Enemies turned lovers
Series: Starcrossed
Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher: Macmillan Childern’s Books, UK
My ratings: 4 out of 5 stars
Released: June, 2011
Star Crossed is the first book in the Starcrossed trilogy by Josephine Angelini. I found it hard to get into the story at first. The first 50 pages or so were slow but essential in terms of setting the scene at Nantucket. Helen Hamilton is a shy, awkward and reserved teen living in Nantucket with her Dad and dreaming about leaving the sleepy tourist town just like everybody else. Her daily life is riddled with the same high school student she goes to, the same typical 'bitch' of the school and the guy who had a crush on her for years. She only has a few friends including her best friend Claire and tries to stay low and blend in. The reason is because Helen is not average. She knows she has some manner of special abilities like speed and strength which she desperately wants to hide and appear as dull as possible. However, things change, when the new guy in town appears, who everybody is gushing about. So, the first thing Helen does when she lays her eyes on Lucas? She wants to kill him.
It starts off with nothing special and I was in two minds about stopping when Lucas makes his appearance and things start getting interesting. I loved the dynamics between them. I have always been a fan of love hate relationship so this angle to the story was right up my street. Alas, it didn't last long. I truly wish more time was spent with Helen trying to kill Lucas and vice versa. What does it say about me? I'm blood thirsty.
Star -crossed had a third person narration which I believe is coming slowly into YA these days. It helps explore more dimensions of the story. I liked Helen and Lucas and they relationship was kind of cute. The vast arrays of characters were fun to read about. Scenes with lots of family members hustling and bustling makes for a feel good read. The mythology woven within the plot was believable but the conflict between Helen and Lucas towards the end felt pointless and drawn out.
It was a good enough read with a solid back story and a plausible dilemma for the star-crossed lovers. I enjoyed the Greek mythology derived plot line and the many side characters who in themselves were fun to read. However, the book was unnecessary long. It was nearly 550 pages and even though I enjoyed reading it once I put it down, I had difficulty picking it back up.
In the end, Star -Crossed is a solid YA fantasy book with a few over used cliché's but somehow managing to be entertaining at the same time. I'd recommend it to YA fans, who are by now fed up of vampires, werewolves and Angels who want something different to try like The Goddess Test.
Released June, 2011 in the UK
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