That's pretty much how I see it. It's really disgusting how the books treat her as nothing more than stupid and irresponsible. Even her own mother, the so wonderful Grandma Redbird, tells her she's incapable of making decisions without consulting men. While I'm sure the Cast Ladies didn't intend for it, the books give the horrible sense that we're supposed to hate Zoey's mom because she was a failure as a parent for ignoring her children and hooking up with an abusive guy.