Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: May 31rst, 2011
Genre: YA
Pages: 496 pgs
ISBN: 9780062011992

Rating: 4 stars

Summary from GoodReads:

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

My Review:

I do not know much about Greek mythology and I read The Goddess Test earlier this year and I really enjoyed reading more about Greek myth. When I was approved for this book by NetGalley I was really excited to read it. Now I know I just mentioned The Goddess Test but I should say that Starcrossed is nothing like The Goddess Test. I have mentioned in other reviews that I really dislike when a character completely changes when they find out they are something paranormal or supernatural. This does not happen in this book and I loved Helen's character. She does want to rebel a bit but she doesn't completely change who she is. She continues to hold her relationships dear and she makes an effort to try to fit into her new lifestyle. I loved that Angelini made the characters similar to particular greek gods. Helen is like Helen of Troy and Lucas is like Paris. She didn't bog down her story with too much background on greek mythology. She added this into her story in a way that flowed really well. Her writing style creates an element of suspense and you end up reading the whole novel quickly. I was done within a day and I couldn't get through it quickly enough. I loved all the minor characters in this novel as well. I am interested to see what happens in the next book in terms of character development. I am wondering if Daphne will stick around and if Helen and Lucas end up together. I was a little sad when the book ended because I just wanted to know more. I can not wait for the next installment of this series and I highly recommend you go out and get this book if you haven't already.