{Review} 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.

Title: Starcrossed {Starcrossed, book 1}

Author: Josephine Angelini

Publication: 31st May 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

496 pages

Starcrossed is the first book of a trilogy.


My review

As the cover was stunning, the summary really promising and the reviews ecstatic, I've immediately jumped on this book. If I'm a bit less enthusiastic than other people, it was nonetheless a really good read. Starcrossed is mostly original and the way Josephine Angelini deals with Greek mythology is refreshing.

I must admit it, at the beginning, I nearly dropped this novel because I didn't understand a thing. All was really confused and Helen's actions didn't make sense at all, she seemed totally silly. Really, at first, Helen acts like she's crazy. But I don't like to give up a book so I continued reading and after 100 pages I finally dived in the story.

After this laborious start, I finally get hooked and I couldn't put Starcrossed down. The second half of the book is really better than the beginning, it's fast-paced and full of mysteries. The world built by Josephine Angelini is intricate, complex and interesting. However, everything is quite predictable. Besides one or two aspects of the story, I expected nearly all the twists.

The characters are endearing but I wasn't able to relate and sympathize with them at 100%. Helen is sometimes a bit too shy and coy. And as for Lucas, he is sometimes a bit too weak. It's true that their relationship is complicated and desperate but they don't try to do anything or act to get out, so that disappointed me a little.

The ambivalent love/hate bond between Helen and Lucas was interesting but this aspect is quickly given up by Josephine Angelini for a more conventional plot. Fortunately there is no love triangle at the moment. In fact, I prefered the secondary characters who are more charismatic. And especially Claire who is often very funny and smart.

The writing is smooth, quite compelling and the dialogues are tasty. The atmosphere is really awesome. I loved that the action takes place on Nantucket Island. The descriptions are very well-written and the scenery looks really vivid and alive, it was so easy for me to visualize the landscapes. I could easily imagine myself walking on the beach on Nantucket island, along the sea,  a beautiful and sunny day.

To sum up, it's a promising debut and I rather liked this book, but not as much as I thought I would. It was nonetheless a great and refreshing read. I loved how Josephine Angelini modernizes and deals with Greek mythology. The characters, and especially the secondary characters, are pleasant and I utterly loved the atmosphere. The second part of Starcrossed really made me want to continue the story and I think I will buy the sequel, Dreamless, next year.