Oh. My. Gods.

This YA novel of losing one's identity, being forced to adapt to a highly charged new emotional environment, and redefining what love and friendship mean to you is a cute, nicely thought out romp.

Greek gods, we all know, are myths. Right? Well, not so much in Childs's book. She's updated the whole "gods are real" trope that's so popular in romantic fiction these days to include teens. I think the intended audience will lap this up, since it plays into adolescent exceptionalism (the illusion that we are special and unique among our fellow creatures, but unrecognized).

This is Childs's first novel, and it has some first-novel-y clanks (eg, the mother and stepfather are simply not developed at all, and they're frankly badly drawn; the show more better solution would have been to have them not appear at all except in the main character's reports of their doings). But the main character, Phoebe, and her antagonists are all given snappy dialogue and put in situations much like the ones I remember being in during my adolescence back in the dark ages. The additional level of effort required of the author to incorporate the idea of the reality of the Greek pantheon pays off in humorous possibilities for supernatural pranking. That was fun.

I think Childs will be a fun writer to watch over the next few years, as she seems to be getting good editorial advice and help. I hope she'll keep taking it and getting even better than she is now. Recommended to anyone who needs to take a vacation from serious stuff. Do not read if whimsy-challenged, or of a dour temperament. show less

Is it possible for one average American teen to fit in with a class of Olympic heritage? Phoebe has just this question to figure out and answer when out of the blue her mother whisks her off to a secret Greek island as she prepares to be married to a man she only met a week ago. Phoebe predicts colossal failure, her Mom assures her this is a god sent opportunity for her and I was left with the question of why there are so many insinuations about this being such an epic big deal.

The dialogue is quick and shows a real eye (or ear?) for how teens speak. There isn't any forced moments when Childs tried to force me to believe this was how teenagers really spoke or acted. It flowed easily and the transition between scenes made for a quick, show more light read. The story moved along without dragging down and Phoebe's observations, and sometimes lack thereof, are really funny and her narrative voice is engaging.

Despite the fact this is a novel about the descendents of the Greek Gods, it doesn't veer off of the stereotypes for teenagers too much. Phoebe comes off a little smug, and as if she knows everything. Her stepsister is the typical 'evil' stepsister and the students are of the classic mold. Not that this is a problem, Childs still has dialogue that is fun and witty and there are certainly some ha-ha moments, but I expected a little more by way of fleshing them out. The author relies too heavily on the stereotypes to explain a character's motivations.

The 'surprise' isn't that surprising given the contextual clues and a grasp of Greek mythology, but I found the dynamic of Phoebe and her two friends from America to be more surprising. Throughout the entire novel Phoebe is motivated by her need to get that scholarship and get back to America so that her and her friends can be together. The plan had been in place for years. When things change, it made me wonder if Phoebe had been the driving force behind that decision and her friends didn't want to disappoint her. I wanted to learn a bit more about the time between Phoebe's leaving and the end of the novel.

Oh. My. Gods. was an entertaining novel that gave the gods a spin that would be fun for anyone to imagine as their ancestors. The sequel, Goddess Boot Camp, is set up and the future endeavors of Phoebe amongst the godly descendants promises to be engaging. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs is a paranormal YA that draws on Greek mythology. Phoebe Castro is a star distance runner on her high school track team. If she can keep her grades and ranking up, she's a shoo in for a USC track scholarship. But her dreams are put on hold when her mother comes back from a trip to Greece with a new husband and, for Phoebe, a new step sister. Worse, yet, the whole new blended family is moving to Greece and Phoebe will have to finish out high school on a small Greek island, at an exclusive academy.

Here's the point where I couldn't help but compare Childs's version of things to Rick Riordan's in the Percy Jackson, and later, the Heroes of Olympus series. Riordan's conceit for any modern, western influences show more creeping into his retelling of Greek mythology was to say that the Greek Gods follow the influence of western culture and that center is now Manhattan island. Childs, instead, keeps the action in Greece. While I appreciated the sense of isolation that (and the need to keep the truth about the school secret) being moved to Greece from Los Angeles creates for Phoebe, I have trouble believing that Plato's Academy would be run like an American high school and that all the teens would speak fluent English.

Rather than making the adjustment period a cultural and linguistic one, Childs falls back on the school clique trope. Phoebe doesn't fit in because she's new, her step-father is the headmaster, and she's not a demigod. To draw attention away from the oddity of an American style high school in the middle of the Mediterrean, Childs focuses on Phoebe trying to make the track team. For mysterious reasons (that become clear at the end), she is forced to train every single day, twice as long as anyone else on the team. She also has to at least place in the next meet or be dropped from the team.

If you ignore the questions raised by the school's location, it's a fairly enjoyable high school drama with paranormal elements. Phoebe isn't exactly the most likable of characters but some of her anger is understandable given how much she is being bullied at school and how much she misses her two best buddies from Los Angeles. show less

I loved this book from the plot to the protaganist to the romance to the fantasy. Phoebe was relateable (although I hate running) and the storyline was lovely. Written in clear prose, this is a great book that I constantly recommend to friends.

Phoebe Castro only has one year of high school left when her mother suddenly announces that she's marrying a man that she met on vacation, and that she and Phoebe will be moving to Greece, where her new stepfather is the headmaster of an academy that is filled with the descendants of greek gods and goddesses. Phoebe is the only nothos (translation: muggle) on campus, but that doesn't stop her from trying out for and dominating the cross country team. Running is her passion, and her ticket off the Greek island and back to California and college at USC. In the meantime, Phoebe has to deal both with Stella, an evil stepsister with powers, and her own massive crush on Griffin Blake, teammate, jerk, and Stella's best friend's boyfriend.

Oh. show more My. Gods. is the second book by Tera Lynn Childs that I've read this year (Forgive My Fins), and I liked this one even better. For one thing, Phoebe is a great character, and though her crush on Griffin is a big part of the book, she's already complete on her own. Phoebe's an accomplished and dedicated runner, and her relationship with Griffin grows naturally from that common bond. Even though she likes him, she refuses to be less talented to attract his attention, or to make him feel better about himself.

Phoebe is also adjusting to her widowed mother's new marriage, and she still misses her father, an NFL player who died during a game. Her two best friends are back in California, and her new friends can't replace them yet. And, you know, she's on an island filled with gods and goddesses.

Oh. My. Gods. is a light, fun novel that will be popular with fans of Greek myth and sports books. And humor. And romance. I can't wait to read the sequel. show less

Interesting concept (Girl's mom falls in love and moves her to remote Greek island populated by members of a school who are motral descendants of the Greek gods.) Unfortunately carried out in rather a silly way. It's cute enough, but it could have been done a lot more interestingly. Or maybe I am being too hard on it seeing as it is a YA novel? Actually, no ... I would have probably felt the same way when I was a teenager.