Book Review: Starcrossed

Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: May 31, 2011
Pages: 487
Read it in: 5 days

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire 16 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 thoughout 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 forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together-- and tearing them apart.

LC's Take:

Starcrossed was only the second book I've read in the mythology genre, but let me tell you, it captured me right away! I'm finding that I really love reading these mythology-based stories-- they're just so much fun and really entertaining to read, and even though I'm definitely not a mythology-buff, the different plot-lines and cast of colorful characters pull me right into the story. Starcrossed was everything that I'd look for in a mythological story-- it was fun, entertaining, mysterious, suspenseful, and able to keep me turning the pages with an awesome plot-line!

Helen Hamilton has always known that she's different-- and she's spent her entire life trying to hide it. Not exactly one of the popular girls in school, Helen is just happy being able to disappear into the crowd. That is, until the Delos family moves to her hometown in Nantucket. From the first time Helen lays eyes on Lucas Delos, she feels inexplicably drawn to him-- and a pure hatred drives her to kill him no matter what.

Doesn't really sound like your typical YA love story, does it!?

So that plot twist definitely grabbed me within the first few chapters. I had no idea how Helen and Lucas were ever going to end up falling in love when they start out wanting to kill each other! But as the intricate story unravels, things begin to make much more sense, as Helen and Lucas' Greek demigod pasts begin to catch up with them.

I definitely liked Helen as a character, because she had strength and resilience. She wasn't too whiny or ditzy or unable to live without a guy. Also, I thought that Helen took things pretty well, considering that she has to find out that she's descended from the gods and there's a bunch of crazy demigod descendants out to kill her-- I'm not so sure I'd have been so cool with that!

For the most part, I liked the romance between Helen and Lucas. I don't want to give anything away, but basically the entire story centers around fate-- probably the biggest theme in Greek mythology. The scenes between Lucas and Helen made for great reading, especially as Lucas trains Helen, teaches her to fly and use her demigod powers. But at the same time, both of them could be super-annoying at times, acting really immature, pouting, being mad at each other for no good reason other than that they keep misunderstanding each other-- I seriously just wanted to slap some sense into both at them at certain points of the story. Towards the end though, I think we can see some major development in both of their characters, and I'm so psyched to see what happens in the next book!

The only other thing that got to be a *bit* overwhelming with reading Starcrossed was that there were SO many characters to keep track of! I mean it wasn't impossible or anything, but at points I was just like, jeez I should be writing all these names down! But otherwise, the story was awesome and left me wanting more.

So if you're a fan of mythology in YA, I would definitely recommend this book! Or even if you haven't read too many mythology-based stories yet, this one would be a great pick. Dreamless comes out May 29th and I can't wait to continue this story!

~Cover Talk~

The cover to Starcrossed is so gorgeous! I just love the picture of Helen in her flowy-purple dress standing on the stormy shore of Nantucket-- it really does look very haunting, and drew me to this book in the first place. I just wish that it didn't cut off the profile of her face-- I know, it's supposed to create some mystery since we can't see exactly what Helen's infamously beautiful face looks like, but still!

LC's Rating:

Overall I really enjoyed reading this one-- it was totally fun and entertaining. I think the only thing that got to be a little difficult was keeping track of the HUGE number of characters!!