The Story Still Isn’t Sure You’re Paying Attention: House of Night Untamed Chapter 14

There is EXCITING BLOG NEWS at the end of this post! WHATEVER COULD IT BE?

Who forgot what’s happening in House of Night over the break? Who usually forgets what’s happening in House of Night because there’s so little going on regardless?

House of Night: Untamed Chapter 14

Zoey kicks off the chapter with a quick, quirky reminder that day and night are flipped around for her because she’s a vampyre. Because in the middle of the fourth book of the series, reminders of the basic premise are what’s keeping this series afloat.

I hadn’t needed to set my alarm to go off at five o’clock that evening (which is really my morning— remember, a fledgling’s day and night are mixed up, as in our school starts at 8 P.M. and ends at 3 A.M.).

This would be like, if halfway through the fourth Harry Potter book, we suddenly had Hermione remind the reader what the differences between muggles and wizards are, and then give examples of each juuuust in case we hadn’t, I dunno, read the first three and a half books about wizard adventures.

But if instead of the first time these two characters met each other, he said this exact same line like four times per book.
But if he also said it at least once every subsequent book.

Speaking of reminders of things that we should definitely know by chapter fourteen of book four, this chapter is loaded with dialogue that either, 1) even the characters are pointing out has been said a million times already:

“I know I’ve told you this before, but you are slow as a fat kid on crutches,” [Aphrodite] said.
“Aphrodite, you’re mean. I know I’ve told you that before, too,” I said

Or, 2) characters are even visibly tired of hearing again and again:

“Hey, remember what Nyx said. You’re still special to her.”
Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

Or, 3) are those endlessly repeated things distilled to their most basic form:

“We hate her,” Erin and Shaunee said together.

Oh my God. I think the characters IN House of Night have as much disdain for House of Night as I do by this point. They’ve never been more relatable.

but, like, only 10% of that feeling. there aren't gifs for EVERYTHING.
but, like, only 10% of that feeling. there aren’t gifs for EVERYTHING.

Zoey meets up with the twins for breakfast and they suggest she pitch the idea of a flea market to the Street Cats charity she and Aphrodite are meeting up with later. This is probably not important, but it feels more useful than telling you that the twins talked about how much they hate Aphrodite for the bajillionth time.

I sighed. “But [Aphrodite] really was nice to me last night.”
“Probably because she has a serious personality disorder,” Erin said.

Can we appreciate the irony that the twins are the ones claiming someone has a personality disorder?

“Yeah, I think she’s one of those split-personality people,” Shaunee said.

COMING FROM THE CHARACTER WHOSE PERSONALITY IS LITERALLY SPLIT WITH ANOTHER PERSON. SERIOUSLY, CAN WE TALK HERE?

Zoey calls Stevie Rae to confirm that they’re going to meet later that day. Stevie Rae has one of the few lines in the book that genuinely put a smile on my face.

“[The other undead fledglings are] not eating anybody. Really. But I gotta go make sure the pizza delivery guy doesn’t remember too much of this particular delivery.”

Zoey then meets with Shekinah to tell her her plans to bring Aphrodite with her to the meeting with the human charity. Shekinah uses sarcasm to make even Zoey’s TOTES QUIRKY BLURBS seem tolerable somehow.

“you will be well protected in the company of Darius.”
“Yeah, he reminds me of a mountain,” I said without thinking, then blushed at my moronic description.
But Shekinah smiled. “He does, indeed, remind one of a mountain.”

They also briefly talk about how Stark just died, lest we forget he was actually in the plot for a little while there. Shekinah has other strange news for Zoey:

“Here is your new class schedule. With my approval, Neferet has transferred you from an entry-level of Vampyre Sociology to a sixth former level of the class. […] You’re too unusually developed to stay in such a simplistic level of sociology.”

This makes no sense. It’s not like Zoey magically learned five years of academic education in the last month. Like, if a twelve year old magically became 21, you wouldn’t immediately move them to a 300-level undergrad class. And yet that is how this school is run. Kids are just put into classes based on their age instead of their academic background. Hell, Erik Nightwas even pulled out out school just because he physically developed too much! HOW DOES THE VAMPYRE WORLD FUNCTION?

breakfast club anarchy
The school in THIS movie makes more sense, and that was a movie about how high school is the worst.

Before Zoey leaves, Shekinah also asks if Zoey and her gifted friends can perform a cleansing ritual in light of all the heavy shit that’s happened at the school lately. Zoey sums up why this is a problem.

So I had to lead a cleansing ritual for the whole school tomorrow— minus my earth element— even though everyone believed Aphrodite still had her affinity for earth. Well, everyone believed Aphrodite was still a fledgling, too. Oh, jeesh. I was in serious trouble. Again.

Which of course means Zoey is in no trouble at all, and that she’s making someone else’s problem all about her. I seriously don’t think a single new development happened in this chapter.

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11 comments

  1. Bellomy Reply

    How hilarious is the school in that movie?

    Gun going off in school=Saturday detention.

    Ah, how times have changed.

  2. Anonymous Reply

    I imagine the twins as a pair of fifty yr old pedophiles, preying on teenage boys.

    I dont even know why.

  3. Andreas Reply

    Maybe vampyres can absorb knowledge from the blood of people they killed … Erik wasn’t pulled out of class because he knew everything, he was pulled out because now he doesn’t have to learn himself anymore but can just eat some human trained-for-vampyre-sustenance scientists, artists or whatever. And Zoey got moved up some classes because she’s so special everyone assumes that she’ll change any minute anyway now and it’s just so that she later can brag “I was the most vampyrish vampyre in vampyre graduation-class (and any other vampyre classes, ever!)”.
    Organized harvest of humans would make this series so much better, with deadbeat vampyre cops working for the human police, hiding the truth about all the missing people, and Neferet as evil vampyre corporate CEO who runs the school as her sideproject and who will confront Zoey some day about the horrible, brutal truth.

  4. Utsutsu Reply

    Meant to mention last time that I love your minimalist cover designs for the new ebooks! I’m buying them as belated Christmas gifts for my friends.

  5. gasolinespider Reply

    Rereading this series after getting stuck on this book. Now I’m pushing through it.

    “You’re too unusually developed to stay in such a simplistic level of sociology.” Yes, just like when you turn 22, you’re automatically given a college degree regardless of whether or not you actually went to college or chose a major. Schooling? Pssh, who needs that? You’re in your 20s now.
    This’d make more sense if the class was for something comepletely skill-based. Like, actually learning how to cultivate your personal vampire talent or do the suck good. But sociology? sorry, I guess Zoe is too “special” to learn about vampire systems and structures anymore.

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