Booknotized

Hardback

After being in half-frozen, medieval pseudo-Britain for the last month (courtesy of my obsession with A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings), I’m thinking it might be kinda fun to take a trip south to the magical, Mediterranean climate of ancient Greece. A couple of the reviews hint that it’s a “fluff” read, but I’m not entirely against those. I am curious to see if the writing style is any more sophisticated than that in Percy Jackson’s neo-mythology—and in what ways a female character contrasts to our beloved water boy. Stay tuned for the verdict.

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Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: May 1, 2008
Series: Oh. My. Gods.

Paperback

“Phoebe Castro is a distance runner who plans on winning a full-ride cross-country scholarship to USC with her two best friends. Then her mother returns from a family reunion abroad with a Greek fiancé who runs a private school and announces that she and Phoebe will be moving to an island in the Aegean. The news gets worse as the teen arrives to find out that there is no scheduled ferry service from the island. To top off everything, she learns that every other student is descended from one or more Greek gods. Her new stepfather tells her that she cannot share this fact with anyone, for the safety of everyone on Serfopoula. Things seem to be looking up when she meets an absolutely gorgeous guy while running on the beach and, despite her lack of divine ancestry, she is granted a provisional place on the cross-country team. The IMs fly back and forth between Greece and southern California, magical hijinks abound, and classes and practice keep the protagonist busy. The story is part “Harry Potter,” part Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief(Hyperion/Miramax, 2005), and part shojo, and it will keep teens, particularly girls, reading to find out if Phoebe will finally fit in, get her crush, and make the team.” (via Amazon)