Review: Starcrossed

by Josephine Angelini
publisher: HarperTeen
date published: May 31, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 496
source: purchased
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N
challenges: Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge; 2011 YA Reading Challenge

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.

What I Thought

When I first heard about Starcrossed, I was intrigued. The idea of waking from dreams that are all too real, being tailed by a trio of ghostly women, and a type of reincarnation enacted by the Fates was just such an interesting one. The setting is also one I have never read about in a book before, and the use of it as a background for a battle against the Fates themselves made the book all the more a must-read.

Upon first diving into this book, I was struck by just how awkward Helen is. This is a girl who would probably not strike you as a demigod due to her utter lack of confidence and roiling anxieties. However, there is more than meets the eye and, as it turns out, Helen's behavior stems from conditioning. I will not say from what, as that would give a lot away, but trust me, there is a reason that such a reportedly gorgeous girl is so painfully shy and awkward. Once Helen started coming into her own, things became really interesting. There are a lot of references to Greek mythology, which I loved immensely. There was some artistic license taken, but it wasn't done in an obnoxious way, which is saying something since I tend to be a stickler. I really enjoyed the origin story given for the Scions, as well as the danger that is building in their world. It all made for a very engrossing read and I couldn't get enough of their world.

The characters had many layers. Helen, as previously discussed, starts out as a shy, awkward teen who wants nothing more than to fade into the background. At times, it is very frustrating watching her refuse to use her intellect out of fear of standing out, but I do feel for her based on her anxiety issues. That one issue made her very easy to relate to for me. Lucas didn't appeal to me too much based on his continual concealing of facts. I wouldn't go so far to say as he lied by omission, but he definitely caused some problems with his secret-keeping. Other than that, he is a fairly honorable character who has been dealt a hard fate. It will be interesting to see if he can escape it. Finally, the villain in this book creeped me out. I have to say, though, that his description as being "pock-marked" made me think of Leo, the leader of the Scorpions in Grease (yes, I know I'm probably dating myself a bit; just go with it). He was menacing, chauvinistic, and eerily possessive. If he wasn't a Scion, he would probably be one of those creepy stalkers you hear about in the news. The fact that he is only the tip of the iceburg as far as the bad guys go left me wondering just how bad things are going to get in the second book.

The one thing that I think hurt the book were the errors that peppered the second half of the book. Once I hit the mid-way point, I started noticing several typos. There were extra words where it looked as though a sentence had been restructured and a word got mistakenly left behind. There were misspellings. It was all very distracting for me (then again, I am an English major and used to be a secondary proof reader for my college yearbook, so it could be just me) and made the second half of the book difficult to fully immerse myself into. It's really a shame and I feel as though the book and probably the author was let down a bit. It is difficult to find every typo in one's own work, so I can sympathize. I just hope the same problems don't appear in the second book. In the end, these typos couldn't detract too much from this wonderful story, but it was noticeable.

Overall, this book hit several of the points that I look for in a good read: setting; an interesting premise; a cast of characters that draw you in; and a truly creepy villain. I was left feeling very pleased with the book and can not wait to read the second book. I give Starcrossed 4 hoots.