Title: How to be a Goddess
Author: Sarah Nestler
Standalone
Number of Pages: 201
Date Read: 8/17/13
Genre: Mythology Retelling, Fantasy
Rating: C/D
Synopsis (Found on Goodreads.com)
As Katla races
her long time best friend Riley to class, she runs into an odd man in a black
cloak. When she wakes up from the impact of the hard hallway floor, she finds
herself in a different worldthe underworld. Katla soon finds out who the odd
man is. He's Hades: god of the underworld, god of the dead.
My Review:
This book wasn't for me. I tried to like it and I really wanted to but I couldn't. For me there were major plot holes and I just didn't like the main character Katla. I'll try to break it down.
Summary
The story is about 16 year old Katla who gets taken by Hades and changed into a goddess. Then the rest of the story is really just about her being a goddess.
The Plot
I felt like most of the time there really wasn't one. At first it was about Katla being changed into a goddess and finding/punishing Hades. That ends quiet rapidly and the rest of the story there minor problems and such but not anything consistent. I also felt like there were major holes in the story. The first one is why Katla? I mean what makes her so special that Hades changer her into a goddess. Its not like she is a descendant of a god or a reincarnated version on a god. She just a normal girl who happened to be best friends with Apollo (who she didn't know was Apollo). That and that Hades wanted a supporter were the only reasons he change her. A lot of the rest of the story is Apollo and Katla talking about various things. I think that if there was one consistent plot with things completely explained I would of liked it better.
The Characters
First off is Katla. I really didn't like her and didn't connect with her. She is very arrogant, cocky and nasty. She is also extremely insulting. She insults Hades when she first meets him. Then when Apollo takes her to Olympus and meets the gods, she insults Aphrodite by basically calling her an idiot as well as insulting and physically harming Ares. I would be ok with that if she got to know them, didn't like them and then lashed out. But she had just met the gods. I would be terrified- if you go by the greek myths they are not someone to be trifled with. And here is a teenage girl insulting and harming two of them while the other gods laugh. I find that a bit ridiculous.
Another reason I didn't connect with Katla was because we know virtually nothing about her. Who are her parents? What is her life like? What does she like to do? We find out chapters later that Katla is an orphan, who was worked like a mule and beaten by the orphanage owner. That's all that is said about her history. Nothing about her parents. Nothing about her life in the orphanage. I can see how her life in the orphanage could of made Katla mean or insulting but there was never a connection with that. I would of like Katla better or at least sympathize wit her more if I had her background history explained and how her background has made her the girl she is in the story.
I liked Apollo well enough. He was a nice guy who really cared and worried about Katla. He was always there for her when she needed him. He always made sure she was safe and happy. He protected her and helped her learn how to be a goddess.
The Writing
The writing was good in the book but there was one thing that could of made the book better and that is if things were shown and not told. Often I read sentences like "And the she suddenly knew" and "It all made sense now". It seemed like these were like magic tricks that popped in Katla's brain that made her realize things. I would of liked to read about how she knew/realized certain things that happened.
I do have to say that I loved the ending. The last couple of chapters were very interesting and had a lot of action which I enjoyed. The story ends the exact way I wanted it to and that's always a plus. All in all I can say that the book was not my cup of tea.
Summary
The story is about 16 year old Katla who gets taken by Hades and changed into a goddess. Then the rest of the story is really just about her being a goddess.
The Plot
I felt like most of the time there really wasn't one. At first it was about Katla being changed into a goddess and finding/punishing Hades. That ends quiet rapidly and the rest of the story there minor problems and such but not anything consistent. I also felt like there were major holes in the story. The first one is why Katla? I mean what makes her so special that Hades changer her into a goddess. Its not like she is a descendant of a god or a reincarnated version on a god. She just a normal girl who happened to be best friends with Apollo (who she didn't know was Apollo). That and that Hades wanted a supporter were the only reasons he change her. A lot of the rest of the story is Apollo and Katla talking about various things. I think that if there was one consistent plot with things completely explained I would of liked it better.
The Characters
First off is Katla. I really didn't like her and didn't connect with her. She is very arrogant, cocky and nasty. She is also extremely insulting. She insults Hades when she first meets him. Then when Apollo takes her to Olympus and meets the gods, she insults Aphrodite by basically calling her an idiot as well as insulting and physically harming Ares. I would be ok with that if she got to know them, didn't like them and then lashed out. But she had just met the gods. I would be terrified- if you go by the greek myths they are not someone to be trifled with. And here is a teenage girl insulting and harming two of them while the other gods laugh. I find that a bit ridiculous.
Another reason I didn't connect with Katla was because we know virtually nothing about her. Who are her parents? What is her life like? What does she like to do? We find out chapters later that Katla is an orphan, who was worked like a mule and beaten by the orphanage owner. That's all that is said about her history. Nothing about her parents. Nothing about her life in the orphanage. I can see how her life in the orphanage could of made Katla mean or insulting but there was never a connection with that. I would of like Katla better or at least sympathize wit her more if I had her background history explained and how her background has made her the girl she is in the story.
I liked Apollo well enough. He was a nice guy who really cared and worried about Katla. He was always there for her when she needed him. He always made sure she was safe and happy. He protected her and helped her learn how to be a goddess.
The Writing
The writing was good in the book but there was one thing that could of made the book better and that is if things were shown and not told. Often I read sentences like "And the she suddenly knew" and "It all made sense now". It seemed like these were like magic tricks that popped in Katla's brain that made her realize things. I would of liked to read about how she knew/realized certain things that happened.
I do have to say that I loved the ending. The last couple of chapters were very interesting and had a lot of action which I enjoyed. The story ends the exact way I wanted it to and that's always a plus. All in all I can say that the book was not my cup of tea.
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