Zoey spends a good chunk of Marked obsessing over finding a home and fitting in. The home she occupies with her mom, step-dad, and siblings isn't a particularly welcoming place, though she gets to visit her awesome grandma. And then suddenly, Zoey has to go live at the House of Night, which is basically like a boarding school for magical vampyres-to-be. No wonder Zoey has all these conflicting feelings about home.
She's not the only character feeling tense about this topic, though, and all the other fledglings have to adjust to their new home—heck, even Aphrodite makes a reference to not always feeling welcome. So the idea of having a home where you belong is something that all sorts of people are seeking in this book.
Questions About The Home
- Why do you think Zoey hates her home so much?
- How is the House of Night different from Zoey's home? Come up with at least three contrasts.
- If you had to move to the House of Night, what would you do when you got there in order to feel more at home?
- If you had to speculate about the home Aphrodite came from before being Marked, what would you imagine? Why?
Chew on This
If home is where the heart is, Zoey will feel most at home wherever she has good friends who accept her for who she is.
If Zoey had been allowed to live with her grandmother, she wouldn't have been as eager to move to the House of Night.