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Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White (Review)



Genre:
Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication Date:September 10, 2013
Pages:278
Published By:  Harper Teen
WebsiteKiersten White Website

My review copy:Purchased
Buy it: 
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Chapters

Synopsis

Isadora's family is seriously screwed up—which comes with the territory when you're the human daughter of the ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Isadora is tired of living with crazy relatives who think she's only worthy of a passing glance—so when she gets the chance to move to California with her brother, she jumps on it. But her new life comes with plenty of its own dramatic—and dangerous—complications . . . and Isadora quickly learns there's no such thing as a clean break from family.


Quotes
  For that single second before I pull my hand away, before my brain and will and resolve kick in, it's like magic.  Real magic, not the stupid blessed-amulet kind, not the using-the-right-words-that-Isadora-can-never-know kind, but electricity and butterflies and a feeling of everything in the universe suddenly lining up exactly so and opening up an entirely new way to see, to do, to be.
  I will not drown tonight.
  I will not drown ever.
  I am the desert.  I am the desert.  I am stone.
  "I didn't fall in love with you.  I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way.  I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we'd choose anyway.  And I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you."

My Thoughts

  This was a stunningly written, uniquely wonderful story.  I am admittedly not up on my Egyptian mythology so I worried that I may have to do a little research to start.  However, this mattered little as this book was more like a contemporary romance type deal, with a mythology twist.  This was cause for disappointment to start but White had no problem crafting this into something new and interesting, holding my attention right from the start.

  The pacing was virtually flawless, even when the plot itself could have tilted in a slightly different direction.  There was a lot of resent that the protagonist was constantly flitting at, even in her escape she saw her past and her future as a curse.  This also created a sense of disappointment because there was not as much of a focus on the Gods and Goddesses as I thought there would be.  You do get a touch of a story, a history at the start of each new chapter.  Mostly the story or quick part of it, was important to the chapter and the book but this also made me wish that the book was crafted into that time.  This being said once I got over the fact that the book was not about the Egyptian Gods and that they were more like supporting actors in Isadora's story, I enjoyed the read more than I expected.

  Isadora herself was different.  I struggled with her at first, finding her disappointment and resentment a little annoying and selfish.  However, the more I got to know her the more I understood her.  Coming from parent that are immortal, it would probably be hard to deal with the fact that everything is not forever.  There was a point in the book that I can't quite pin point, but a light bulb came on and I just understood.  It was most likely her aversion to love and how it wasn't permanent.  The thing is that she does grow from there, learns that permanent isn't always wonderful and sometimes accepting the little things can make the time we have that much better.  Isadora is a stubborn character but she does grow and at the same time grow on you.  

  As mentioned above this book was more like a contemporary romance with an Egyptian Gods twist.  I never had a problem with this, even when Isadora and Ry's (Orion) attraction was fairly quick.  See, I don't particularly complain when romance is expatiated because of Gods.  I mean, basically being any part of any mythology puts you into some sort of romantic chaos.  This is not limited to quick attraction either so I counted my blessings that there was no triangle, square or any other shape of romance.  It wasn't hard to fall for Ry, he's a good guy and I had high hopes for him and though the attraction was obvious, Isadora did everything within her power to deny love.  Orion being raised differently sees things differently, making it a little easier for him to try and pull Isadora to the love side. 

  The Chaos of Stars was a read like no other that played easily on its own kind of faith, showed that getting away isn't always what we need and yet sometimes it is.  There may have been conflicts in this review and at times while reading, but I could never deny that White created something unique.  This book will attract people that want a read more about the love than the gods, and yet want the touch of mythology surrounding Egyptian Gods and Goddesses.  Knowing that the main focus isn't the Egyptian mythology itself may make peoples opinion a little different on this one, and though I really enjoyed it I would caution people before recommending they pick it up.  Basically I am saying pick it up but know all is not as it seems.


Posted by Tiffany


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