Tuesday, August 16, 2011

A Reader's Ramble- The Goddess Test

Hey everyone! I hope you have enjoyed all these fabulous guest posts over the past nine days! As you are reading this I am on my way home, another seven hour car ride. I'll be posting pictures from my vacation tomorrow. But for now, here's a Reader's Ramble for you all!


I will be reviewing The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter.



It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

Ugh, I'm so sick of everything I copy being highlighted in white! I can't get it off! Anyways..

Plot- This was a really different read for me. Normally, I hate fantasy. It bores me and confuses me. I can't relate to any of the situations or characters because none of it could ever happen in real life! But my cousin who is a fantasy lover told me I should read this book. I told her my thoughts on fantasy and she said, "That's weird, I love fantasy because I CAN'T relate to any of the situations or character's problems. I have enough of my own problems so it's nice to go into a whole new world and read about something totally different." 


Do any of you fantasy lovers think like that? I thought it was really interesting. When she told me this book was Greek Mythology, I started to want to read it. I actually like Greek Mythology. 


Anyways, back to the plot. Well, it kept my attention. There was always something happening so I was really never bored with it. It was a really unique story and had tons of action and suspense. The romance in it was great, it really kept me hooked. I love Kate and Henry together, that is just beautiful. There were really sad, scary, and really happy parts in this book. It was a bit of everything. Tons of pressure was on the MC throughout the story.


But, this is also where a lot of my negatives are. It all seemed a bit rushed. Like she moved to the new town and BAM. I don't know really. Some of the dialogue seemed really immature and unrealistic, some forced. Henry's dialogue was more of the unrealistic and forced. Kate's was more immature. She rambled a lot and asked SO MANY QUESTIONS. I'm like gah, shut up. 


Some of the situations in this book were really bizarre too. They had me going "What the heck?" But I guess it's because I hardly ever read fantasy. I guess fantasy is supposed to be bizarre so it picks up your imagination.


It was a little confusing too, especially with the religion part. Like, I'm a Christian so some of it really disagreed with my beliefs. But, oh well.


Setting- Well, I can't really say a lot about the setting because it will ruin the story. I think it fit really well with the book though. It was spooky, creepy and magical. I liked it.


Theme- If this book has a theme, it's caring about others more than yourself. Kate demonstrates this so well. She was willing to risk her life for any one else. She cares so much about her mother and well everyone! I loved the message of this book. Courage is a big theme too.


Characters- Mixed feelings on the characters. I loved Kate. She was down to earth, caring, kind, loving, brave, and just all around a really good character! I loved how she portrayed the theme. I found her to be very realistic and I felt like I would like her if she existed. She was willing to sacrifice to much for everyone else. Other than some of her dialogue being immature, I have no other negatives about her.


Henry.. *swoons* he is just the perfect character. He is so romantic and I really liked him as a character. He lost so much in his "life," and Kate helps him to love again and gain confidence. They are the perfect couple. He has some anger issues.. but him being Hades, the king of the underworld, kind of makes it a given.  


The other characters.. They were good.. they kind of offended me in it though. You need to read it to see your opinion on the minor characters. Their actions made me mad and I felt the MC was betrayed and lied to the whole time by people she thought she was friends with and loved. That kind of made me mad but I guess it needed to be done. 


Cover- I think it's really pretty, the font is beautiful! That is kind of how I imagined Kate. I don't know if it would catch my eye on a shelf but I still like it. And the title.. it's not very creative at all. "The Goddess Test." Come on. An idiot like me could come up with that. It doesn't do justice to the book.


Overall- Like I said, I usually do not like Fantasy books. Although, I am quite interested in Greek Mythology. When I learned about it in 7th grade, I loved it! I find it so cool and unique. I loved to read all the stories. I'm going into 11th grade now, so I don't remember a lot of the stories or gods. 


Expecting to hate this, it was actually a pretty good read. It wasn't amazing and had some faults, but it was worth the read and I look forward to reading the sequel when it is released. It doesn't end on a cliffhanger, it has an ending where it doesn't matter if you read the next book or not. The ending is really, really shocking. Well, for me it was anyway. I totally didn't see it coming. I like endings like that. The book kept my attention and kept me entertained while I had nothing else to read on this vacation. 


With that said, considering all the faults it had, this book gets 4/5 stars! I recommend it. It was worth the  time and I think lovers of Fantasy would really enjoy this. Especially lovers of Greek Mythology! I hate most Fantasy and I still liked it, so if you love Fantasy you may love it! 




4 comments:

Alyianna said...

I love fantasy! No offense, but I think that's kind of a stupid comment about not being able to relate to fantasy in any way.

You can always relate to fantasy in some way, I think. The characters, no matter whether they are hobbits, elves, or aliens are always human in some way.

Does anyone else agree with me?

Alyianna said...

Hey I finished reading what you have written so far in Flawed, Paige! It is soooo good. I heard you're having writer's block...maybe I could write a little bit of what I would have happen next and maybe that would help you?

Alyianna said...

Hi Paige I tagged you!

http://alaw-themeblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-second-award-kinda.html

Anonymous said...

Ooh ooh ooh! I'm a fantasy lover AND a Greek mythology lover! This book sounds really neat, and I may have to check it out. :) I have to say, though, I love fantasy so much it's hard to understand why you don't...

The good thing about books, of course, is that there's something for everyone! :D