Cannonball Read IV: Destined by P. C. and Kristin Cast

By admittedbookgeek | Books | April 19, 2012 |

By admittedbookgeek | Books | April 19, 2012 |

Let’s just call this review “I read this book so you don’t have to”.

If you haven’t read any of the books in the House of Night series by the Casts, then this will be meaningless to you.

If you have read any of the books in the House of Night series by the Casts, then my condolences.

Zoey Redbird is a fledgling vampyre (yes, they spell it this way, which only causes me to read it in the same way that Andrew pronounced it in the episode of Buffy where he’s doing the “fireside reading”). She’s also marked to be High Priestess, Queen, and all-around (supposed) badass. She has a group of friends called “the nerd herd”. None of them are remotely nerdy, but their bonds of friendship are strong (ok, not really all THAT strong considering how much they lie and how much they hide from each other).

Anyway, she fights the baddies who’re are supporting her arch-nemesis, Neferet (formerly her mentor).

In this latest installation, there’s not really much in the way of baddies going on. They’re all recycled syncophants from previous books that basically do another baddies bidding. Not a whole lot of free thought going on.

As usual Zoey is in the middle of all the llama-drama that happens throughout the book and she personally does little about it while those around her end up maimed, hurt, or dead.

The worst part about these books, which are obviously aimed at teenaged girls, is the level of slut-shaming, fat-shaming, and ableist behavior that the Casts include.

Thankfully this book was low on the slut-shaming that has been very prevalent in previous books, but instead they’ve managed to instead utilize the word “retarded” as a derogatory statement no less than 15 times, if not more. This kind of ableist writing shows how little these two know about good writing for young adult audiences, not to mention their overt level of ignorance as humans.

Even without the aforementioned element(s), the book is still little more than a contractual obligation to their publishers in an effort to draw this series out as long as possible to keep the money rolling in. It’s thin on plot, character development, and the amount of filler is beyond measure.

The only upside to this entire book was the slight amount of development of Shaunee, a character formerly known as Twin due to her synced up psyche with Erin (both part of the nerd herd). Due to an influence outside of their twindom, Shaunee has come into her own a little bit and seems more a feeling, thinking human than a android, snarking shopping machine. Too bad her character seemed to be an afterthought of growth instead of a serious player on the field.

The bottom line? If you’re going to waste your time, please don’t waste your money! Borrow it from a friend or the library.

For more of admittedbookgeek’s reviews, check out her blog, Cannonball Fodder

This review is part of Cannonball Read IV. Read all about it.