ARC Review: The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Release Date: September 10th, 2013

288 pages

Publisher: HarperTeen

Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

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.

Mythology is something that always gets my attention in the young adult genre, so this one was a must-read for me, and I was even happier when I got my hands on an ARC. The Chaos of Stars was an interesting read, because even though I loved the author's idea, in my opinion the plot could have been better executed. Nevertheless I would certainly buy a copy of it if I saw it in a bookstore; the cover is stunning!

To understand why the plot was the main attraction and yet also a disappointment, I have to give away a minor spoiler...(so I advise you to skip this part if you'd rather not know it!) Not only do we get to read about Egyptian mythology, some Greek gods show up as well! However I was expecting more interaction between both cultures and see how that played out. Unfortunately I felt like this addition of the Greek mythology was just a minor detail. Nonetheless I was impressed with the idea and also very entertained throughout the novel (despite the rather slow beginning).

Isadora was a bit annoying, to be completely honest. I understand her reasons for hating love (ok, maybe I don't! Who doesn't like to love and be loved? Anyway..) but she goes too far with it. Ry is just the perfect guy and she kept turning him down with not enough reason to do so. I probably liked the side characters more than the main character herself. Ry was a dreamy love interest and totally not the badboy type. If you are into guys that like their poetry, Ry is the YA boy for you!

I love Kiersten White's writing and I'm certainly picking up anything this author writes next. I really enjoyed this novel, don't get me wrong, I just think that it didn't reach its full potential. It does make a great reading, though. So pick up this novel tomorrow in the nearest bookstore! If you are a mythology freak like me, I'm certain you will enjoy it!

Huge thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy in exchange of an honest review!