The House of Night Series follows the transformation of a teenage girl, Zoey, into a vampyre. These are not the vampyres that we imagine today, even with the new version of Twilight vampires. Zoey explains that certain people become vampyres due to biological change that happens as a type of puberty. There is some ‘junk’ DNA that switches on, and instead of becoming a regular adult, you start the ‘change’ into a vampyre adult.
This series is co-written by a mother and daughter. Having read other books by PC Cast, the mother, I get the feeling that the story is outlined by her. I think that Kristen Cast, her daughter, really gives the novels their teenage feel. This can be annoying at times, as I dislike the teenage slang. Although, I realize I am not longer a teenager. So while it is annoying to me, I think that it hits home to the target audience, teenagers.
In this series there are strong Cherokee themes, as Zoey’s grandmother is Cherokee Indian. I really enjoyed learning more about their beliefs and am glad they play such a large part of the story. Due to Zoey’s ties to her heritage she is given a glimpse of her destiny. Since she has a special mix of wisdom from ancient women and the understanding of the modern world, she is charged to be the eyes and ears of Nyx, the patron goddess to vampyres. It is states specifically to ‘Remember, darkness does not always equate evil, just as light does not always bring good’. This is very important foreshadowing for the entire series.
Nyx: Patron Goddess to Vampyres, represents the night
Neferet: The high priestess of the school, and Zoey’s mentor.
Grandma Redbird: Zoeys full Cherokee grandmother, owns a lavender farm
Stevie Rae: Zoey’s roommate and best friend
Damien: Token gay, and extremely intelligent
Erin & Shaunee: Different in appearance, but so similar in their personalities, they are called twins
Aphrodite: Leader of the Dark Daughters, the most exclusive club in school
Erik: Aphrodite’s ex, and love interest of Zoey
Heath: Zoey’s human ex boyfriend
Each of these characters plays an important role in Zoey’s new life and in this series.
This is for the series as a whole, although each book gets their own rating
A-
Moderate Sexual Instances Implied
Moderate Foul Language
Some violence, violence is moderately descriptive
Drinking, Drugs, and Smoking Implied
Age Recommendations 16+