Thursday, June 2, 2011

Of Greek Tragedy, Love, & Family

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini


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.




*Thud* *thud* *thud* *sobbing* WHY!!!!!!????!!!! What do I do to deserve this torment? Why must I be tortured by wonderful books that  leave me with cliffhangers and unanswered questions that won't be answered for years?! Is this  pay back for not having to wait for Harry Potter and trying to read a whole series once it came out??? Ugh. I think I'm cursed.


No I think WE are cursed because it always happens....but mostly its my fault for telling you to read them. Sorry Gomez but they are just to good to keep to myself and you know it. When I told Gomez about this book I just vaguely described the end because I know how she gets. It's like attack of the Gomez Monster and I'm the victim. LOL. But, she can never say that she doesn't love anything I say is amazing, especially this book.



Speaking of curses....Once you read Starcrossed you are going to feel cursed (in a wonderful way) because you are going to love this book. You will be consumed by the need to discover what happens next.


Starcrossed is like all really good things that are slightly bad for you (i.e. shopping, chocolate-comfort food...)....(Hey chocolate can NEVER be bad, I resent that). Let me explain. You will love this book. You will love the characters- ALL of them primary and secondary. You're faith in YA books will be reaffirmed. You may even find yourself crying yourself to asleep from worry and the desperate need to know what will happen next. Your adoration of Josephine Angelini and Starcrossed will be a wonderful thing, like really exspensive forgein chocolate made with magic. But your thoughts will be overtaken by what will happen and of the scenes you have just read. You may find yourself no longer enjoying social contact, instead finding joy in the pages of Angelini's writing. Or you might read all night, thus not doing your work or properly eating and exercising. Now you see what I mean.*
*This may be an exaggeration. Maybe.


Well, I personally thought it was AMAZING! Cliffhanger and all. I love a good cliffhanger and this one was pure perfection. Even though I did cry when it finished (Snuggling with my pillow and eating chocolate to comfort my emotional tornado) I felt like I wanted to join all the characters in the book.


One of the bets parts about this book was Lennie, or Helen Hamilton to be exact. She was a main character that you instantly just like. She's gorgeous (she has the same looks and name as a certain someone who launched a thousand ships). She has amazing abilities that make her a powerful Scion. She has the undenying love of an amazing guy. But no matter how wonderful Helen is, it is IMPOSSIBLE to dislike her. She is a charcter that doesn't intimidate the reader, but instead she draws you into her world. Helen is very likable becasue she never tries to admit she's normal since she obviously is far from it. The only thing that pinched me was how much Helen wanted to physically be with Lucas. Her feelings on the matter seemed to change as she understood more and took on more responsibilty, though which showed her character growth.


I have to agree. Helen was the perfect balance of beauty and brains, clumsiness and poise, and was overall SUPER (no pun intended). She's like that girl that you want to hate because she is so darn nice and gorgeous, but you can't help but like her, even though she has a super hot guy that loves her to pieces. I mean she is basically your girl-next-door but super model looking and also super powered. Then, on top of that, she knows she isn't average (A word that her BFF, Claire, tries to get out of her vocabulary and mind), no matter how hard she tries. And, I can't say that wanting to go far with Lucas was bad, I mean give her a break he was freaking gorgeous as well! Everyone can't be saints, but Helen tried and overcame it. The more she learned and realized on her own was the more she grew into maturity and responsibility, showing that she is also a saint in disguise.


The character growth and the characters in general in Starcrossed are fantastic. All of the characters had depth and emotions. They were real people, in book sense...you know what I mean. I was especially pleased by Claire, Helen's faithful best friend. I especially loved how Claire knew about Helen's abilities before Helen did! Pushing Helen off the roof, stabbing her....she is the coolest best friend ever.


It is decided in my mind that everyone, I mean EVERYONE, needs a Claire and a Hector in their life. Claire is the bestie that will never leave you, even if you are a reincarnated beauty from Greek history with powers that were bestowed on you by the Gods. That is what I call dedication! And Hector is all muscle and tussle, but he is also loyal and has family values that are out of this world. He will tell it to you straight, beat the hell out of you, and will come back and ask if you want more. But besides them, all the characters in the book
we so well thought out and balanced each other out perfectly. I can tell how much the creation of this book must have been for Ms. Angelini, because the amount of care that is put into the book is noticeable through every character, scene, and the amazing plot.


Josephine Angelini, I just want to say thank you for such a wonderful book- I can't wait for the next two books in the series (I agree with Gomez, Ms. Angelini, which is an awesome name by the way). We will be owning them all. Oh, one more thing- please PLEASE write as fast as you can because we'll be dying in wait for your books.




Rating:
-Gilbert & Gomez

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