Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Starcrossed
By Josephine Angelini
ISBN: 978006201192
Publication Date: May 31, 2011
Reviewed from: a copy borrowed from my library






Story Breakdown:

Helen wishes she was a typical teenager—goes to school, work then home if not spending time with her friends. But Helen is not your normal teen and in Starcrossed, she learns just how different she is from you or me.

Along with Helen, we meet the the Delos family, who have recently moved from Europe to Nantucket. Helen is so tired of hearing about them, that she is even more shocked when she has feelings of wanting to kill Lucas Delos. He feels the same but he knows why—Helen is a Scion, a descendant of one of the gods from Olympus. The Scions are forced to live a cycle cursed on them back during the times of the Trojan War. Helen, Lucas and their families are doomed to play this cycle out—either they are going to have to eliminate each other or find a way to break the cycle.

Through happenstance they are able to appease the Furies, which allows Lucas and Helen to be together without wanting to hurt the other. With the guidance of Lucas’ family, Helen comes to learn what her special abilities are and how they will serve her as she, Lucas and the rest of the Scions are put to the test.



My Thoughts:

I am drawn to stories with mythology elements and I have to say, Ms. Angelini’s Starcrossed has quickly become one of my favorites. Mythology stories are by no means unique, what I appreciated and enjoyed about this one is Ms. Angelini’s take feels refreshing and not a story that happens to have mythological elements. Within Starcrossed, the mythology is woven into the story and it is integral to it—it does not feel like an afterthought or a jumping on the bandwagon type of book either. It helps to propel the story forward.

This is the first book in a trilogy and I am anxious to continue reading the series. I will be interested to see how Helen and Lucas continue to evolve, especially with the cliffhanger at the end of Book One. The next one is Dreamless and the series is finished up with Goddess, which was published on May 23rd.



Reader’s Advisory Notes:

• Genre fans: Young Adult; Fantasy; Mythology; Paranormal
• Readers who like these authors might like this book: Rick Riordan; Kiersten White; Meg Cabot
• Themes: overcoming obstacles; love; making tough decisions; family relationships; friendships
• Content Concerns: talks of virginity; violence

My Last Impression:

This is a title I am going to want to read again so I already have purchased it! I think I will pick up more of the foreshadowing and such after reading it a second time.