Character Analysis
Country Cutie
Stevie Rae is Zoey's roommate at the House of Night, and boy, is she your typical Oklahoma girl. She's into everything country, as Zoey notices when she looks around their room for the first time:
The first thing I saw was the life-sized Kenny Chesney poster that hung over one of the two beds and the cowboy (cowgirl?) hat that rested on one of the bedside tables—the one that also had the old-fashioned-looking gas lamp with the base shaped like a cowboy boot […] Stevie Rae was a total Okie! (8.48)
It's not just Stevie Rae's décor that gives her away. She has "a perky voice with an Okie accent" (8.36) and she has pajamas with "cowboy hats all over the drawstring cotton pants" (19.2).
She doesn't look like your typical vampyre, either (at least not according to the image Zoey has in her head)—instead Stevie Rae has big blue eyes, and she reminds Zoey of a "cute puppy with her short, curly hair and her smiling round face" (8.49). She's blond, too, which only adds to the wholesome country gal look.
Stevie Rae hails from Henrietta, Oklahoma, which is a teeny tiny town. Being Marked as a vampyre fledgling is what got her out of there. She says, "Mostly I'm just so darn glad to be out of Henrietta that I don't mind all the other stuff" (8.68). Hey, we're glad Stevie Rae's at the House of Night, too, because Zoey could really use a solid friend, which Stevie Rae is in spades.
Scaredy-Cat
Like her roommate, Stevie Rae's got a bit of coming into her own to do in this book, especially in the bravery department. Zoey's first glimpse of Stevie Rae is when Aphrodite leads Zoey to her room. Stevie Rae opens the door, "But the instant she saw Aphrodite, her grin slid from her face and she stopped hurrying toward us" (8.38). Uh-oh… someone seems a little freaked out.
Further, Zoey notices obvious signs of fright on Stevie Rae's face: "She looked like a terrified little rabbit" (8.40). Poor Stevie Rae, right? Between the scared rabbit description and the fact that Zoey keeps comparing Stevie Rae to a puppy, we're thinking Stevie Rae comes across as really vulnerable.
It takes a little while, but Stevie Rae finally tells Zoey why she's so afraid of Aphrodite: When Stevie Rae first arrived at school, the Dark Daughters invited her to a ritual… but they wanted her to be the refrigerator, not a participant. Stevie explains: "They made me cry and when I said no they laughed at me and kicked me out" (19.112). Sounds pretty traumatic, right? We can see why Aphrodite inspires such a fearful response in Stevie Rae.
It isn't just terrible Aphrodite who freaks Stevie out, though. Here's another example of our main girl's roomie not being brave: When Zoey tells Stevie Rae about seeing Elizabeth's ghost or whatever that was, Stevie Rae responds, "I would have been scared shitless" (19.20). Remember: She's a vampyre at vampyre school. So, you know, we're thinking she might expect to see strange things from time to time.
But you know what? By the end of the book, Stevie Rae has figured out how to be brave. She volunteers to be the refrigerator for the Dark Daughters Samhain ritual so she can text the location to Damien, Shaunee, and Erin. Thanks to Stevie Rae's courage, all four friends are there to help avert the ghost crisis, so, you know, major props.
Super-Caring Friend
For all that Stevie Rae's not perfect, she turns out to be a really awesome friend for Zoey. This is because she actually (gasp) cares about what happens to Zoey. Like when Zoey has to endure her first Dark Daughters ritual, Stevie Rae stays up late to find out how Zoey's doing after: "Curled up in bed with a book, Stevie Rae was obviously waiting up for me […] her short hair was sticking out on one side as if she'd fallen asleep on it" (19.2). Aw—such a good friend.
Stevie Rae is loyal, too. When Zoey figures out that her soon-to-be-ex-best-friend Kayla is trying to poach Heath, she thinks: "suddenly I couldn't help comparing her to Stevie Rae, who, even though I'd only known for a couple days, I was absolutely, totally sure would not ever go after my boyfriend, whether he was an almost-ex or not" (17.80). This is a pretty powerful conviction for Zoey to have, especially since her family's left her a little wary when it comes to trust, and this means Stevie Rae must be seriously awesome to have won her over so quickly.
Stevie Rae gets assigned the role of earth in Zoey's ritual circle, and you know what? We can totally see why: Like the earth under our feet, Stevie Rae is reliable and nurturing. Once she gets some more self-confidence, we bet she'll really blossom.