Oh. My. Gods. (Oh. My. Gods. #1)

I am really glad I kept reading past the first 30 or 40 pages because I ended up loving this book. The beginning was a little hard to get through, Phoebe was really whiny and while I understand why she was upset I didn't know if I wanted to read about a whiny character. But once Phoebe gets on the island, the pace picked up and I wanted to know what all was going on.

I actually liked every single character in the story. Phoebe wasn't a helpless and weak person, and her emotions felt real. She handles herself in ways that are believable and the relationships she develops with the other characters are genuine. The baddies, like Adara and Stella (for a little while) act like every other popular cranky girl you come across - snarky, judgmental and possessive. While the dynamics of the interactions between these characters are a bit typical, they never felt forced or insincere. Each character also represented their associated God really well. The descendants of Hades, the "Hades Harem" were the goths, decked out in black and heavy makeup. The Poseidon kids were burnout/stoner surfer kids with sun bleached shells and adorned in puca shells. I truly loved how Childs mixed the Gods and their domains with the characters without overwhelming detail.

I liked that Childs used mythology as the backdrop for her story, but it never took over and drove the book in a certain direction. Almost everything that happened could happen to anyone, cliques, spur of the moment marriages and moves, confusing crushes, all of it. Mythology just added a bit of flair and an interesting premise.

There were a couple of things that weren't explained to my liking, but I guess they really don't have answers and I'm just being picky. Overall I loved this book. It was a cute and fast read that kept me turning its pages after the first couple chapters. But that's more an issue of my pet peeves than an actual problem in pacing. I recommend this book to anyone in the mood for a light read with funny characters and a little bit of romance. The mythology accents the story enhancing the characters and relationships. And since it's such a short read, I think everyone would enjoy taking a break from the super intense thrillers that have been released lately.

Reader reviewed by The Bookshelf Sophisticate

Right off the bat I just have to say that this was a fun book to read.
I've always been fascinated with Greek and Roman mythology, right from
the start in middle school where it was a large part of my history
class' curriculum. And not much has changed. I'm still interested in
mythology and folklore, but I've expanded my horizons since sixth grade,
and my interests now vary and include exploring cultures other than
Greek and Roman. But when I came across this book and found it a was
another fun spin on Greek mythology I couldn't resist...and I'm glad I
didn't. Oh.My.Gods. is book I'm glad I
added to my collection.

I've read a lot of great books lately but
not many have been light reads. Some were intense and others very
dramatic and emotional. This book was not any of those things in my
opinion. It was light and I found it easy to fly through the pages. It
was extremely fun to read about the main character Phoebe and her
struggles to fit in as a "nothos" or a human without any godly blood
running through her gene pool. Tera Lynn Childs' spin on a modern day
version of a high school that caters to the descendants of the Greek
gods was entertaining.

Phoebe dealt with the typical struggles of
a normal teenage girl; fitting in at a new high school, close-knit
cliques that are very hard to break into, making friends, crushing on
cute but unfortunately not so nice boys, and having her single mother
marry a complete stranger. While these issues may be ones we've all
heard of before or experienced in part for ourselves, the writing and
this particular story were not. The writing was clever and witty and
was not overloaded with teenage slang, it was funny throughout and often
I found myself laughing out loud at parts which is not always the case
for me. A chuckle or two can be expected while reading a comedy but
some parts in this novel were just downright funny and hard to resist.

If
you're looking for a fun read, this might be something for you to pick
up. The sequel, Goddess Boot Camp, is out and
I'll be downloading it to my Kindle momentarily. I want to find out
what happens next with Phoebe and the whole gang. It may not fall into
my category of keeping me up late at night because I had to find out
what happens next but at the same time that wasn't what I was looking
for at the moment. I wanted FUN and I got it in spades with this book.

Reader reviewed by Andrea

This book has something we all want superpowers and love. The one thing I have to say about this book is that it has more drama than it does mythology, you don't get to see any of the Gods you just hear about them only when someone comes from one of  them. Other than that it's a pretty good read.

Reader reviewed by Mariah

I was so excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint. The
plot is very interesting and well thought out. the characters are
beautifully crafted and I wish I knew some of them and am glad I don't
know others.

Phoebe's is a likable main character that has
the right level of winyness, which is good because Tera could have made
her too winy very easily. Also Griffin was a real mystery and I liked
his unpredictability.

The only problem I had was that I felt that
I could tell what was going to happen. But I was unsure how it would
occur so that was good. Overall pretty good.

Reprinted with author's permission

Reader reviewed by Natalie

Oh.My.Gods. is a great book but the character Pheobe is a little weak. She needs to learn to fight for her self. the book is about a girl named Pheobe , her mom just went to greece and came back telling Pheobe she is getting married and moving to greece. Oh and Pheobe is coming too.Pheobe tries to fight this but can't. When she moves to greece she meets her evil stepsister , cute boys and mean girls. In this world Pheobe has to fight for herself.
    This book was so awesome the only thing that ruined it was that Pheobe's character needed a little development. Other than that , the book was great.

Reader reviewed by Megan

A modern girl's comedic odyssey in a school filled with the descendants of Greek gods.

When Phoebe's mom returns from Greece with a new husband and moves them to an island in the Aegean, Phoebe's plans for her senior year and track season are ancient history. Now she must attend the uberexclusive academy, where admission depends on pedigree, namely, ancestry from Zeus, Hera, and other Greek gods. That's right, they're real, not myth, and their teen descendants are like the classical heroes-supersmart and superbeautiful with a few superpowers. And now they're on her track team! Armed only with her Nikes and the will to win, Phoebe races to find her place among the gods.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I loved Phoebe and Griffin and all the other character this book moves really fast. I loved the track and field in this and I loved how she had to try to kep a secret and learn about the powers. You should definetly read this.

 

Reader reviewed by stephanie

OMG!!! I loved this book!!! At first, I was like: weird cover. I mean, naked guy except for that strip of band across his uhh, you know what, was kind of ....intriguing and amusing. :] And I've always loved mythology so this book mixed with mythology and romance seemed perfect for me. The book was so good that I finished in like...3 hours. No joke. I was addicted. I can't believe I didn't pick this book up until last month. But anyway, the ending was kind of predictable since it was kind of hinted throughout the entire book so I wasn't overly surprised. And now, with the ending so cliff-hanging, I really, really want to read more about Phoebe and her newfound Goddess-given powers. :D Cannot wait until the new sequel comes out!

Reader reviewed by Bookluver-Carol

If Phoebe Castro can keep her grades up and have another stellar cross-country season, her dream of attending USC with her best friends is only a track scholarship away. Shes made all her plans, so its a complete shock when her mom announces shes marrying a mysterious stranger and moving them half-way around the worldto Greece.

Phoebes stuck on a secret island in the Aegean attending the super-exclusive Academy, where her new stepfather is the headmaster and the kids are anything but your average studentsthey are descendants of the Greek gods, super powers included. Thats right, Greek gods are no myth! If Phoebe thought high school was hard, she knows this is going to be mortal misery.

Securing that scholarship seems like Phoebes only ticket out of Greece, but training and maintaining her grades will be grueling, even without a sabotaging stepsister from Hades and a gorgeous guywhat a god!who just might be her Achilles heel. One thing is for suresummoning the will to win and find her place among the gods could be Phoebes toughest course yet.

I really liked this book. The characters were funny, enjoyable, and had superpowers.It was a quick light read. It did leave a question unanswered like Which god is Nicole a descendant of? Other than the the book was really good.The mythological part didn't seem unrealistic and it was well balanced with Phoebe's gradual acceptance of her new family. I can't wait for the sequel!

Reader reviewed by Julie M. Prince

Phoebe Castro is ripped away from her comfortable California life and zipped around the world to live on a tiny Greek island no ones ever heard of. Its easy to understand why shes angry at her head shrinking mother for marrying some stranger (even if he does look like a Greek god) and dragging her away from home when she was thisclose to earning a track scholarship to USC. As if its not bad enough being the new girl in school, Phoebes the only mere mortal in a school filled with descendents of the godsall of whom have supernatural powers.

I find it hard to believe that OH.MY.GODS. is the first published novel by author, Tera Lynn Childs. I do not find it hard to believe that the sequel has already been purchased by Dutton. Its that good.

Its hard to pinpoint my favorite thing about the book. Is it the twist of changing typical high school cliques into groups made up of descendents of the gods? Goths become the Hades Harem, beach bums become Poseidons Posse, and the geeks are descendents of Hephaestus.

Maybe its the amazing description sprinkled throughout the book that made me feel like I was right there, running alongside Phoebe:

I feel myself burst through the wall, demolishing it with a mental sledgehammer. Energyor adrenaline or endorphinsflows through me and all my pain fades away.

My leg muscles tighten for a second to let me know theyre back in action. I feel my feet pound the dirt path. My lungs fill with oxygen and Im not racked with crippling pain anymore. Its like Ive just started the race instead of almost finishing.

In any case, the book won me over. I had fun trying to predict which character belonged to the family of each Greek god or goddess, and deciding what Phoebes fate might be in such a setting. Ill definitely be looking for the sequel.

Off to turn another page&.

Reader reviewed by Brenda

Phoebe is a runner. Long distance running makes her happy and takes her outside of herself. If she can keep her grades up and have one more stellar cross-country season, she'll have a scholarship to USC locked up. Then suddenly her mother falls in love with a mysterious stranger from GREASE of all places. Her mother announces that she and Phoebe are moving to Greece and Phoebe will be attending the super-exclusive Academy where her new stepfather is the headmaster. Phoebe's plans are shattered, but maybe if she can keep her grades up at the new school and keep training she can still go to USC. It's just one year, after all. Then she finds out the secret of this school on an island in the Aegean, all the students are descendants of the Greek Gods, superpowers included! How's a girl supposed to compete against Greek Gods? Throw in an evil meddling step-sister, and Griffin, the gorgeous god-like boy who runs like the wind and seems to like her and hate her all at the same time, and you've got a Greek Drama worthy of the Olympians!

I really enjoyed this book, the character of Phoebe is great and there's enough twists and turns in the plot to keep it interesting. There are all kinds of pop culture references from My Chemical Romance to IM's. Really a cute book, a lot like the Percy Jackson books, except without the monsters and quests.