Brad About Books: The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Read on July 7, 2013

THE CHAOS OF STARS
Published: September 10, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format: ARC
Page Count: 288 pages
Source: ALA

(fantastic cover, fantastic title)

Family is forever. 

Especially when they're immortal.

Isadora’s family is seriously screwed up.

Of course, as the human daughter of Egyptian gods, that pretty much comes with the territory. She’s also stuck with parents who barely notice her, and a house full of relatives who can’t be bothered to remember her name. After all, they are going to be around forever—and she’s a mere mortal.

Isadora’s sick of living a life where she’s only worthy of a passing glance, and when she has the chance to move to San Diego with her brother, she jumps on it. But Isadora’s quickly finding that a “normal” life comes with plenty of its own epic complications—and that there’s no such thing as a clean break when it comes to family. Much as she wants to leave her past behind, she can’t shake the ominous dreams that foretell destruction for her entire family. When it turns out there may be truth in her nightmares, Isadora has to decide whether she can abandon her divine heritage after all.

The Chaos of Stars is an extraordinary and incredible take on Egyptian mythology that left me starstruck and in complete awe. Kiersten White has done it again! 

I haven't read a whole lot of Egyptian mythology (in fact, I don't think I've read any!), so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect going into The Chaos of Stars. But believe me, I was blown away! Being the only mortal in an immortal Egyptian gods family, it can get stressful, and White did a phenomenal job with developing Isadora's character. She starts off a bit whiny and naïve, but she evolves into a fierce and fantastic protagonist as the novel progresses. And I think that was done on purpose: you're not suppose to fall in love with Isadora automatically - you grow to love and cheer her on. That was done masterfully! All of Isadora's family members are messed up and twisted, but I couldn't help but love them all. Seriously, The Chaos of Stars is a true gem of a novel. 

 Even though The Chaos of Stars comes in under 300 pages and is on the smaller side of novels, it packs a punch and the action is non-stop. Action scenes and high tensions are thrown at the reader like gunshots; I tore through these pages so fast! The Chaos of Stars is a brilliantly crafted novel that will have you in its clutches and never let you go. I was still invested into this story long after I turned the final page.

Speaking of final page... holy woah, that ending was phenomenal! I didn't expect that much action in the ending, but there was so much of it. It didn't feel forced at all; the action scenes weren't just "there" to give the book that extra oomph. They felt authentic and deserved a spot in The Chaos of Stars, and they complemented the novel so well. If I had to give this book a flaw, it was that I had a little rocky beginning with the book. But as the novel moved on, I fell in love so hard with this novel. A must-read!

Overall, The Chaos of Stars is a masterful and powerful novel that utterly enticed me and kept me way into the night, turning the pages as fast as I could. Kiersten White has knocked it out of the ballpark once again! I loved this book!

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