Book Review: Starcrossed, by Josephine Angelini

Author: Josephine Angelini
Release Date: June 2011
Publisher: HarperTeen
4 Stars - Really liked this book, would definitely recommend 

Synopsis

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.

I had a very hard time getting through the first one-third of this story.  Then things started to pull together, and started to make sense.  Then I could not put it down!  A couple years ago I took a Greek And Roman cultures class (yes, I even got an A) and it was also about the time the movie Troy came out.  I was engrossed with the story of Helen, and Paris and the city of Troy.  I have always been attracted and interested in Greek and Roman mythology. I am also a huge fan of Percy Jackson, and those books gave middle school kids a glimpse into Greek/Roman culture without the truly devastating parts. This book takes YA to another level, taking it away from vampires, and werewolves, and dystopian fiction. Angelini brings it up a notch introducing a new level of dark tragedy for an older audience.  It is a truly haunting  love story. 
My favorite scene of the whole book is when Helen and Lucas crash into the earth together.  Their relationship is complicated, and dangerous.  The second book in this series, Dreamless is due in May of 2012.  To me this is not soon enough! More forbidden love, action and prophecies!   

photo and synopsis courtesy of Goodreads