Review: Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Helen is tall, gorgeous, brilliant, incredibly strong, and painfully shy. Literally. Her stomach cramps if she finds herself the center of attention. She lives a quiet life on Nantucket island with her father, and does everything she can to shrink down and fit in. But her super-human strength and shockingly real nightmares tell her she’s anything but normal.

When the Delos family moves to Nantucket, Helen battles with uncharacteristic hatred. When she finds herself trying to kill Luke Delos, the most beautiful boy to ever walk the earth, in front of the entire school, she really knows she’s crazy. She is losing the battle against anger and hatred, and someone is going to get hurt. That someone could be her.

Slowly but surely, Luke and his family teach Helen about who she is: a demigod, endowed with surprising powers. Like their ancient counterparts, Helen of Troy and Paris, Luke and Helen know that to be together means starting a bloody war. Can they fight their attraction if it means saving the world?

**

At first I was not entirely sold on this book. I finished it and gave it a shrug. But then I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I had to open it and re-read most of the book. After the second read-through, I picked up on things I hadn’t read the first time. I noticed things the author snuck in and understood so much more.

There was such fantastic family dynamics, but to be honest, I sometimes got confused as to who belonged to whom. Maybe that was the point. It wasn’t so much, “these two are cousins and those two are siblings,” as it was, “they are family.”

Helen and Luke are the perfect star-crossed lovers. I was rooting for them the whole time. There was one love scene that was pretty cheesy, but who doesn’t love a cheesy love scene now and then?!

Word of caution, this is not like Percy Jackson. If you go into it thinking like that, you’ll be disappointed. I think this was a great read, and if you feel dissatisfied or confused the first time around, give it another skim through and you’ll catch on to more the second time around. I am looking forward to the sequel.

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (May 31, 2011)
• Language: English
• Source: the Publisher (via NetGalley)

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