How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I felt like crap. I must be coming down with what Mr. Wise, my more-than-slightly-insane AP biology teacher, called the Teenage Plague.
If I died, would it get me out of my geometry test tomorrow? One could only hope. (1.3-4)
Are you getting the impression that Zoey really hates math? Because we sure are. And we get it: Everyone has that one subject in school that they really loathe. But half-heartedly hoping for death in order to get out of a test seems a bit extreme to us.
Quote #2
I just wanted to attempt to be normal […] I wanted to keep my grades up so that I could get accepted into the veterinary college at OSU and get out of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. (1.49)
Like a lot of teenagers, Zoey just wants to fit in. This extends to her goals at school: She wants to do well enough that she doesn't draw attention to herself, and get the grades that'll get her into a decent college. Hey, we get that education is often a means to an end, but there's way more to it than that, as Zoey will learn at the House of Night.
Quote #3
I emptied the school crap out of my backpack. Like I'd need it where I was going? They probably don't even have normal classes. They probably have classes like Ripping Peoples Throats out and… and… Intro to How to See in the Dark. Whatever. (2.79)
Zoey clearly has no idea what kind of education vampyre fledglings receive. Frankly, we don't either. What are vampyres like in this world? Do they actually rip people's throats out? Or are they seductive enough that humans just offer up their throats to be delicately nibbled on?
Quote #4
She spoke in Cherokee, but even though I hadn't practiced the language much in the last couple years I understood the words. (5.40)
When Zoey encounters the goddess Nyx in the spirit world, Nyx speaks Cherokee to her… so we guess it's a good thing that Zoey's grandma taught her Cherokee. That was in the past, and though Zoey doesn't really keep up her language skills, she's apparently retained enough to be able to follow along. For the record, we're kind of good at Spanish.
Quote #5
"What is known today as the House of Night was built […] as an Augustine monastery for the People of Faith. Eventually it was converted into Cascia Hall, a private preparatory school for affluent human teenagers. When we decided that we must open a school of our own in this part of the country, we bought it from Cascia Hall five years ago." (7.101)
Thanks, Nefret, for this mini-history lesson about how the House of Night came to be. The building has always had some kind of educational or contemplative function, so it makes sense that it'd be a good place to have a boarding school for vampyres.
Quote #6
"I like the uniforms, which totally shocked me at first. I mean, would anyone expect to like school uniforms? But we can add stuff to them and make them unique, so they don't look like typical stuck-up, boring school uniforms." (8.68)
According to Stevie Rae, the uniforms at the House of Night aren't bad at all—they don't totally squash your individuality like a lot of other school uniforms and they don't look stupid. Seems like if the students aren't bogged down with worrying about how stupid or clone-like they look, learning just might be able to take center stage.
Quote #7
"Here's your schedule. We have third hour and fifth hour together. And check out the list of electives you have for second hour. You can choose from any of them." (11.24)
Stevie Rae hands Zoey her class schedule, and boy, is it an interesting one. Zoey gets to choose between drama, sketching, and music for one of her elective slots, and some of her other classes (like equestrian studies and fencing) sound so fun that we would've guessed they're electives. Learning can be fun… who knew? (Spoiler alert: We did.)
Quote #8
And from there Nefret launched into one of the coolest lectures I'd ever heard. I had no idea an hour had passed; the ringing bell was a total surprise. (12.25)
Turns out that listening to an hour-long lecture about the ancient Amazons (their history, their way of life, and their customs that are still practiced by modern-day vampyres) is totally fascinating. It apparently took Zoey by surprise to realize that there's tons of cool stuff out there to learn.
Quote #9
Was it possible that this vamp school would actually be more than a boring place I went to every day because I had to and, besides that, all my friends were there? Not that all of the classes at SIHS had been boring, but we didn't get to study the Amazons and the Titanic (from a teacher who'd been alive when it sank!). (13.24)
Yeah, we're gathering that Zoey's relationship with school up until now hasn't been the greatest. And we understand: When you have to do something, the way a kid has to go to school everyday, it can get pretty boring, pretty quickly. It seems like the House of Night is doing something right with their approach education.
Quote #10
"Elliott, you are, of course, failing Lit. But what's more important, you're failing life. Vampyre males are strong, honorable, and unique. They have been our warriors and protectors for countless generations. How do you expect to make the Change into a being who is more warrior than man if you do not practice the discipline it takes even to stay awake in class?" (13.30)
Prof P lays it on with no mercy. Sure, it's rude for a student to fall asleep in class, but Prof P draws a parallel between the discipline and skills needed to do well in school and the discipline and skills that make you a valuable contributor to vampyre society. Hmm… We wonder if there's as clear a connection between the values taught in our educational system and what we need to get through the rest of life… We'll let you think on that one, though.