Starcrossed, by Josephine Angelini: A Review

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini joined my 2018 Reading Challenge list as #28, a book with song lyrics in the title. I had to do a bit of digging to find this one. This book has been on my shelf for a little while and I thought surely, the word star-crossed appears in song lyrics somewhere. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I managed to find a way to work a book into the list that I already had on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

This is the story of a girl and a boy, destined to be together, or rip each other apart. Maybe both. Based on Greek mythology in general, and more specifically on the story of Helen of Troy, it is a story doomed to be repeated again and again.

It’s the story of Helen Hamilton, a high school student who lives with her father on the isolated island of Nantucket. And yes, she’s connected to that Helen – the face that launched a thousand ships. Helen knows she is different and works hard to hide it. But when a new boy and his family arrive on the island, things only get stranger.

Though it may be little more than a hasty teenage romance written over the backdrop of myth and fated tragedy, I nevertheless found myself enjoying this book. It written in such a way that I was compelled forward. It’s a quick read and fun. I liked the characters, especially Helen’s best friend Claire.

I think I knew going into this book that it is part of a larger series. Still, I was unprepared for the ending. Or lack of an ending, really. I had hoped that more might be resolved by the end, but I think I’ve come away from this book with more questions than at the beginning. Will I read more? Probably. I’d like to know how the story plays out.