The Chaos of Starsby: Kiersten White
Publication Date: Sept. 10, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Mythology
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC received from Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 288 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3/5 stars
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.
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.
When I first read the blurb and saw the cover for this book, I knew I had to read it. I am obsessed with mythology and while Greek and Roman have ruled my heart for quite some time, Egyptian mythology has become more and more fascinating to me over the years. While I have been seeing some lower reviews for this book, I found it to be interesting and I was engaged for the majority of the time. While I definitely did not hate this book, I did not find myself loving it either. The main character was not very likeable and I really despised how she treated Ry, the love interest. I get her hang ups, I do, but if I were him I don't know that I would've put up with her crap.
Isadora, our main character, is the daughter of Osiris and Isis. As I said, she is definitely not a very great protagonist. She has serious maturity issues, and acts rather selfishly for pretty much the entire book. She is angry at her parents, she doesn't feel as if they care enough about her, and she wants nothing more than to just get away. With her mother pregnant again, she is determined more than ever to leave. However, after Isis realizes she may be in danger, sending her away might be what is best for her daughter. Isadora goes to live with her brother in San Diego and is looking forward to her freedom. However, freedom is rarely ever free. Isis has set Isadora with a job at a museum to help with their newest Egyptian display her parents are donating. While Isadora is initially miserable at this prospect, it actually leads her to befriend Tyler, the niece of one of the curators, and Ry, a boy with the most beautiful blue eyes she's ever seen. By forging these friendships, Isadora is able to make the best of her situation, despite the lingering discomfort her dreams are giving her.
I really liked Ry's character, and again I really disliked the way Isadora treated him. He was sweet and caring and wants to form a friendship with her. Yet, Isadora is so jaded by love that she refuses to acknowledge that she cares for him. She is constantly pushing him away and she really drove me crazy with all her 'love is bullshit, it's not worth having because it will just wither or die nonsense'. Ry's character turned out to be a surprise in more ways than one. At first you think he's just the introspective guy who is constantly scribbling in his notebook, and then he's trying to impress Isadora, telling her friendship is ok, when he really wants more. There is also another surprise with Ry that I definitely didn't see coming, but I thought it was a pretty neat twist to the story. And let me say for the record- Isadora completely overreacted when she found out this twist. Not to mention, Ry is there for her even after she has rejected him and hurt his feelings.
I confess, the plot was rather lackluster. Isadora is working at a museum, she's interested in interior design, she makes friends and hangs out with them, and then fights her burgeoning feelings for Ry. There just wasn't a whole lot of action and things progressed at a rather slow pace. I did enjoy reading the segments where we got a bit of a history lesson on the Egyptian gods, however. The book did pick up towards the end once we understood Isadora's dreams and what they meant for her and her family. Isadora did end up redeeming herself and was able to put aside her immature ways in order to serve the greater good. As much as she wants to cast her family aside, blood is thicker than water, and it's not as easy to turn your back on your family as you may think.
Overall, this was an interesting read, but not one I'd probably go out and read again in the future.
