just me, or are all of the characters in the series either beautiful, talented, or athletic? The authors seem to have no tolerance for unattractive characters, since most of the characters who aren’t drop-dead gorgeous have dropped dead thus far. Is there some kind of rule that vampires have to be inhumanly beautiful? If Nyx is such a gentle, loving Goddess, shouldn’t personality matter more than looks? Can’t we have a plain, homely, but kind and generous vampire who survives? Because of all of the characters are beautiful and talented, it’s kind of hard to relate to any of them. None of them are realistic, especially Zoey. I’ve decided that the only character worth reading these books for is Grandma Redbird. Grandma Redbird should totally be the main character, but since the authors love young, beautiful heroines, I’m afraid it won’t happen. I’m also afraid that Grandma Redbird might kick the bucket in the next book. Mentor figures usually die in or around the third book (except Dumbledore) and Grandma Redbird is (unfortunately) overdue. *Sniff* The feminist themes in this book are similar to feminism on steroids. These books are so feminist they are sexist. Allow me to explain. Vampire boys, in the world of the House of Night, can really only be warriors. They hold almost no power, and their job is to protect the female vampires. Female vampires are high priestesses, which puts them in charge most of the time. Why can’t there be female warriors, or male priests? Why do all of the warriors have to be huge, strong men? Vampire society in the House of Night series is not equal, only reverse-sexist, and that is rather disturbing for me. Before I read these books, I thought that a world ruled by entirely females might not be such a bad thing, but after reading these books, I’ve changed my mind. Society should shoot for gender equality, not total matriarchal domination.

I’m also beginning to wonder where Zoey’s older sister and younger brother went. They were mentioned in the first book, briefly, but I don’t believe they were named. It’s beginning to bug me, and I hope that they play a role in the next book. I’m also hoping that maybe Zoey will confront her mother about her controlling stepfather, instead of complaining about him. But she never confronts anything in an effort to solve her own problems (especially not the three boyfriends problem), which tends to get her in trouble.

And in this book, there are still typos and overuse of certain words, including “hateful,” which is still getting on my nerves. Perhaps a better editor is in order? An editor who could have told the authors that all of the romantic scenes between Zoey and boyfriend number three have cheesy lines that sound like something out a cheesy “romance” novel?

If I have anything positive to say about House of Night, it’s that the books are pretty suspenseful and funny, but the bad outweighs the good. The books are great quick, easy reads, but not the most thought-provoking literature. Better vampire books are out there, and better characters too.


Recommended to: No one, not really. Some vampire fans, if you're looking for an easy read. 14+