Hasty plot resolution and uneven character development make this myth-inspired teen romance less than heavenly.
Surprise! Not only are the Greek gods real, but their interference in the love lives of mortals has disastrous consequences. Sound familiar?
In Gorzelanczyk’s debut novel, Aaryn, the son of Eros, is training to become a full god, and making Karma Clark and her homecoming date, Danny Bader, fall in love is his final exam. Unfortunately, love’s arrow strikes only Karma, and Aaryn must mitigate the damage done to her life—teen pregnancy and the loss of her ballet scholarship—by making Danny propose marriage. The story mines some of the same god-human territory as Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, but part of those novels’ charms lies in the complicated interplay between lofty Olympus and the mortal world. Both realms must be fully delineated if readers are to care that the protagonist is caught between them. Instead, modern-day Olympus is hastily dispatched to focus on the inevitable Aaryn-Karma-Danny love triangle, which stretches credulity by being told to readers rather than shown. At one point, Karma compares their forbidden friendship/romance to Johnny and Baby from Dirty Dancing, which, rather than heightening the romance, makes it feel like a retread done better elsewhere. Oddly enough, the most authentic character is Danny, the ne’er-do-well jock who prefers beers with friends to diaper duty.
Hasty plot resolution and uneven character development make this myth-inspired teen romance less than heavenly. (Fantasy. 13-17)Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-553-51044-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story.
Is an exuberant extended family the cure for a breakup? Sophie is about to find out.
When Sophie unexpectedly breaks up with her boyfriend, she isn’t thrilled about spending the holidays at her grandparents’ house instead of with him. And when her grandmother forms a plan to distract Sophie from her broken heart—10 blind dates, each set up by different family members—she’s even less thrilled. Everyone gets involved with the matchmaking, even forming a betting pool on the success of each date. But will Sophie really find someone to fill the space left by her ex? Will her ex get wind of Sophie’s dating spree via social media and want them to get back together? Is that what she even wants anymore? This is a fun story of finding love, getting to know yourself, and getting to know your family. The pace is quick and light, though the characters are fairly shallow and occasionally feel interchangeable, especially with so many names involved. A Christmas tale, the plot is a fast-paced series of dinners, parties, and games, relayed in both narrative form and via texts, though the humor occasionally feels stiff and overwrought. The ending is satisfying, though largely unsurprising. Most characters default to white as members of Sophie’s Italian American extended family, although one of her cousins has a Filipina mother. One uncle is gay.
An enjoyable, if predictable, romantic holiday story. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02749-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway.
Stephanie and her family move into an old mansion rumored to have been put under a curse after a turn-of-the-20th-century rich boy meddled with an Egyptian mummy.
After her young sister complains about strange events, high school student Stephanie befriends Lucas, a geeky, good-looking boy, and meets the other members of SPOoKy, the Scientific Paranormal Organization of Kentucky: Charlotte, Wes, and Patrick. Stephanie learns the history of her new home from Lucas, who attracts her romantic attention, but the usually levelheaded girl is soon drawn to Erik, the handsome phantom who first comes to her in dreams. The story is told in chapters narrated by Stephanie, Lucas, and Zedok, whose identity is initially a source of confusion to Stephanie. Zedok appears wearing different masks, “personified slivers” of his soul, representing states of mind such as Wrath, Madness, and Valor. Meanwhile, until gifted singer Stephanie came along and he could write songs for her, Erik’s dreams were thwarted; he wanted to be a composer but his family expected him to become a doctor. In the gothic horror tradition, Erik’s full background and connection with Zedok are slowly revealed. Romantic dream sequences are lush and swoon-y, but the long, drawn-out battle to end the curse, aided by a celebrity clairvoyant, is tedious, and the constant introduction of Erik’s different personae is confusing. Most characters default to White; Patrick is Black.
The Phantom of the Opera served as inspiration, but this wouldn’t last on Broadway. (Horror. 13-16)Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11604-3
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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