The Chaos of Stars

July 29, 2013
Sixteen-year-old Isadora talks a bit like a spoiled California teen, but she doesn’t actually become one until her mother sends her to San Diego to keep her safe. Until that point, Isadora lives in an ancient temple complex in the Egyptian desert—this is because her mother is the goddess Isis, and her father is Osiris. What the danger is and why it apparently follows Isadora to America is unclear, hinted at only in dreams. Isadora would rather think about how much she wants to spite her mother, redecorate every room she enters (she’s an aspiring interior designer), and not fall in love with the beautiful Greek boy, Ry, who’s hanging around. As a character, Isadora is (by design) fairly arrogant and self-absorbed, but she also has a point: it’s hard to understand why immortal parents would purposely give their child mortality. White (Mind Games) uses her technical prowess with narrative forms to break up the story, and she brings an irreverent sense of humor to Egyptian myth. Parents you’re literally supposed to worship? Gross. Ages 13–up. Agent: Michelle Wolfson, Wolfson Literary.