Chosen

Chosen deepens the supernatural stakes at the Tulsa House of Night. Zoey Redbird grapples with loyalty and love—juggling three crushes—while her best friend Stevie Rae begins a terrifying transformation into something no one recognizes. When “dead” fledglings reappear under Neferet’s unnatural influence, Zoey must decide how far she’ll go to save those she cares about. The authors blend teen realism—jealousy, friendship issues, identity—with the more extreme paranormal threats. The ~760L Lexile and fast-paced, multi-POV chapters make this a solid blend of high-stakes action and emotional complexity.

Here’s how the book got written

PC CAST: Hmmm.. daughter, we need a hero for the book. Main love interest and all, you know. Whom should we choose?

KRISTIN: I know!!! I know!! Let’s choose Heath!

PC CAST: No, he seems kinda.. immature… What about Loren? All that delicious manliness. *drooling*

KRISTIN: No, he seems too mysterious… what about creating a character Eric? Combining the vampire and the manliness?

PC CAST: But we shouldn’t have two main love interests. All the other YA novels are doing that. Disgustingly predictable.

KRISTIN: I know!! I know!! Let’s have all of them!! Yayy!!

(So mother and daughter write the book, first writing all the make out sessions individually, and then realize that they have to have some random show more scenes in between to ‘add to the thrill’ )

PC CAST: Hmmm.. well, we can always come up with a lame ass story. After all, the covers are hot!

(Here’s the story from the protagonist’s point of view)

Z: (Yeah, you got that right.. isn’t ‘Zoey’ such a tongue twister? Why do people keep such names when they know that we have to shorten it for ‘em? )

Z: Ooohhh. I need somebody to kiss! I know! Let’s hit on my third grade boyfriend!! Who cares that he might have a life separate from mine!
*Smooches Heath, grinds on him, plenty of groping and panting*
(AFTERWARDS: Oh no, I was supposed to break up with him!! )

Z: Ooohhh. I need somebody to kiss on campus!! *looks around* Well, the hottest guy on the campus is the only option. After all, Z is the most gifted vampire fledgling ever. No second tier guys for ME!
*Smooches Eric, some heavy petting*
(AFTERWARDS: Oh no, will he put up with knowing that I have Heath as well? Oh, of course he will- I’m constantly kissing him everytime he tries to talk to me about it! )

Z: Ooohhh.. Heath and Eric are cool, but I need a real man! Someone who doesn’t take it slow with me! I know! Let’s hit on Loren! And wait- he’s given me diamond earrings- but me being Z, that’s perfectly acceptable, right? Thank you, Loren!
*Kisses, plenty of tongue, feeling up*
(AFTERWARDS: Oh, that felt GOOD!! Of course, I’m not a ho. I just like variety. )

Z: *thinkin* I really should make up my mind soon. After all, how long can I just keep kissing them?

(Comes up with a plan)

Z: ROUND ONE: Kisses Heath. Check.
Kisses Eric. Check
Kisses Loren. Check
ROUND TWO: Kisses Heath. Feeling up. Check.
Kisses Eric. Feeling up. Check.
Kisses Loren. Feeling up.Check.
ROUND THREE: Kisses Heath. Heavy petting. Check
Kisses Eric. Heavy petting. Check
Kisses Loren. Heavy petting. And oh yeah, am alone with him in my room. Might as well do it. Check
(AFTERWARDS: Oh no, I lost my virginity! )

MY REACTION: Bi*ch please. What did you think was gonna happen? A handshake at the end?

Z: I AM NOT A HO!!!! ( Yeah sure you're not. We all have three boyfriends, unable to make up our minds. *Sad face* )

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how the story got written. True Story.

THE END

PS: I’m going to be nice and say mum and daughter were drunk out of their minds when they wrote this, and copy-pasted three scenes a hundred times to create the book. show less

Assolutamente entusiasta. Molto probabilmente il mio entusiasmo deriva dal fatto che trovo questa serie molto giovanile, spigliata ed originale.

Tra tante storie di vampiri che ci ripropongono più o meno la stessa solfa imbellettata, le scrittrici ci propongono una nuova 'visione' dell'insieme. Creano un nuovo 'ambiente' nel quale far interagire i loro personaggi.

Il vampirismo è riconosciuto, i vampiri adulti sono affascinanti ma mai banali ne tantomeno addomesticati, e noi, leggendo, riusciamo a percepire lo smarrimento dei nuovi adepti che si trovano a dover affrontare una trasformazione. La 'figosità' della situazione è stata smorzata: potrebbero morire tutti, nessuno sa chi arriverà in fondo al processo.

Un saga giovanile, ma show more mai scontata, dove il bene ed il male non sempre coincidono e dove, gli elementi piccanti non mancano mai!

PEr ora è proprio questo terzo volume il più piccante. Zy è oberata di problemi e, nonostante sia stata baciata dalla Dea, commette degli errori. Più o meno reparabili lo scopriremo nel prossimo libro, spero.

L'eroina è... umana, con tutta la sua assoluta atraordinarietà. E' farcità di numerosi poteri, senza dubbio, ma le concrete difficoltà della sua situazione non vengono risolte con uno schiocco di dita. Sbaglia, cade e si rialza.
Mi piace questo particolare, è sì dotata di grandi poteri, ma come questo libro mette ben in chiaro più volte, deve a sua volta farsi carico di responsabilità. Il potere non è tutto e, spesso, non è sufficiente per risolvere tutte le situazioni.

Mi piace, mi piace la concretezza con la quale queste scrittrici hanno elevato questo mondo fantastico.
Ovviamente non vedo l'ora di leggere il 4° volume... Voglio proprio vedere come continuerà la situazione. Soprattutto ora che i ruoli di ciascun personaggio è più confuso che mai! show less

I'll say it again: This series is addictive, yet flawed.

I'm very interested to see what happens next with Zoey and company but continue so think the Casts need a better editor. The typos and wrong words have become rather jarring (e.g., "here yes" for "her eyes," "calvary" for "cavalry," etc.), and there is still the occasional "When did that happen?" moment where the narrative seems inconsistent.

The sex has become overt in this installment, and the tale is bloodier. I find myself unable to put down these books, in spite of my reservations/criticisms (see my review of Betrayed). They are just good brain candy!

Another enjoyable light read. I'm reading these all in a single day, so its hard to keep the plot details straight from book to book & remember exactly what happened in each, since they blend together. The series is still continuing on at a pretty nice pace - I haven't gotten bored yet. This one is really pretty different in some shocking ways. Not for young kids - there's some stuff, to put it lightly. Zoey is shaping up to be a really imperfect character, sometimes in annoying ways, but I try to remember what it was like to be a teenager and to have confusing feelings for more than one boy, and I feel a little more forgiving. Still, I was surprised at the type of sexual activity that was portrayed in this book. Not offended, just show more surprised. By the end of this book, it seems like everything we've established so far is destroyed, which is always an intriguing place for a series. Can't wait to see what happens next. show less

I first read the back of this book while standing in line at a drug store checkout, and had rolled my eyes at the mention of Zoey's "three boyfriends." A powerful vampire who's all that and has guys fawning over her and it's oh so hard to choose between then... Blech. Pass!

Then I read the first book. And the second. And now, as I end the third novel of the House of Night series, I am amused at how much my initial reaction echoes the major theme of this book: things are not always as they seem.

The plot gets deeper, darker, and much more interesting. The first half was a little slow to get going, and the by the middle of the book everything exploded into a torrent of suspense and action and intruige. Some things I had suspected in show more advance. Others hit my like a ton of bricks.

And as always, I was impressed by just how adult a YA novel can be, and as tired as I am of some of the attitudes portrayed, I do have to give the authors credit for treating their readers like mature intelligent people and not trying to hide the gritty facts of life or sanitize anything. The world is messy and painful and full of swearing and sex and betrayal. Once more, this series proves that it's capable of being real without wallowing in darkness like it's going out of style.

I'm definitely looking forward to reading book 4! show less

This third installment of the House of Night series starts to feel a little preachy in its declaration of the heroine's personal values and opinions: I have, after all, listened to the exact same sentiments for three freaking books now. For much the same reason---that is, my experience of the previous two books---my tolerance for the heroine's idiotic decisions and lovelorn melodrama began to wear thin.

Yes, I know you're a teenager, Zoey, and yes, I know the plot requires some stupidity on your part to move forward, but really? Do I have to keep reading as you willfully indulge in all manner of selfish vanity and lust? Have you no self control? Maybe not. And maybe that's okay, but it definitely doesn't make me care what happens to show more you.

And yet somehow by the end of the book, once Zoey Got Hers, I found myself still caring enough about the other characters to want to read the next book. I'm just hoping that next book brings something a little new to the table. show less