Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.
Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.
Why I read it: Received an ARC copy *publication date is 9/9/2013
The Characters: The main character, Isadora, can get a little whiny and annoying at times, but she's probably a typical teenager. I don't really think any of the other characters were fleshed out enough to really get a feel for them. We were mainly inside Isadora's head, which is what happens with first person writing.
The Setting: Some of the book takes place in Egypt, but it's mostly in San Diego. The narrator doesn't paint a very flattering picture of San Diego, as she mostly complains that it's too crowded and noisy there.
Who Should Read This: Probably fans of this author would enjoy this book, although I haven't read anything else by her to be sure. I guess YA fantasy fans who have read a lot of the good stuff, and are looking for something new.
Final Thoughts: I've read some pretty bad reviews of The Chaos of Stars, and I have to say I didn't think it was all that bad. Sure, there is better YA stuff out there, but there is a lot worse too. And clocking in at less than 300 pages with fairly big print, this was a really quick read, which is nice sometimes.
I feel like with the shortness of the book, the story wasn't super fleshed out, but it was really good enough for a bit of entertainment. That's mostly what I'm looking for these days when I read.
I don't know a whole lot about Egyptian mythology, so maybe this book is way off base with it all, and that could be annoying for people. But if you don't know/don't care that much, it's not a big deal. I wouldn't say run out and pick up a copy of this one, but if you come across it at the library or something and are looking for something to read, it's a decent choice.
Cover Thoughts: The cover is gorgeous. Honestly, even though I liked the book fine, I think the cover is the best part of the book.
Grade: 3 stars (liked it)
I thought the author was pretty flattering about San Diego with its gorgeous weather and enviable lifestyle (guess where both I and the author live?) I think my feelings are similar to yours-I've read worse but I've also read a lot more that excited me.
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