Starcrossed

I had high hopes for Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini.  I love the idea of the Greek myths revisited yet with a modern twist.  I really liked the idea of there being scions (ancestors of the gods), able to fight, reliving the past and hopefully being able to right past wrongs.  There was also a lot of buzz about it, which I assumed meant that it was the greatest thing since Nutella on a banana.  I felt somewhat let down as I read it, and have talked with others who have felt similarly.

The book started off interestingly enough.  Helen, big and gorgeous, and her spunky little friend, Claire, are just your typical high school students until the Delos family moves to Nantucket.  Then it got really interesting when Helen tried to kill one of the family members Lucas, and wasn't sure why, and the Delos family felt the same way about her.

However, then it fell into the all to familiar pattern of "I used to hate you with a passion, but now I love you", and it all went downhill from there for me.  I don't feel like the idea behind the book was executed properly, that it was rushed just to be finished.

The book also openly mocked a popular vampire book series, however, the many similarities to the books were obvious:  the main character--beautiful, yet lonely and somewhat moody; the handsome new boy that can't be around her because it turns out he loves her too much; a big extended family with all sorts of odd powers that live together; and an absentee father. 

I would never claim to have an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology, however, even I could see some of the plot "twists" before they happened.

It also ended very abruptly; I don't feel like the problem was resolved, and I'm assuming this is because there is going to be a sequel, but I also didn't expect to keep turning pages only to find acknowledgements.  


While this wasn't the worst book I've ever read, I doubt I'll pick up the next book in the series to see how it plays out, which is a shame, as like I said, the idea is there and it is a good one.