The Worst YA Book I've Ever Read

[@AlizeeYeezy]

Go to casetify.com/alizee to save 15% off your order!

[@trapadvisor]

Your country accent is spot on no 🧢

[@LouFriend]

Hay I'm dyslexic and us google translate for pronunciations all the time, put Gaea in and seemed to works fine. Its not fool proof but I'd be lost with out it. Don't know if you already use it, thought it would be work a mention

[@ErgonomicChair]

... doesn't take a rocket scientist, OSU, Oregon State University. I'm not from the states either but that's pretty damn obvious.

[@cadyfitzgerald3273]

@@LouFriend I think she meant the name after Gaea in the list 😊

[@LouFriend]

@@cadyfitzgerald3273 ether way, dose it matter? Still mite be useful in the future, she probably already uses it. I'm just trying to be helpful

[@maxthepaladin2147]

Most of the prose sounds/looks something like this: "I went to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. It was however a normal sandwich, not one of those sexy sandwiches that slutty girls make just to impress guys (those sandwiches were inferior to mine anyway). Suddenly, I felt my tribalistic cherokeeness tingling and I knew that it meant I have to go and receive my prize for being the most gifted in everything. It was given to me by my gay best friend who afterwards gayly went somewhere, probably to a gay orgy with other gay men. I'm so happy that I'm not prejudiced against anyone"

[@Juliet_Marie]

I’m dead 😂😂😂😂

[@dantefarge3369]

there has to be a moment like "while getting my prize for being the most awesome human being given by the most powerful entity of the planet I STUMBBLED AND FELL like the quirky r-slur that i am"

[@wh0aheavy]

Amazing 👏😂

[@shinget]

and now i want a sandwich. i would settle for a normal sandwich, but i really fancy an impressive slutty sandwich. it would probably have bacon

[@BusyBeeStitchery]

Don’t forget the brown pop 🤪

[@nishatjamil4097]

Love how Zoey says she'd love to be a flapper - you know an icon of women's liberation by shortening the length of their skirts, participating in casual sex, partied like crazy, drank, and smoke (along with being known for other things of course) - right before shaming other girls for wearing short skirts, having sex, partying, drinking, and smoking.

[@theanxiouslegume9280]

Right? I thought that part was hilarious

[@BrokenHedgehog]

Knowing this, Zoey sounds like one of those people who's been raised to be so deeply repressed that she projects her disgust and shame over her own natural urges on others. Which is aggravating, because that angle would have made her a WAY more interesting protagonist. Like, she could have had a character arc where she un-learns a bunch of the harmful, repressive ideals she was raised with. Becoming a vampire could have even made a neat metaphor for letting go of her own self-loathing and embracing herself for what she is. In the hands of a better writer, this could have been really inspirational.

[@photofreak56]

I feel like these books were insperation for Abbi Glines who writes really bad teen romance set in the south

[@MrCynthis]

@@BrokenHedgehog it does go that way a few books in. She's the centre of a polycule for a while there haha. Not saying it was well written at all but it was entertaining enough for my teen brain

[@marvalice3455]

"but flappers are olde timy! they can't be anything like *modern* young people!"

[@damascus9876]

Hmmmm...head-cannon: Zoey isn't special, she's just so egocentric and mean that she's easy to control. Nyx chose her because she knew she could use her as a puppet and all Zoey needed was "you're special" every two minutes in order to fall in line. Perfect host, 10/10, would never fight back. Edit: I realize this would make Nyx more of a powerful spirit-like parasite rather than a deus ex machina who simps over Zoey and I feel like that's a pretty decent improvement to the story. At least it would be more interesting.

[@charliejones5563]

I wish this was the plot

[@heroofthewinds7765]

That sounds like the plot of a video game I played recently... sort of.

[@skylarjohnson7779]

That actually sounds like a good book.

[@avosthyric]

That sounds really cool. Now I wish that book actually existed

[@jesscarter2427]

@@heroofthewinds7765 😯 What game?

[@jello4835]

The vibe this gives off is that the daughter was a mean popular girl and the mom was a Cool Mom who gossiped with her and let her and her friends drink wine

[@kismetnazco4778]

Yes Aphrodite users to be a popular mean girl bitch in the first couple of books but you later learn it was all a front

[@DesertKitsune]

​@@kismetnazco4778they were talking about the authors themselves.

[@DesertKitsune]

Definitely giving Regina George and her mom vibes.

[@aoarecruiter]

Bingo.This is the case

[@nottaleona]

I love the Circe profile picture lol really adds a whole layer to the critique

[@queencleopatra007]

Its weird that Zoe doesn't get along with her super religious step father considering they probably share a lot of the archaic beliefs about women and sex.

[@the_last_ballad]

After looking at her harem later in the books, and how quickly it develops(isn't the series over a few months to a year?) I doubt that her behavior started with vampire puberty. She's just a massive hypocrite.

[@MariellaRivera]

As a raging feminist now I can fully admit that the beginning of my evolution definitely including some “pick me” girl behavior. I think this is very representative of the time as I’ve met friends growing up from all parts of the US who also had a similar evolution. She eventually realizes that she becomes the “skank” she judges. Anyway I totally agree that she’s a juvenile character but that a real human flaw lmao

[@SpiderkillersInc]

@@MariellaRivera HA! No, she never learns, she’s perfect!

[@marisanicole5116]

Someone once said that the reason Zoey didn't get along w/ her step father was bcuz he saw her for who/what she really was and was probably the only one who could've stopped her from becoming Darth Vader (which she eventually does, lol). But of course, the Cast duo had to make him cartoonishly "crazy" to distract from Zoey's narcissistic behaviour and wrongdoings. It's a common theme in the series; however bcuz no matter how wrong the main/supporting characters are, they have to take their opponents to the extreme in order to justify their behaviour (e.g. Zoey and Erik; Stevie Ray & Dallas; Stark... I mean, no other words are needed. Stark was a mess and so was Kalona). Classic, "don't look over there, look over here!" distraction method.

[@kismetnazco4778]

It starts that way at first but over the course of the 15 books she does a lot of character development because of all the things she goes through. She looses a ton of important people and it kinda makes her grow as a person

[@mvo9856]

My highschool had an exchange student program with China, and it was typical for Chinese students to choose an "English" name before coming over so that they didn't have to struggle with American's not being able to pronounce their names correctly. One girl chose Aphrodite, because she read in a book that it meant "Goddess of Beauty" and assumed, "Goddess of Beauty, well that's got to be incredibly popular name in America!" She thought it must be a common name like Emily or Sarah. Honestly, her logic was flawless and it should be a popular name.

[@loukritiablack3573]

I can see the thought process, since names like that are rather popular in China. Chinese names comprise of characters that have certain meanings, rather than letters and so the name ends up having an actual meaning as well. And well, Aphrodite may not be a popular name in America but it is incredibly popular in Greece, so she wasn't that far off.

[@Yume03]

I do love Chinese and Japanese naming conventions that include meaning into the name more clearly than we do in Europe 😅.

[@literallythrowing3264]

@@Yume03 Yeah I've looked up the meaning of my name more than once because I forgot what it meant the firstr time. They're kinda' just like labels to me and I wish my name meant something cool instead of 'This is a variant of Elizabeth"

[@steponmemelissa9688]

I used to live in China a while back and my name there was Ge Lái Dê (I think. I can't quite remember since it was years ago) and it meant White Lilly. Doesn't really have much to do with anything but I thought it would be nice to drop this here

[@elenalizabeth]

My partner wondered why I spend hours looking at names when I’m writing (for the cities, people and creatures etc) and this is why. Why would I call them “city of darkness/city of sun” when it could have a cool name like Achlys (means darkness) and Elidi (means gift of sun). Same with all the characters/creatures, they have names that correspond to their species/ability/characteristics. And half the names come to me in dreams and then I look up what they mean (or if it’s even a real name) and then decide who that name belongs to (like I dreamt the name Aurus, while that isn’t the correct spelling [Aureus] the name means golden, so that name went to a royal).

[@ashina7331]

this was the book that made my best friend in grade 7 believe she was a vampire fairy. fast forward 8 years, she’s now in a cult. coincidence?

[@kybercat7]

but was she right about being a vampire fairy though?

[@astroblast2325]

Someone who doesn't believe in communities of vampire-fairies WOULD be one to call them a cult... 🙄 Hm

[@2DTrashTMCR]

Did we have the same best friend? Because the book did the same thing to one of my friends

[@jb1996]

i think not

[@zaharabliss106]

I think not! foul actors were at play. I swear these books must be a way to test who will be susceptible to cults, mlms and scams, which is what I tell myself to justify how bad these are my word.

[@cur1ouscatf1sh]

Zoey is like if Ebony Dark’ness was raised Baptist

[@slaywhachuwannaslay]

FR 😭😭😭😭

[@ihatemickiegee]

HAHA

[@roninfredricson6958]

"A lot of goths stared at me. I put my middle finger up at them."

[@joslynmitchell5073]

What’s that?

[@registeredjopper]

​@@roninfredricson6958and then everyone clapped

[@ona3779]

I was genuinely shocked to hear goth slander in a VAMPIRE book.

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

I think the authors threw that in to throw people off the trail of them actually being the authors of My Immortal

[@nessyness5447]

@@phoenixfritzinger9185 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ghoendi]

“I’m not like other vampires 🤪”

[@aw7145]

In a vampire book that has THAT cover too, I've never seen a more mall goth book cover in my life

[@sophroniel]

I know right? As someone who was 14 when I read these books in the late nauties (from memory) and who was a closet goth and all my friends were emos, it seems like such a weird thing to shoot your entire audience by saying. Apart from Anne Rice is purple prose which is infamous of course, the best for vampire books I've ever read are "Night Road", by AM Jenkins, "låt den rätte komma in" by john lindkvist, "the reformed vampire support group" by Catherine jinks, and the twilight-if-were-competently-written, "Jessica's guide to dating on the dark side" by beth fantasky.

[@val9502]

"I can't stand homophobes. Good thing he's not one of those obnoxiously obviously girly gay guys."

[@dantefarge3369]

“Im not a homophobe but hehe my exs name sounds like a gay name you are right hehe”

[@Kittonkitkat]

Lol!

[@Elly-z7q]

I'm not a homophobe but I really like this guy so I need a quick test to see if he's an ass... I KNOW *outs best friend as gay*

[@CuppaJo_]

As someone who is an Oklahoma Cherokee (from the United Keetoowah Band), I remember reading these books as a teen and always cringed at the use of Cherokee "culture" in the books. I have mixed feelings about them using Cherokee culture, because they get some things right (which is always nice to see) but they also get a lot of things wrong and play into old stereotypes of Native Americans/Indigenous people as noble savages. Cherokees aren't ancient wizards practicing magic on the daily, not even pre-colonization were we like that. We are out here being contemporary human beings. I teach beginner level Cherokee so to help with pronunciation for anyone interested: uwetsi ageya is oo-way-jee ah-gay-hyah (meaning offspring woman). Colloquially, people don't really specify male or female when talking about their own children, but they can if they want. However, they would use the word for girl (ageyutsa) instead of woman (ageya). I think they're using Eastern Band Dialect from North Carolina which is a little different than Oklahoma dialect. Tsilugi is jee-loo-ghee (welcome) Usti dotsuwa is oo-sdee toe-joo-wah (little/baby redbird/cardinal) "Daughter of Night" makes no sense in Cherokee. uwetsi ageya vhna svnoyi (uh-hnah suh-no-yee) is "offspring woman there night" ?? "it's night there, daughter" maybe?

[@edvh88]

Thank you for the pronunciation explanations! It is really good to hear the thoughts of someone of your perspective / experience / background. That’s so cool that you teach Cherokee. Much respect to you.

[@jordanoliver8429]

thank you for the clarifications! i hate it when writers make up a phrase in another language but don’t check with native speakers to see if it makes sense.

[@yugare-chan4742]

*edit: English is not my native tongue so I wanted to fix some wording that may come off the complete wrong way* Thank you for the insight! My friend made me start reading this series during the pandemic and it seemed off. As if the writers tried to do research and found sources, but the sources were unchecked to see if it was cohesive and correct. Some of the wording feels like it was Google translated using the old version, like if you look up candy in French, bonbon, they would give you bombón in Spanish for chocolat and bonbons, but not caramelo for candy. It's was quite literal and would give broken translations. I always thought Zoey was a self-insert of Kristen Cast, but I could hardly find information on her besides that she's been a tattoo model, author, and now television producer. She may have played a part in the book using tattoos to show the signs of a vampire. I just find it a little off-putting the amount of stereotypes they threw into the series. Yes, it was a different time back then, but not so different that these shouldn't have been red flags.

[@AlizeeYeezy]

Screenshotting these pronunciations, THANK YOU

[@alliebean3235]

the entire time i couldn't stop thinking of the "my great grandmother was a cherokee princess" trope - obviously she has more of a connection with cherokee culture than a lot of the people who spout that, but it still rubs me the wrong way, especially bc they perpetuate the noble savage and mystical native tropes as well. also the authors (as far as i quick google search can tell me) aren't connected with cherokee culture at all, so it all comes across as very culture vulture-y

[@colettejameson3604]

"Thank you for appreciating my blackness" my jaw DROPPED this was wild

[@mossonthenorthside]

As a black person I am fixated on the rage that rose in me at the descriptions of black people. As a gay person, I am flamboyantly upset. As a fencer I am cringing at how horrible I imagine the fencing scenes to be. Priorities.

[@FIRING_BLIND]

It's ironic, too. The daughter of the writing duo is biracial, and of Niherian decent according to her Wikipedia

[@1Thunderfire]

@@FIRING_BLIND Ironic to be sure but skin colour doesn't prevent people from being judgy and awful.

[@haileys5224]

@@FIRING_BLIND I don’t think it that ironic that a biracial child raised in a white supremacist society envoked racial tropes, while trying to create work that represents people who looked like her drawing from common literary devices in the media she looked up to. It’s sad and common, it’s called internalized bigotry. like how as a queer person, there was a period in my adolescence when I at once thought of my self as an ally, and was swimming in internalized homophobia.

[@MasteRgamer-mk5bp]

@@haileys5224 you know your spitting facts about everything except the whole white supremacy society thing

[@lancetoston3941]

@@haileys5224 you almost had it. White supremacy has little to do with the way black people are seen in modern society( not to say it doesn’t play a factor) but we as black people talk about each other in a derogatory and deprecating way on our own

[@JamesTullos]

Oh God, you've reminded me this exists.

[@nemiamz]

It's your turn, james

[@darthbane97]

@@nemiamz the man already went through like six books in the series he did his work let him rest

[@milymonstand6199]

When I feel like treating myself, I rewatch the video of you struggling through them. The books are trash, but the video is entertaining.

[@FireKAT91]

@@darthbane97 He might've gone through all twelve. I guess he'll correct me if I'm wrong but if he did.... holy hell, man.

[@lavenderlylin]

Oh hi james

[@neu_dae]

this is the most hatefully written story and for literally no reason. their hatred of women adds nothing and detracts everything. it's like these women wanted to write opinion pieces shitting on anyone and everyone, but decided to write it in vampire novel format.

[@Fearsia]

the funny thing is the series is supposed to have vampires living in a matriarchy if I remember right. I haven't read it in years but have been wanting to as I remember loving it so much. Now I think I may be in for a shock as a 19 year old rather than a 14-15 year old.

[@azureascendant994]

Try reading the Anita Blake books.

[@madgreensonunbound5801]

@@azureascendant994 Good call. Start off with supernatural detective novels and finish off with softcore porn. The evolution of that series is hilariously awesome.

[@azureascendant994]

@@madgreensonunbound5801 But throughout the whole series put down your self-insert's lady 'friends'.

[@madgreensonunbound5801]

@@azureascendant994 I mean yeah, at no point is Anita *not* bitchy as all hell.

[@bnhalemon7098]

Zoe: all gay men are girly Also Zoe: I can’t stand homophobes This mother daughter duo has never met a gay person. Both of them. How in the world. They may as well have wrote the book on performative allyship. Or maybe virtue signaling. And failing so miserably. So embarrassingly

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

Also "Elliot called Damien a slur, he's a nasty homophobe and thus our hatred for him is justified!" But then "Heath was raised a typical Oakie, so it's not his fault he's a homophobe, don't hate him for it!"

[@violeth2255]

"I can't stand homophones." Plain. Plane. See. Sea. Right. Wright. Rite. : p Yes, I know it was a typo.

[@bnhalemon7098]

@@violeth2255 Thanks for catching that

[@marvthegecko]

@@violeth2255 but what abt WRGHTE

[@SoulwolferGomez]

@@nightmarefanatic1819 Yes that is true, but this series is actually really good, why can't everyone just be nicer about it? Like, these aouthors tried so hard to create this, and y'all are judging it?! That is not ok, and everybody knows it, I support these authors even if you don't

[@inanimatecarbongod]

I refuse to accept the "it's for teen readers" argument. That's not an excuse for just serving up shit to them.

[@kraziiXIII]

The only reason I would actually agree that the target audience was teens was because in like the first few chapters of either the first or second book they clearly describe a clitoral piercing. Like that's definitely not aimed at middle schoolers. I have such a vivid memory of having to explain what genital piercing were to a friend after I had to look it up the year prior due to the same book. I was so embarrassed since I felt like I had to give ""the talk"" to her. It's like the Princess Diaries books talking about condoms in the later part of the series back in the day and read it in the fifth grade. The audience was definitely edgy young people with chips on their shoulders.

[@Trampolina2000]

Totally! My ex keeps making fun of me for reading kids' books and like. You KNOW that I also read "difficult" stuff, like, books intended for younger audiences are not inherently stupid and useless once you're past that age? Rereading things I read as a kid/teen has really made me realise where some of my prejudices come from and how ridiculous they are and it has reeeeeally made me think about what I want my future children to read in order for them to uh not turn out total twats

[@tonichan89]

@@Trampolina2000 Wow, I see why it's your ex. Seriously though, I hate it when people look down on material due to the age rating.

[@Trampolina2000]

@@tonichan89 Hahah, yeah he dumped me, but that kind of made me realise how shitty he was x)))

[@the_last_ballad]

@@Trampolina2000 Hey, be grateful when the trash takes itself out. You won't have to deal with it trying to sneak itself back in.

[@warriorcatskid003]

Every time Zoe sees another woman she’s like “she’s stunningly beautiful like nothing I’ve ever seen” and all I have to say to that is hmmmmmmmm

[@RowanWolf22]

Someone make a lesbian/gay rewrite i will read it

[@darksaber2628]

I love when characters say something like "as I look in her eyes all I can think of is how beautiful Jessica is" and then go on about how much she misses her Ex boyfriend.

[@nickywal]

You should see red rising, an actually competently written series that came out of this whole trend, where the main character is officially a straight man. Female characters, you maybe get a couple of words of description, every male character you're told in detail how beautiful they are. The author might just have been trying to fit in with all the others but its kind of hilariously buddy I think you might be gay

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

"Too bad she's also a HUGE SLOOT."

[@caslikesdinos599]

I need a wlw version fanfic of this book

[@mosaic.owl.studios]

You know how bullies often play the "victim" or like they're "just misunderstood"? This is what happens when the bully grows up, never learns that they are, in fact, NOT the victim, and then thinks the world deserves a book about the "misunderstood victimhood" of a person who was only ever a self-deluded bully.

[@midgematic8659]

“Hey, white skin, blue lips, red blood! Am i patriotic or what?” Made me choke on my air. This entire book is a clusterfck but in an ironic hilarious way

[@SaladsAndEyeliner]

The authors couldn't go back and take out Zoey's ableist, mysogynistic, judgmental comments because otherwise there would be no books, just hundreds of blank pages.

[@FrenkTheJoy]

You forgot she's also sort of racist but like in a positive way? Like if she had a tumblr she'd be a black supremacist despite being half-white. The book series could be like 4 books long if it was rewritten to take out Zoey's horrible comments and the incredible repetition of scenes of circle-casting and breakfast-eating.

[@elizabethgeorge7671]

Don’t forget the racist line about her being like 1/136 Cherokee

[@Gilded_Cage_Princess]

Honestly I think it all could be one book, edited down without the cringe. And there's so much I can never reread it for fanfiction's sake.

[@dinosaysrawr]

I'm reminded of Left Behind and Twilight here, because those books also have Mary Sue protagonists whose authors appear blind to their glaring flaws.

[@choptopjo]

I don’t remember any of this from when I read them as a teen and I think it’s insane that people are placing so much criticism that was from another time and had a bunch of symbolism that most certainly went over the readers heads as KIDS. most of us read it for the sex and the gore. Not to idolize ableism and misogyny 😅

[@nekkidnora]

Is anyone else made massively uncomfortable by the constant conflating of Cherokee traditions and greek vampire goddesses...?

[@the_last_ballad]

I think they were going for "actual entity that different groups interpreted in their own way", but then they had grandma call her Nyx instead of the form she would know her as, despite them meeting before and Zoey's first interaction was as the "Cherokee" version(visually at least). And then she's also known as Gaia, Greek goddess of the earth, Nyx, Greek goddess of the night, rosey fingered dawn(which might be the Greek version too), and then confirmed that the Greeks were the ones truly correct by saying that she is Nyx. So like many things they screwed that up.

[@afckingegg7585]

Classic wicca

[@baintreachas]

also just the need to use cherokee traditions in such a "mystical special natiive" way. don't even get me started on the "you're 1/8th cherokee but the 1/8 is enough to give you a connection TO SAVAGE NATURE while the other 7/8 give you a connection TO MODERN LIFE" as if cherokee people aren't still around and they don't have TVs and shit, what the fuck? and the lack of research really shows when most cherokee people (only 2000 out of 380,000 TRIBAL CITIZENS, much less people with cherokee relatives and no major cultural connections, even less by now due to COVID i believe) do not speak cherokee and someone she does and doesn't feel the need to qualify like "normally i could only speak a few words but now it was as if i had spoken it all my life"....

[@baintreachas]

also worth noting they never say Creator

[@Char10tti3]

They have Neferet (?) the teacher too, and I think they all rename themselves just after a lot of different cultures without much thought from the authors. All I remember from the first book really was Zoey and Aphrodite lighting sage together because of messing something up and zoey just talked about how expensive the bowl aphrodite gave her to put it in was. It seemed like sage is all they bring up that I can remember othwr than her grandmother randomly infodropping the clay girl story.

[@BeautifulBrittany18]

“So Edward Cullen promises Harry Potter that he’s not stalking her” made me choke on my own spit

[@alexs.5871]

We're on the weird side of the internet again, aren't we.

[@sebicmiel4221]

"Her last words were: Spit in my mouth"

[@greywalker505]

“I did not stalk her. It’s not true. It’s bullshit, I did not stalk her. I did NAWT. …Oh hai, Harry.”

[@SoulwolferGomez]

@@greywalker505 tbh, that is hilarious

[@MF-R]

"There were no other girls in the vicinity to s1ut shame; so she turned it on herself." With great powers comes great responsibility 😆

[@blastortoise]

Did you mean to hit "l"? Cause they're quite far apart lol.

[@OfficialROZWBRAZEL]

@@blastortoise it's changing one letter so the comment is less likely to get filtered out or blocked. For a while KZbin's algorithmic filter was...draconian, to say the least.

[@maddieb.4282]

@@blastortoiseyou couldn’t figure out that was censoring? Lol

[@SamasBananas1]

As an ancient history major, I just want to correct the record about Amazonian women at 1:46:53 Firstly, there's little evidence to suggest that the Amazons and other nomadic peoples of the steppe were egalitarian. While they likely did have a more equal view on the sexes, this was due to necessity and not a moralistic view. Unlike sedentary civilizations (ie. the Greeks and Romans), they would have needed every person to help gather resources. Sidelining half of their population just wouldn't have been sustainable for nomadic peoples. There's not a whole lot of evidence to suggest it was a society run predominantly by women. It could have been, but the evidence just isn't there yet. Secondly, the whole right breast cutting was probably not a thing. Like many nomadic peoples, the Amazons didn't develop a writing system until the medieval period, relying instead of the oral tradition to keep their culture alive. This is why many of our sources about the Amazons and other nomadic peoples come from classical sources like Greek and Rome, who were sedentary and developed writing systems early on in their history. Most depictions we have of Amazons, specifically women, come from classical art like pottery. In these depictions women have both breasts, though one is bared; possibly to denote that the person is a women. This baring of breasts was necessary to distinguish sex because much Amazonian clothing was unisex (which the Greeks hated btw). It was originally thought that they cut off their breast in order to hold a bow and throw javelins from horseback better. This is silly because the Amazons used recurve bows, which are held out in front of the body and wouldn't have needed the wielder to brace it on their chest. This idea of being single breasted probably also comes from the word Amazon being similar to the Greek a-mastos, meaning breastless. Truly the majority of information we have about this phenomena is flimsy at best.

[@DeaDiabola]

This was super interesting. Thank you!

[@jessicazimmer8910]

This is delightfully informative. Thank you.

[@morganrobinson3066]

Thank you! Super interesting

[@rainjayriots]

THANK YOU!! I was looking for this comment. Also like to point out - there are a lot of important muscles in the breast area that are used in things like oh, I don't know, archery for example? And cutting off a breast makes no sense when a) healthcare wasn't so great back then and b) it could cause unnecessary harm (such as nerve damage, for example?) and could build up scar tissue in an important area. It just makes NO sense, no matter how you look at it....

[@evangedeon2194]

Ok, good to know all these facts. But the myth is pretty radical, as a myth 😂👌

[@GeorgeHope10154]

"This book came out about 15 years ago" me: ok, yeah, sounds right- "-- after Twilight" me, suddenly aging: *w h a t*

[@Onyxrissen]

I remember when the first movie came out while I was in middle school and the theatre was PACKED with girls. It’s so weird that that was over a fucking decade ago.

[@strawberrymilk2007]

WTF I CAME OUT 15 YEARS AGO

[@chatnoir9038]

I'm old... 👵

[@InsecureCreator]

I had the opposite reaction, I always though Twilight came out in my teens because so many girls where enthralled by it but turns out the first book came out when I was 3

[@registeredjopper]

​@@InsecureCreatortwilight is still the best thing to come out of the 2000s

[@OfficialROZWBRAZEL]

There's a little gold nugget of a plot where a girl tries to be more progressive than her parents/upbringing but realizes how much she still has those beliefs ingrained in her worldview and trying to overcome them, but "PC Cast" takes this nugget and buries it in the fossilized dogshit of the Pick-Me and Mary Sue tropes.

[@SaintShion]

The gay guy not counting as a guy?! The black woman having "good hair" The amount of times the word slvt was used. I hated this as a kid but I didn't remember why and now I do. I so proud of 14 yr old me.

[@IssieAndLife]

It kind of grosses me out how Zoey is genuinely so nasty? I'm so glad you explained about Aphrodite's background. The thing is, as a child, I very much fell into the trap of becoming bitter that no one liked me kind of like how Zoey is. I thought very nasty things about people and justified it with how they treated me, hence continuing the circle. Characters like Zoey normalise this. Took a long time to realise, and break out of it. Glad I didn't read this as a pre-teen. Thank you Alizee for this super long vid

[@NightFuryScream]

Let's see here... goth vampires, Mary Sue protagonist, constant misogyny, homophobia, and racism, references to celebrities being involved in magic, obnoxious narrator commentary, skirting around swearing, descriptions of clothing that are way too detailed... This is just My Immortal. That's it.

[@photofreak56]

atlest my immortal never got an audiobook -_- as somsone who didn't have many book choices due to dyslexia and a local library that didn't have the buget to get many good audiobooks I lapped this shit up with a spoon when I was 14... not exsactly proud of that now like as an adult who has thankfully gotten more books to listen to now I look back at this and wonder why the fuck this even got an audiobook sireis. Side not they changed the VA every time the new book came out and it just... in compairison to the 4kids one piece dub is a masterpeice thats all I'm going to say

[@Pootis-Spencer]

At least my inmortal was ironicly funny

[@MsLilly200]

Um, excuuuse me. But XXXbloodyrists666XXX would *never.* Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way is a _true_ goff. She'd never become a lame prep like this girl.

[@kata1261]

Sigh... Thanks SO much for reminding me that My Immortal exists as more than a middling Evanescence song. Now I have to go drink myself into another coma until I forget again. Well, there goes my weekend.

[@victoriascott3137]

I'd rather read my Immortal at least they don't hate on the goths and I could actually laugh after cringing this is just pure cringe material.

[@spicysalad3013]

zoe: ugh kayla is so shallow zoe two sentences before: yikes imagine fat heath zoe a page later: ew a dork

[@greywalker505]

Shallow people are often projectors.

[@theanxiouslegume9280]

It's kind of worse that these books are aimed at teens because it's basically just this nasty, bigoted teenage girl being constantly rewarded for her cruel behaviours. although I've never read the series, I remember being bombarded with the same misogynistic messaging as a teen and it really fucked with my ability to empathize with other girls. It took me years to unlearn a lot of the harmful messages I'd internalized

[@FrenkTheJoy]

And it's crazy, I actually was an adult when I read them and didn't even really pick up on how awful Zoey was for the first few books.

[@labaker4285]

Ironically, reading this as a teenage girl I knew right away the writing was weird. I used to love reviewing all the books in my middle/high school library online and this series really made me pull out my critical thinking 😅

[@shy2infinity]

I LOVED these books as a teen, but now that I’m older, I can’t help but think... Why? Did I not have anything better to read? The worst thing I can ever think of that happened is *SPOILER* Is when Zoey was essentially sexually assaulted by a teacher and, instead of everyone being understandably horrified at the teacher for, ya know, molesting a student, they stay isolated from her. Like it was her fault she dared to get assaulted. I’m just saying, these books get WAY worse.

[@siwal1907]

That part was so messed up. This comment gave me flash backs.

[@shy2infinity]

@@siwal1907 Good, because if I have to suffer I won't be the only one going down lmao. These books definitely didn't age worth a flip. Not that they were good back then, but I guess as a child I was way more willing to overlook things.

[@shy2infinity]

even though they're so bad tho, I still hold that the best things about the books was Stevie Rae and her monster boyfriend lmao

[@Shadowqueen10]

@@shy2infinity That was the one thing I cared about for some reason 😭 I saw this video & immediately googled what happened to Crow Boi. One of the authors has some crazy kinks

[@Rayslasagne]

I also loved these books as a teenager. Looking back though, I really wish I hadn't read them! I remember reading that part and not thinking much of it at the time, but now I'm older, I'm really shocked. I'm guessing I was just too young to fully understand at the time (I shouldn't have been reading these books at the age I did anyway to be fair). Absolutely awful. I can't believe I loved this series so much with all the glaring issues it had

[@bubblybubblegum9209]

I'm taking psychic damage every time she describes how black the black girl is or how gay the gay guy is. And if I have to hear more about Cherokee magic I'll just cry

[@zoeb3573]

So Aphrodite has been the leader of the Dark Daughters for possibly years, and has probably done many rituals, yet Zoey, who's been here for three days, immediately notices she did the ritual wrong and can do it better than her? Sure.

[@tonichan89]

Zoey is special, haven't you been paying attention?!

[@marvthegecko]

@@tonichan89 Okay but still, for years and still getting it wrong? Seems odd.

[@danidanidanix]

@@marvthegecko they were being sarcastic…

[@marvthegecko]

@@danidanidanix Yeah i thought that but didnt know so I still responded.

[@chatnoir9038]

​@@marvthegeckoIt's hard to read sarcasm from strangers' online comments. I struggle with reading it irl from people I know because I have a touch of the 'tism 😎

[@invadersickness]

The fact that all of Zoey's harem members (it's basically a harem) have trouble with the word consent and boundaries is what concerns me. Another thing is Zoey's creepy relationship with her adult teacher in one of the books.

[@Char10tti3]

She has a lot of issues with older people and teachers, bur makes sense when the main plotline is that she is a reincarnation of a girl made to have sex with a demon and trap him in the earth or whatever that was. Hated the part where her human bf was crying about not being her first time and the nice guy narrative the book tried to force, but he was still a creep and clingy.

[@SoulwolferGomez]

@@Char10tti3 Well, if you need more information about it, just ask me, cause I know almost all of it

[@Alex-jm4vc]

YA book implying this is really a three hour rant just about the first book, not the entire mess of a series? Man am I in for this

[@tiryaclearsong421]

If she does this for all twelve we will end up with like a day and a half of content.

[@GloomyFish]

@@tiryaclearsong421 only a day and a half?

[@synodicseason]

@@GloomyFish well that’s 36 hours so i don’t really think only is a good word…

[@TheMakeupChair]

You weren’t exaggerating…this is the worst! I can’t believe this actually got published. 🙈 The sex shaming through the book is actually the most consistent content plot point throughout which is nuts when you think about it 😑 On another note I love your videos, and even those this book is atrocious you reading it makes it bearable and entertaining which just proves how awesome you are 🙌

[@strategyx123]

I agree. There's so much shut shaming but the main character has 4 boyfriends?

[@TheMakeupChair]

@@strategyx123 I know right 🙈 clearly being written by someone’s mom, just preach preach preach...🧐

[@Ploac]

@@TheMakeupChair actually it was written by a mother and daughter duo lmao. When I read the first few books in school I was in tears from laughing so hard at what was written lmao

[@TheMakeupChair]

@@Ploac ohh I know it was 😄 I was more saying it like the writer clearly didn’t try to talk like a teen, it’s actually hilarious if you think about it, it’s like some Freaky Friday mom and daughter switch thing 🙈 Teens are so impressionable I hate when book and TV shows thinly vale the writer own opinions in an effort to mole teenagers behaviour, ugh. If I ever become a mom I think I’ll secretly read and watch whatever my young teens are in to just to gain an understanding of them.

[@KreeZafi]

In no way do I mean to shame people who are either asexual or late bloomers, but it strikes me as really odd how she is 16 years old yet talking about sex like a prepubescent 9-year-old who still finds it weird and icky. It would be somewhat more understandable if it was just slut shaming (still obviously not okay though) but she doesn't seem to just be bothered by promiscuity, she seems bothered by ANY sexual activity. Unless she's just very immature for her age I feel like there might be some underlying reasons she needs to unpack.

[@aliciaford5470]

Fun fact: You caught the "nappy" microaggression but you missed the "Good hair that's glossy and fell in waves down her back" microaggression. Idk if this is a thing in the UK but in America there has been a half millennium long campaign against black people's hair. Even now we can get fired from a job for wearing our hair in natural or traditional styles at work because our natural hair is considered "unprofessional".

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

Also "must be a really good weave." Shaunee has NATURALLY wavy, glossy hair because she is Zoey's friend, but Aphrodite's black friend with similar hair obviously wears weaves, because, along with the dyed blonde, her friends are evil and thus they are shallow and fake. This is despite Aphrodite's friend being mixed and Shaunee not being mixed so she would be more likely to have naturally less textured hair.

[@frisk365]

Mm. M mlp😂no😂😢

[@warlordofbritannia]

@@nightmarefanatic1819 I’m a white boi from New England and even I picked up on them That means they’re baaaaaad

[@heathersworld9881]

I will never forget how ANGRY I felt on my sons first day of school in Baltimore where the female black principal grabbed a total of 3 girls from the kids entering then when all the kids were in told those girls to go home and come back with appropriate hair….. i wanted to storm off but the school was the ONLY school with my son’s special needs program. Disgusting

[@maddieb.4282]

@@heathersworld9881you still could have done something. Protesting doesn’t mean your child would have been kicked out of the program

[@wuschelfloke7690]

I always tought it was ironic that vampire society in the books is supposedly super girl power feminist because "matriarchy", but at same times drenched in patriarchal gender roles and sexism. Like all men are supposed to be warriors and the women are magical priestesses. Of course except gay men, because they aren't "real men". The constant slut shaming in combination of repeatedly forgiving men for rape and sexual assault. This books are just a mess.

[@thepasteldyke]

the beginning with the thank yous that "she made me write that" reminds me of early 2000s fanfiction where fic writers wrote little "conversations" between the writer and the characters

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

Please don’t make me remember that. 😭 i still read fanfic to this day, and I’m glad we have aged out of that. At least mostly.

[@222o-u3t]

Ah, so this is what all that DeviantArt comment self-'roleplaying' was about

[@lilithhedwig5408]

Honestly I remember them fondly, they were fun and cute imo, and we were all there to have some fun Rn there's this popular stuff with character X reader in the second person with "y/n" and stuff and I hate it lol

[@Kyosumari]

to be fair this was a mimicry of a mangaka doing little fourth wall breaking skits between chapters/books with their characters, with much of the fandom that did the same usually doing so with anime fandoms IME. But yeah, the internet is growing up with us in a lot of ways.

[@thepasteldyke]

@@Kyosumari Oh I had no idea about that, I just think of it as a lil funny thing in fanfic's past that I enjoy looking back on. Do you know what mangaka did that? Sounds fun tbh.

[@beequeen2556]

ppl find the weave thing offensive bc a lotta people who aren’t black assume that if a black girl has long hair, straight hair, or even hair that isn’t nappy must have a weave for a wig. A rlly common remark they’ll make is “omg I love you’re hair, is it real?” The comment of “its probably a weave” has a similar vibe. Hope that makes sense!

[@WinchesterProds0]

it's a myth that Amazonian women would cut off one of their breasts to aid in archery/fighting, borne out of a mistranslation of the Greek language. Penthesilea was an Amazonian queen who fought at the battle of Troy and was killed by Achilles, which still sounds less painful than reading this book

[@WinchesterProds0]

@Random Username who wants to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity when instead you could be stranded on a desert island with only the house of night series?!

[@goodnight-moon564]

@@WinchesterProds0 To be fair those books would make great kindling

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

​​@@goodnight-moon564 Better example is having the entirety of this series read to you on loop by a disembodied voice for the rest of eternity.

[@desirient]

@@nightmarefanatic1819if it’s alizee’s voice i’m willing to deal with it

[@meiday154]

I love how these writers make their female mc super judgmental and catty but think that people won't be critical of that behavior bc apparently that's just what unpopular, not-like-other-girls do. It's ugly. Also two white people writing an indigenous character but bringing up savagery and wildness is peak tone deafness

[@yasminemixon5458]

Not that this really changes anything because the writing is still problematic, but the daughter is half black

[@rudedrugs]

@@yasminemixon5458 she's not indigenous though. black people can still be just as racist as white people towards native americans.

[@yasminemixon5458]

@@rudedrugs I was just correcting the original commenter about kristens race. I also said my comment didnt change anything

[@marvalice3455]

well, 2 prog white people at least

[@RedReaper1997]

@@yasminemixon5458 so the mom is race-fetishy 😬 and the daughter is just on that train

[@MyraMabry]

1:53:44 Zoey said she would’ve been a flapper in the 1920s. I doubt it 🙄 Her character hates everything edgy, sexually liberating for woman and like you said just most people and everything in general

[@LaFlor718]

I dunno… she might have been a flapper if she was ever honest with herself. I was watching something forever ago that said that a lot of flappers had relationships with other women and Zoey’s fixation on Aphrodite is giving more crush than hate. I mean I always thought. I’m that first scene with Erik and Aphrodite she was looking at Aphrodite wayyyy more. Js lol

[@lockiidraws]

so i already hated the main character of this book, but the part with elliott at 2:50:20 made me so irrationally angry. like, i've been the weird kid with no friends myself, and the thought of my slow, public, visceral death being a "dang that sucks, wouldn't wanna be him" reaction at most is horrific. never wanted to slap a fictional character more lmao

[@michaelio6548]

Honestly I'd say that's rational anger that part really disgusted me to hear as a fellow weird kid

[@mizzcloudy249]

I don't even think you have to have experience as one of the "weird kids" for that part to bother you. That's straight up sociopathic/pshyco thought processes and is really disgusting.

[@E_Does_YT]

They could have cut out the whole part of Zoey being scared of becoming a vampyre and just had her be upset over loosing her anonymity? Like, they basically already have a thing that all vampyres become popular, and Zoey just wants to be a veterinarian. Her whole crisis could come from her just wanting to live a quiet, normal life. I feel like that would have been a really easy change to make.

[@zawrator4457]

The way its crowbarred into the story makes me honestly suspect that it was forced by the editor.

[@baintreachas]

@@gregoryford2532 yeah except in the vampire case it's true

[@Moonfire864]

WOW you unburied memories. To quote myself in a Marked Goodreads review circa 2011: "I used to have these rated much higher, but in my defense I was like 15 when I first read them... so yeah. Looking back, oh young angsty Kit, wtf were you thinking?" I think that still sums it up, really. I don't even leave many Goodreads reviews, but this series really inspires.

[@kit922]

Hold the fuck up there's TWO of us?!

[@Moonfire864]

@@kit922 HAH- see Kit Harington it’s not just YOUR NAME SIR 💀

[@lavenderlylin]

As a history buff who wrote her term paper on native Americans influenced by European culture and religion, I openly wept at Zoe’s description

[@mondnacht5366]

that term paper sounds so interesting!

[@lavenderlylin]

@@mondnacht5366 it was! I made an 88 on it but I still cried 😂

[@BooksandBuns]

🤨 which European culture & religion? Seriously, we're not a monolith, that's like saying all of Asia has the same culture & religion. I'm not a Frenchman or Brit or Spaniard, I'm a Slav, a Pole, & my culture is nothing, NOTHING like British culture, Italian culture, German culture, etc. Americans, I swear 🙄

[@lavenderlylin]

@@BooksandBuns I meant specifically Spanish Roman Catholicism, French Catholics, and eventually Puritanical and Protestant English settlers. I should have elaborated, my bad!

[@Khenfu_Cake]

@@ejedwards1678 It seems to me, from my Danish and very uneducated perspective, that the amalgamation was mostly English culture (of course the more puritanical protestant variant, that existed in England at the time) becoming dominant over time with some Dutch, French and Spanish mixed in with a bit of a sprinkle of everything else. It's basically like how Germanic and Romance cultures and languages ended up dominating Central, Western, Southern and Northern Europe from the Roman period up through the Middle Ages.

[@TheRPGNerd]

"nooo dont turn me into a vampyre!!!" "being a vampyre is cool actually, i dont care anymore" okay but the way zoey calls other women really pretty and like, focuses on how pretty they are makes her feel like a lesbian

[@spica3867]

Brooo I was literally thinking that this whole time- Zoey’s entire inner processing sounds so internalized misogynistic and like…. In denial gay I’m screaming.

[@AlbinoAxolotl1993]

Seras' arc in Hellsing in a nutshell.

[@TenderNoodle]

Either a lesbian or super insecure, who can say which👀

[@sierrarose1512]

She is obviously attracted to men tho.. like do bisexuals not exist to y'all??

[@saladasscass3499]

She gives heavy lesbian with internalized homophobia vibes

[@justjackie8517]

My long dead teenage self read most of this series while completely baffled by their popularity. Please, please, please keep going and cover the later books in the series, because it descends into complete chaotic insanity in short order after the finishing of the first novel..

[@xomissblonde3426]

Honestly from like book 6 or 7 it’s just unbelievably bad. And that is me being very generous. Most of the plot is just odd. There are good moments of hope writing wise but the pacing is weird and the plot is just a mess.

[@SaintShion]

Seriously as a teen I read the first 2 and was like Ummm OK but the 3rd got so ridiculous I had to quit.

[@naolucillerandom5280]

@@xomissblonde3426 Wait there's 7 of them??

[@xomissblonde3426]

@@naolucillerandom5280 Worse, there’s 12 my dear

[@wolffaidenson3040]

And a sequel series set 1 year later and potentially a 3rd series :[

[@closeenough3606]

The obsession with being Cherokee made me roll my eyes so hard they fell out of my damn skull and ended up in my trash bin

[@TheUhaya]

And it only gets worse from here: victim-blaming, 'character was sexually abused as a child so she became a mad villain' plot line and so on

[@elainagilbert7663]

"Edward Cullen promises he's not stalking Harry Potter" is the best line I've ever heard. 2:45:46

[@carysk4083]

I sent it as a quote to someone, and the confusion was the highlight of my day

[@elainagilbert7663]

@@carysk4083 I literally just realized, too, that Rob Pattinson was in Harry Potter which made it extra funny to me.

[@vampirechick1159]

I was in 8th grade and enthralled by the amount of sex in these books. I was also a huge fan of Mary Sue characters. I'm not proud

[@rotaugenfrosch9897]

It's ok, we all have been there at some point

[@Hazy.Kitsune]

it would’ve made much more sense if hardly anyone knew that vampires were celebrities (because they were hiding their tattoos and using their powers and wealth to keep their secret) but she later finds out that most vampires are famous by someone at the academy telling her. And as the story progresses knowledge of vampires becomes more widespread

[@katharineeavan9705]

Like when you're left handed or neurodiverse and you're told about all the famous people who are likewise and suddenly it seems like every third genius and artist in the world is a left-handed, dyslexic autistic person with ADHD

[@j.kropla]

i was obsessed with this series to the point where i told my friend i was a vampire & had control of the elements & my vampire boyfriend was Jake Gyllenhaal. in order for her to believe me, i had to fake being asleep and start convulsing and speaking in tongue’s while drawing random shapes in her rug. she was terrified.

[@ajcrowley5735]

It just sounds like the world’s dumbest demonic possession haha

[@j.kropla]

@@ajcrowley5735 i was 8 pls give me a break😩

[@QUEENCHAI]

No wayyy bahahaha this is hilarious but it’s nice to see people in the comment section who absolutely adored this book when they were younger like I did☺️

[@islandofideals6571]

This is amazing

[@damanipage5990]

This is so funny lmfaoooo

[@vikkipink1288]

It’s no wonder I suffered with so much internalized misogyny after growing up reading books like this. When I finally discovered feminism I could barely read any YA novels because it was present in so many of them. If I ever read another I’m not like other girls trope I might scream lol

[@delicate1917]

It's actually a comfort knowing I'm not the only one Most books I've read back when I was a pre-teen raised such an unhealthy mindset I started to grow out of only a year or two ago. And I am incapable of re-reading them now because they are TERRIBLE with the conscience I have today 💀💀💀

[@photofreak56]

I know how you feel these books along with Terry Goodkind the sword of truth series and Abbi glines books were some of the only audio books that the local library had and as someone who was dyslexic I had very little options I really was one of those not like other girls until I picked up the books of Tamora Pierce and Neil Gaiman those books because one they weren't changing voice actors every audiobook which just sidenote that's always a red flag if a series can't keep a voice actor then you know you're in for some shit and positive portrayals of Wicca Pagan deities and gods I was able to unlearn a lot of fucking shit

[@Pocketdekuwu]

I feel embarrassed to admit I LIVED FOR THE HOUSE OF NIGHTS SERIES … 💀

[@50shadesofyouregay]

Same! I literally wrote a freaking fanfic about it and would never shut up about it 🤣

[@ojyochan]

Don't feel embarrassed, it's just entertainment. Man, culture is so puritanical right now.

[@sleepy_fae]

M e. Like knew they were bad and some (cough cough the third book cough cough) of the series made me want to stop but I was obsessed-

[@josephhanicak7922]

I want to judge you, but as a guy, I remember some of the animated garbage I used to watch on TV. It's just a natural part of maturing to enjoy bad things. Your adolescent mind hasn't gained enough experience to know that it's bad yet.

[@theoriginalglitchqueen2544]

Me too ! But it’s also funny bc I was such a little emo lol. I read right past all the dumb shit cause I was 12 lmao. I actually tried to pick this series up again recently and couldn’t do it after the first chapter. It’s just bad, so bad

[@damascus9876]

You'd think since vampires can apparently read thoughts there'd be more consequences to Zoey having awful internal monologues that no one asked for or deserved. Like why include both of these things if they're not going to bring up the potential correlation between the two??? If even one other vampire could read Zoey's thoughts literally no one would like her because they'd all be aware of how truly vile she is.

[@violet7773]

I would love if this series ended with the twist that the actual POV character was an assassin that was following her and couldn't stop hearing her thoughts and then she fucking died

[@everyonesfavoritesidechara3816]

Maybe that’s why Neferet hated her so much.

[@FleaÉire]

I adored them books as a teen. Fell way behind though. They also got sent to the charity shop about a decade ago

[@comedienne_historian]

This series was the beeeeest~

[@Yume03]

I loved these books so much too 😅

[@alyaniellewilliams7419]

I loved these 🙃

[@Limonenmixgetraenk]

I liked them at first (I found them incredibly predictable, though, and had big fights with my friends who wouldn't believe me). I stopped liking them then but my family remembered I liked them and kept giving me more books, which I felt obligated to read.

[@Yume03]

@@Limonenmixgetraenk I don’t find predictable stories bad tbh. If I can predict what’s going to happen it usually means the writer foreshadows future events which is always good in my book. I hate how much current writers of shows movies etc, are focused on surprising the audience on social media, sometimes retconing whole deliberate plans bc someone figured it out and we can’t have that 🙄. It ruins good stories.

[@clovelikethespice]

It makes me (a pagan) uncomfortable how they use Wiccan rituals to make their protagonist seem more special by making her feel something from all of the elements. You’re *supposed* to feel at least something during a ritual. It’s not like tornado strength winds or getting dropped into the Sahara desert. It’s about the energy and/or god from each element entering the circle and joining the ritual. If you don’t feel anything there, then you’re probably doing something wrong. Also the fact that a lot of the girls name themselves after goddesses is,,,,,, not that chill in my personal opinion. That’s an excellent way to get the goddess’s attention which, for example, in Aphrodite’s case is probably not the wisest idea especially if the girl is kinda pretty.

[@heiroffire5743]

I don’t think the authors actually looked into Wicca and witchcraft. Which is quite offensive in my opinion because the religion and craft already have a lot of stereotypes and taboos, so if you’re gonna base your whole series on it at least do your research.

[@heiroffire5743]

For example, they said that nyx was also gaea at the beginning and those are two completely Greek goddesses.

[@vikkipink1288]

I initially got into Wiccan because of this, basically thought I had fictional magical powers and subsequently stopped following it when I realized no I did not and then got back into later as an adult when I was able to understand it on a deeper level. I would still be practicing today but my family are extremely Christian and anything Wiccan I have gets throw out if they see it and it would cause major arguments and it got to a point where I was just tired so I just stopped. I’m disabled and can’t live on my own it really sucks because I really do miss it.

[@heiroffire5743]

@@vikkipink1288 that’s really gross and sad of them. I’ve had that happen before with some of my wall sigils because my stepfathers mom was in town and was super religious. I tell them that a lot of their practices are pagan/Wiccan so I don’t see why they have an issue with it when they pretty much practice it themselves. It’s annoying how much many Christians shove their beliefs down everyone’s throat.

[@marinaschulz3183]

I dont agree with you in terms of god names though. Its fairly common IRL to have greek god names (Artemisa, Apolo, Dionisio, Hermes are all people names in Romance languages). Its also common to have god names in India (Lakhsimi, for instance). Heck even for Christianity its super common to have Mary and Josephs, and while they mightnt be Gods, every second person in Southern Europe and Latin America is called Jesus (including my uncle).

[@athenama7282]

1:17:43 fun fact for anyone wondering: Αφροδίτη (Aphrodite) is a name that quite a few modern Greeks have because it is rooted in our heritage and is actually a pretty traditional name. In fact, other names of gods/goddesses are also used for people’s names as well for the same reason (hence my name). It’s also quite common, in my experience, to have to explain this practice to non-Greeks because if you don’t, they assume you or your family worship those gods (this can be awkward when you visit a non-Greek Orthodox Church) or that you chose it yourself and are stuck up. I just love how poorly researched and insensitive this book is and how it perpetuates a multitude of problematic takes!

[@mattdawg1]

Being a goth boy at heart who is also Cherokee and a Tulsa native, this book had me cringing so hard with all the weird, off-hand name drops. Like how is anyone outside of Oklahoma (especially the USA) gonna know what OSU is?! or Cascia Hall?! or Union school vibes??? I can normally survive cringe reads, but this one... this got me. You're doing god's work Alizee.

[@SewardWriter]

Oh, geez. I'm gladder and gladder I never got into those books. (Hi, fellow gothy local!) There's a big difference between mentioning a big school in NYC, and a big school in freaking TULSA. I got kicked out of Cascia. I'm still weirdly proud.

[@Limonenmixgetraenk]

I read these and didn't know what IHOP was - any other references went straight over my head, but I remember being intrigued by IHOP and Count Chocula.

[@thecatsays]

Seriously! I had a run in with PC Cast online and she was a jerk.

[@thecatsays]

Also ex sister in law went to Union lol!!

[@FauxGemini]

To be fair, I'm not from Oklahoma and I assumed OSU was just short for "Oklahoma State University" or some such based on the context. No clue about any of that other shit though, that has me stumped 😆

[@MeikaGarcia]

Me and all my friends LOVED this book series in high school, but then the series wouldn't stop and we all grew up and got bored of it. I tried to reread it but omg it is very much written for a preteen. The grammar was ridiculous.

[@Cheerstothewildones]

The worse parts were the slut shaming, the overdone basic mean girl character, and the main character having zero flaws what so ever. Oh and let’s not forget the stereotypical black friend, that was so uncomfy as a black woman to read. They may as well have named her shaniqua and said she was from “the hood”

[@MeikaGarcia]

@@Cheerstothewildones completely agree!

[@unique2aT]

I had the same experience! Thought it was so cool and edgy, and now it's just... Rough. Stevie Rae is still my favourite though.

[@palacsintakat]

@@Cheerstothewildones when I reread them recently I stopped when the only other black character was described as having a big ass and spoke like a racist wrote her 🙃

[@aquafractalyne5527]

I liked the series as a teen, too, but good lord, so many plot threads were completely abandoned for the next shiny plot idea. I also got disliked how many events the authors would cram into such a short frame of time.

[@farhanasafran8124]

When I was in high school, my very rich friend used to buy a bunch of vampire YA novels and lend them to me so I could retell the entire plot to her, cliffnotes style. House of Night was one of them. I hated the series so much but I felt obliged to finish the entire series because I got to read them for free. I realize now that the experience made me unable to abandon any book I read, even if I hate it with a burning passion. Anyway. Vampire Academy ranks higher on my vampire YA tier list compared to HoN. Both series still make me wanna pull my hair out though.

[@NaNaNatalii]

They paid you to be their book-tuber?

[@mori6434]

Dang talk about a dream job. I'd love to have a friend who WANTED me to sit them down and retell the terrible books I've read.

[@farhanasafran8124]

@@NaNaNatalii She didn't pay me but I got to read the books for free so .... Pretty much, yeah 😂

[@saranemcova5448]

Vampire Academy Is superior in every way, but honestly, I am glad I read House of Night as 12-13 year old and Vampire Academy later as 15-16 year old. You know, Loren/Zoey thing.

[@OliviaRubin9]

I keep thinking about this review and how much more interesting of a book this could've been if it was from Aphrodite's perspective. I haven't read this series, so I can't speak for the others books, but conceptually it seems like it would be such a switch-up--the narrator is the queen bee of the school who has everything, she's beautiful, popular, being groomed by the headmistress to be even more powerful, until some new girl shows up who seems to be specially chosen for absolutely no reason. She seems to hate the narrator, even though they're not super different, and in the matter of a few weeks manages to steal the narrator's boyfriend (gonna headcanon in my Aphrodite fanfic that the SA stuff didn't happen), her position as head of a powerful club, she embarrasses her in front of the headmistress and takes her position there too. I imagine from there that it turns out the new girl is secretly being controlled by dark forces and the narrator needs to figure out what's going on and saves both her and the school.

[@maddieb.4282]

I would read this book so fast

[@derpydevilolidk]

Honestly this seems like a much more interesting book then the whole series of this outdated book

[@ghostinthecloset]

These authors are really giving Onision a run for his money in writing the Most Mean-Spirited MC Ever

[@2cat4life]

theres a part of me that says "cringe culture is dead like whatever you want to like" and a part of me thats horrified that my mom read these unironically at 27 and didnt see literally anything bad about it. even gave it good reviews and reccommended it to me. _she still has them._ considering the racism alone (we are native, thats the especially fucked up part) i'm so glad i never touched it. cant say the same about vampire academy though

[@TheScaredLittleScholar]

This book is unexcused from cringe culture because Zoey shames everyone for liking things, having interests, and breathing

[@KaiInMotion]

Vampire Academy isn't perfect but at least it understood the assignment. House of Night wishes she was Vampire Academy lol.

[@dearoldmold]

My mother recommended the House Of Night series to me too! She had all the books, but I couldn't finish the series because it pissed me off sometimes, and other times it bored me. Garbage series.

[@neeks7046]

same on the fact that my mom has these books and we’re native

[@m.g.4446]

1:37:25 Pop is a regional American thing. You used to be able to tell what region someone was from based on what they called sweet fizzy drinks. Soda, soda-pop, pop, Coke (even if it's not the Coca-Cola brand), Cok'ola, etc. are all words for the same thing in different regions. I grew up saying pop, but I think it's going out of fashion in my region and being replaced by soda. Anyway, I'm not sure why THAT of all things was what I decided to latch onto and write an essay about, but here we are...

[@liltobi6081]

+1 on this essay. I grew up in central Texas and have lived there most of my life. Called it soda, and was about as confused about the word usage at that timestamp. I didn't even know pop was a 'yank thing', because I never really heard it, but hey, more you know.

[@elafimilo8199]

I had a classmate from Indiana who insisted that her saying "pop" was better than us saying "soda" because soda doesn't have baking soda in it anymore to give it a fizz. 😂 If that's actually the source of the word "soda," I'm glad to have been educated, but it was a very annoying conversation.

[@narrastalgia4718]

This is one of the books where I can't help but be genuinely judgemental of the authors. Like, there's just a little too much venom in all those pointless rants. I'd be fascinated to see how they feel about this character now lol.

[@marisanicole5116]

Apparently they've been trying to get the books edited for YEARS to remove problematic language, descriptors and characterization that hasn't aged well at all and therefore impacts their royalties. You'd think that they're ashamed; however, the fact that they defended the books for decades makes me think money is involved so the only reason they're changing it now bcuz the books are no longer selling as well - anyone who buys one nowadays usually won't invest their money/time past the second or third book (and there's12 in the serious, plus novellas and handbooks). That's a lot of lost revenue.

[@derpydevilolidk]

@@marisanicole5116huh no wonder people who used to read the books before as a (teen/kid)say they couldn’t finish the second book and I’m honestly surprised that they even made that many books to begin with I mean after the first series you think that they would quit but nope they still thought of making more books for some reason if they really wanted to make more money then why didn’t they just write a different book all together lol and just remove all the problematic stuff in the first book series and write a holly different book why did they think that making a series out of this outdated book would make them more money was there really no brain thinking at all when making this a series seriously 😠

[@dantefarge3369]

if this book was about a religious girl turned into vampire it would be much better (all her journey accepting herself/others/the existence of other gods like Nyx etc), like it would explain why she said she was becoming a monster. Also, instead of escaping she could try to not go to that place bc she prefers to die instead of turning into a vampire and when she sees nyx she could call her a false god and stuff like that. Also it would explain why she hates "slutty" woman so much.

[@dstridesbeats8755]

You've already written a better book in this comment than they did in an entire series

[@marwaessaadi]

it would be interesting but so controversial in this period of time I think… Since people will just think that the author wrote this to mock religions and to say that their God doesn’t exist and there are more than one etc etc

[@celinahatton2653]

@@marwaessaadi I think that the people who would have been offended by that, would have already been offended by this book as it is, as it already denies the existence of One Abrahamic God, so all they would have done would be to make the story more believable and engaging.

[@marwaessaadi]

@@celinahatton2653 ohhh I see thank u

[@ashleyyoung905]

Your comments shows you would do a much better job at writing than the actual writers of this book series. If you wrote about this then I would happily read it since it would be more interesting.

[@missflecha6084]

this was the first series I fell in love with at the ripe age of 11. it spiraled me into my love for reading, so I have such a special love for it. HOWEVER, all points you made are *so* valid. when I was 11, this was the best thing I had ever read. as a 21 year old, it’s absolute garbage. still thankful it got me into reading nonetheless 😆

[@emmaw3697]

This!! I read the book for the first time when I was an angry 13 year old and resisted to the angry protagonist. As an adult I can see it had so many flaws but it was the first book I burned through in one night

[@isabellab-c5351]

Me too! My dad read some of these books (before he passed away) because they were recommended to him after he finished the Vampire Academy series. I started reading them at around age 10 because my mum had also read some but she thought it was "Too scary", which made me want to read them even more. I was OBSESSED with these books, and they're what inspired my love for Greek Mythology (Nyx, the Greek Goddess/Titaness of Night). Looking back at them now, I feel embarrassed for ever liking these books let alone RECOMMENDING them to my friends. But still, as long as I only remember them for the good things I liked them for, this trash holds a special (and glamorised to the point of being barely recognisable) place in my cold dead heart.

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

Yeah me too!

[@alicialimon9103]

This is exactly how I feel. I love it, but it’s terrible. But I love it lol

[@beth3253]

Yes me too

[@shaelynmartin1996]

So I read this when I was a pre-teen and was weirdly obsessed with it. Never ended up finishing the series though because I never got my hands on the last book. A few years back, I decided to reread the series since I saw it offered pretty cheap on Kindle. And my Gods. I forced myself to read three before giving up. I can't remember why I loved it so much. But with that, I do have an answer to the Aphrodite vision question: Yes, she technically was hiding her visions, but context is important. She was hiding her visions because Neferet TOLD her to. She was literally told by the High Priestess to hide her visions from others. I can't remember if it's the second or third book, but when Aphrodite has a vision and tries to Neferet about it (In a way to do the right thing in order to redeem herself) Neferet laughs in her face and tells her that Nyx took her visions, causing Aphrodite to mention something along the lines of "I was only doing what you told me to." Aphrodite gets so punished in these books for no real reason other than the authors wanting someone to hate on. But they also wanted to tell a story. And thus Aphrodite became the only character with real development (Though I guess Heath gets some development too--And Stevie Rae in later books) and became the best character. And yes, she totally should've hooked up with Zoe at the end. Would've been much more interesting. Zoe's internal misogynistic thoughts are because she's actually super into girls and was suppressing it and pretending it didn't exist because she wanted so badly to just be "normal." -- Would also give a deeper meaning to the comment about her being "abnormal" from the beginning of this book when she seems like a relatively average high school character. It'd also explain why Zoe worries CONSTANTLY about what other people think of her and why she goes through men like tissues. "This guy didn't make me feel the right way. He must be the broken one. It can't be me. Maybe this other guy will give me the correct feelings."

[@FrenkTheJoy]

Zoey's internalized misogyny would also have been more interesting if it was clearly due to her upbringing. She has a step-father, so maybe just like the step-father is abusive and she was raised from a young age under his opinions that women are worthless and belong in the kitchen and the mother's religion that she's in because of the step-father reinforces her belief that women who want sex are sluts and bad. It would add a layer of substance to her basically being disowned when she gets marked and then at school she gradually learns that she's basically been brainwashed by abusive relatives into a close-minded way of thinking, and so her character growth makes her more interesting that way. I'm normally not a fan of "this book would be more interesting if this character was gay" but to be honest it would actually make more sense if Zoey was a lesbian who was in denial, especially with certain future romantic options and when one of her friends dies... or does she?!

[@shaelynmartin1996]

@@FrenkTheJoy Exactly! I agree. Not all stories would be made better if the MC was gay, but this is one of those ones where it honestly would just... Work better than what we got. The one props I'll give this series is the attempt to show Pagan/Wiccan practices in a good light. Wish it was in a much better story, but I like to see it nonetheless.

[@ducky19991]

I was outrageously obsessed with this series as a preteen. I wouldn’t leave the house without those thin rubber bracelets, with the colors of the elements in the books (green/red/yellow/purple I think), I had no idea how bad the books were because I was 11 😭

[@alejandropineda02]

Hasn't even been a whole day and already we're getting another YA video? Alizee knows what makes all my bones go hard.

[@astroblast2325]

I cannot explain the feeling reading "makes all my bones go hard" but i know it is born of darkness and evil

[@Pysslis]

You might have a problem if your bones are not hard all the time. Just saying.

[@CM-fw6hz]

Cheat code: if a college has SU at the end it stands for State University. OSU would be Oklahoma State University

[@celinahatton2653]

If you're outside the US, there is zero reason why you would even know that SU means State University, so we don't even try to guess a state - it's just three letters that mean nothing to us.

[@tiryaclearsong421]

I'm not from Oklahoma so I recall reading the books confusing Oklahoma State with Ohio State. It's like UT. That's either the University of Texas or Tennessee and what you read when you see the acronym will probably depend on where you are in the US. And, of course, the acronyms mean nothing if you aren't even in the states. But they can be confusing even for people who are.

[@xxTheSkilletFreakxx]

I was mad she couldn’t at least choose OU (Oklahoma University… Boomer Sooner! I’m a child I know XD)

[@naliag3432]

@2:45 She blames Erik for dating Aphrodite but when we’re first introduced to those two characters, he was being sexually assaulted by her. Could it be that he was actually manipulated into an abusive relationship? This kinda feels like victim blaming. Either way, judging someone on their past relationship (especially those they ended) doesn’t seem right to me.

[@ashleyyoung905]

I wouldn't be surprised if the character Zoey blamed someone for getting raped even if they were knocked unconscious.

[@dani.5087]

Zoe vs Ebony D'arkness Dementia Raven Way. Who would win in a fight to the death Edit: 51:52 "The woman smiled at me and showed amazingly straight, white teeth" vs My Immortal's "I'm a vampire but my teeth are straight and white" I'm losing my mind EDIT: 1:41:33 I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THESE ARE COINCIDENCES ANYMORE. I REFUSE

[@ipektashkin8607]

i find it funny how this book was literally in every high school library yet we have other notable books (that are actually educational to students) get banned.

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

The content of these books isn't well known enough to get banned.

[@ipektashkin8607]

@@Mecharnie_Dobbs ohh that makes sense

[@mothbelly333]

pretty sure there was a blowjob scene in the first book

[@oops383]

I had problems like this in high school and never took out library books because all they had was supernatural YA books. I was 17 and grew out of those after middle school. Why did the English teachers only have books that teach you things, students can’t even access those if it isn’t part of the curriculum

[@daniellaven4734]

I understand it would be torture for you, but I would definitely watch a review like this for all the books. I read the first one when I was like twelve and remember thinking older teens were really mean.

[@mimismsx]

I read the House of Night series, and they are ATROCIOUS. I'd easily read twilight anyday over the peice of garbage that is House of Night series. It was the worst series I have ever read. Honestly, props for you to suffer through this shit book omg. Also, there are no words to describe how much I hate Zoey.

[@rusted_ursa]

"Don't tell me the ice burg was also a vampyre." Damn near choked on my cough drop. Since I'm commenting anyway, I'll also say that I think this book is a power fantasy for mean girls who don't have the spine to admit that they're mean.

[@NearsightedNarhwal]

This book feels like the kinda fantasy that would be read by Coho fans.

[@davincigift]

I've never read these books and I have a question about how being a vampire in this world works. If Shakespeare and other historical figures were vampires, wouldn't they still be alive? Are vampires not immortal?

[@kevincola3184]

Maybe it's like how the Vampires are in the Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shan.

[@celseac8107]

Some might live for several hundred years but this implies that they die sometime - according to this book's lore

[@qwitchyy]

@@kevincola3184 oh my god thanks for another flood of memories

[@adiadiadi8383]

I rarely put down books - especially ones gifted to me - but I remember getting halfway through this book back when I was around 14 years old and furiously ranting about it to my friends. The treatment of other women, the way the male characters treated the main character, the way the main character treated Literally Everyone, the bullshit blackmail/bribery blood thing??? Not to mention SHE SLEPT WITH HER TEACHER FOR NO REASON AND IT'S JUST ASDFAKLSDJF I have so many feelings about this book and all of them are bad

[@CatChaos369]

The fact they include a teacher assaulting a student as a cool thing no one hold him accountable for being a pedo just it’s so gross

[@Jacky.c.v]

The scene where she gets caught with her teacher by her bf or something feels like a traumatic memory to me. Im obviously exaggerating but it's more bizarre the more I think about it.

[@CatChaos369]

@@Jacky.c.v yep like yeah it’s shitty she cheated it she was manipulated and groomed by a teacher she’s still a victim and it’s never addressed

[@candeezymarie9827]

Yes. Just yes.

[@orchdork775]

I'm disturbed to say that I liked this series as a teenager 😬😭

[@Beanaleann]

Lol it’s crazy that Zoey was so judgemental cuz she literally had like 5 love interests 😅 I read these books in middle school and I swear she’s the reason I have bitches

[@Beanaleann]

Zoey taught me to be a hoe lmfao 😂😂😂

[@chelscara]

Zoey: thinks sharing joints is unsanitary Zoey: has never used safe sex once I guess canker sores are worse than genital herpes to her

[@SpiderkillersInc]

Bro she’s never even fucked.

[@chatnoir9038]

That was such a huge oversight!! Ew

[@Heriarka]

"this is curing my impostor syndrome" is basically why I love bad media so much and I'm not ashamed of it.

[@PatchworkGoblin]

I remember reading these in Middle School, I read the first two and I remember the exact thing that made me put this down: the whole debacle with Zoe’s birthday where literally everyone bought her Christmas themed stuff because her birthday is close to Christmas, then her ex conveniently sent her a gift along with a note about “ I know how much you hate getting Christmas themed stuff lol” and I just…I had a moment…

[@OfficialROZWBRAZEL]

I ate this series up in middle school, and went about re-reading it up until my frontal lobe started developing and noticing the pure and undiluted, never-ending, NLOG, pick-me, double standard "I'm just confused and have too many guys :( ! It's HER that's a ho!" and Mary Sue-ness I was already turning away from in fanfiction. I finally ended up having to put the books down for that random passage about her getting 'accosted' by two stereotypical black dudes while she was biting and grinding on her ex in public. I just- 🤢🤮

[@the_last_ballad]

@@OfficialROZWBRAZEL oh, you didn't even get to the part where she either murdered them or sent them into a death spiral of dept by magically throwing them into the path of an oncoming bus. And then it's brought up once as an afterthought and nothing amounts from that attempted murder.

[@marisanicole5116]

I have this thing, possibly a sort of OCD where I have to see something to the end, regardless of how bad it is so that I can be absolutely sure I hated it and there's no redemption. I think, in the final two books of the 12 part series [SPOLIERS] Zoey's guilt for everything she done gets the better of her and she turns herself in at the police station. I don't remember what the final straw was that made her do this and I refuse to pick up the book and look even though it's on my bookshelf a few feet away right now. Anyway... One of the crimes she admitted to was assaulting/murdering those men but later we find out they survived, with no memory of who attacked them and she's released so she could "save the day". I believe that was the authors' attempt to retcon that terrible scene after receiving a lot of backlash for it and how poc were treated in general. Not to mention the common complaints that Zoey was completely OP to the point of becoming a villain despite being the supposed heroine everyone praised for 10+ books (total lack of self awareness from the authors and every single one of their characters) so they had to quickly throw in an arc in the final books to show Zoey can also suffer consequences and feel remorse. It was disgusting and occurred way too late especially since those men were never mentioned again until they were needed for Zoey's (aka Cast Duo) redemption arc.

[@Char10tti3]

Yeeeees same and I've not spoken to anyone about this book. Specifically "Birthmas" just lives in my head rent free and weirdly the fact that the "twins" got her boots with christmas trees on and zoe said they were expensive by just repeating that they looked expensive and then aphroditw gives her something and she says it makes those boots look cheap - but literally doesn't give any visuals on why they look expensive or cheap. Doesn't he give her a summer seahirse bracelet or something in winter too?

[@ThaliaVSD]

I get the feeling most of the brackets were likely added by the daughter to a passage the mom wrote with personal anecdotes and to make the writing more filled with “teenage quirks”. I used to read some of these books in middle school but I gave up by how annoying it was that she cheated on every single man she dated NUMEROUS TIMES but was still a victim every single time. It drove me wild, I’m glad I pirated most of the books lol

[@izzisart]

That would make a lot of sense! (And also makes me think she was being kinda sassy about her mum's writing 😂)

[@thatgh0stvariety814]

I read this series in middle school and was obsessed at first, as I loved both vampires and witchcraft, but as the books continued I lost interest, it became more about everyone's relationships than vampirism or witchcraft

[@ran_loona]

IM SO SHOCKED OTHER PEOPLE READ HOUSE OF NIGHT literally none of my friends knew it and it was my favorite series as a young teen, now in retrospect that was so messy and weird. Man I bought this book in another language recently to learn by reading books I knew and I couldn't get through the first chapter... being too young to fully understand english and understand how annoying zoey is, is the only reason anyone could like this franchise

[@jussietalks]

Oh my god I ADORED this series as a preteen. My step mom bought me the series in the post-twilight heat, and my mother was FURIOUS when she found out how *explicit* it was

[@pebbellz]

I also read this series as a teenager. I absolutely lost it with these books when the love interest for Damian in a later book (SPOILER)... dies by falling onto a sword whilst listening to Defying Gravity by the glee cast... You just can't make this shit up lmao

[@EveryDayALittleDeath]

I never got that far, but I'm not surprised they used the bury your gays trope

[@LadyAltaria]

This is literally the ONLY thing I remember from these books, that they mentioned the Defying Gravity Glee cast version during a death scene. I remember putting the book down and never finishing it because, even as an 11 yr old Twihard, I could tell that was insultingly bad.

[@WidowmakersAss]

why was it specifically the glee version…

[@EL-jq1sq]

@@WidowmakersAss To make it extra gay?

[@g4m3rgril57]

Oh my god how did I forget the Glee part?! I read the first book in middle school (yeah, I was probably too young then), and then I read the entire series sometime early in my college experience. In my college read-through, I quickly discovered the books were garbage but they were so shockingly bad I read all of them (except the extra books/stories - I think there are some "bonus" stories focusing on different characters). There was a lot wrong with the series, but the fact that they killed off one of their gay characters was just so trope-y, nevermind the Glee part (which I must have blocked from my memory) What I remember is later there is a black character named Kramisha (or something like that) and the authors go out of their way to type her speech as if it's AAVE but it's not well done. (Also I generally hate forced accents - if your character has an accent - tell me, but please don't type all their speech phonetically) Found an example: “My mama told me don't trust no white boy, even a pretty one. I'm thinkin' a pretty white boy with wings explodin' up from the ground in a mess of blood and ugly-ass bird things is double trouble." - Kramisha (Ch 5)” ― P.C. Cast, Hunted (And TBH that's a pretty tame example - it get's way worse and harder to read, trust me)

[@SadieMage]

I will say, I’m from Oklahoma and Every white girl thinks they have Cherokee in them, kids definitely do drink at school, often, and guys really do say stuff like “crazy about you baby “it’s awful!!

[@ItsClaudieD]

As a 28 year old adult now, I am ashamed to say that I actually loved these books. How on this earth did I ever find this junk enjoyable?? This video was excellent, well done!

[@the_last_ballad]

I mean, I enjoyed them as a teen(freshman/sophomore I think?). But then I'm not exactly an actively critical reader when it comes to fiction, and it was one of a few books that had gay representation which probably had something to do with my enjoyment, but I was in Narnia so it flew over my head

[@ladyriah2368]

Same age, and these books still sit on my shelves lol I know that they're hot garbage, but I just enjoyed the basic premise enough that I overlooked everything else. I questioned a lot, and I honestly don't care about any of the characters. I can coast on a premise and chosen one narrative lol

[@jessicacharlton7347]

I'd like this series more if Zoey started seeing how judgemental she was when she got to the vampire school and became a better person as the series went on. Stevie Ray could point out how rude and judgemental Zoey is and they could have arguments. Zoey could slowly become better because of Stevie Ray challenging her shitty judgemental attitude. Both characters could have a fully fledged personality and slowly become friends as Zoey becomes a better person. SPOILER WARNING! That would add more meaning to Zoey helping Stevie Ray find her humanity later on too. It would also add meaning to Zoey and Aphrodite becoming friends. Zoey could see herself and how shitty she was in Aphrodite and help her become a better person.

[@darkeningfyre]

Yeah, it would help a lot with her friendship with Aphrodite too. Their whole dynamic felt so off for me - like, Aphrodite was the only one to really grow up and Zoey was just like "yeah im perfect and you were wrong but i forgive you" which just gave it weird vibes...

[@RebbieChan]

Just got laid off so another 3 hour book review for a series I don't care about is just what I need 😊

[@trapadvisor]

It will get better don't give up!

[@outcastdefenselawyer93]

*hugs*

[@babywigeon]

I hope a new opportunity comes your way soon!

[@abbyz13]

holy sh*t I didn’t realize it was 3 hours long until I saw this comment

[@erinhaury5773]

Damn, that sucks. Best of luck in finding a new job! I hope you get something good. 😃

[@meaghandrum6050]

I will admit that this is one of my guilt pleasures that I reread all the time with absolutely no critical thinking happening

[@Picking.a.name.is.hard1]

Hell yeah! We all need our comfort kinda shitty media. My guilty pleasure is probably Avalon High 😂

[@jameswatson6876]

@@Picking.a.name.is.hard1 I like to call it "Literary junk food"

[@rumyum]

We all have that one guilty pleasure 😆

[@iwouldgiveyouthemoon_]

mine is the selection 😛 and throne of glass

[@SilenceIsGolden4]

Same 🥲 reading it to find out what happens again because my dog ate the book before I could finish

[@HelloCompanion]

This line actually fucking killed me with a fit of laughter. “One of the girls was black with ridiculously long hair (must’ve been a really good weave).” That is so disrespectful, I’m crying. Weave is like a wig that you sew in, like extensions. It has a negative connotation for being “ghetto.” This girl is so viciously mean for no reason lmao.

[@VegemiteQueen1]

especially since it's also clarified that their hair 'grows impossibly fast' so... why is Zoella making assumptions?

[@HelloCompanion]

@@VegemiteQueen1 Because she’s messy as hell.

[@meiday154]

It's the casual racism for me

[@sarhahillsburg5142]

It feels like she saying no way that's her real hair 🙄 and I HATE when people assume if not super short tight curls no way is is our real hair (I'm African American) like geeze how hard is it to believe we can have long hair too

[@pirategirl102]

I just got to this part and screamed, not the author literally using the phrase "good hair" I cannot