Freya Series, Book 1

Starred review from December 15, 2016
The sinister Finemdi Corp. accumulates deities, securing their cooperation by promising them worshipers; the Norse goddess of love, war, and magic wants to know why. For several restful decades, Freya's kept a low profile as Sara Vanadi, Florida mental hospital inmate, until she's tracked down and outed by a Finemdi recruiter. A healthy white teen in appearance, Sara has weakened over the past millennium (human belief created deities; as it diminishes, so do they). Aided by Nathan, a human bystander (also white) and soon her willing worshiper, she evades capture. The two rent an apartment, Nathan assuming housekeeping duties while Sara finds employment as Cinderella in the Magic Kingdom, where little princess wannabes strengthen her with the power of their belief. Hounded by Finemdi, she agrees to work for them, hoping to learn more, and is horrified: "hybridizing" (think human-immortal GMO) produces demigods; deity powers are brutally extracted. Determined to fight back, Sara recruits three Hawaiian goddesses to help. Sara's funny and smart, with a curvy hourglass figure that necessitates alterations to her waif-sized princess attire. Unapologetically fond of fashion and hearty of appetite, she's a poster child for self-acceptance--proud of her strengths, acknowledging her weaknesses, and moving on. Like a Rick Riordan-Terry Pratchett mashup, this series debut blends philosophy (free will, destiny, faith), humor, multidimensional characters, and a fast-moving, well-constructed plot into a compulsively entertaining read. (Fantasy. 15-18)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-Freya is a lesser-known deity from the Norse pantheon. Her bailiwick includes not only love and beauty (eat your heart out, Aphrodite) but also death and war (so take that, Apollo!). In this world built by game designer and author Laurence, gods of all times and cultural traditions remain immortal as long as they are still sustained by believers. But forever is a long time, even for deities, especially when waning belief shrinks divine powers. Sara Vanadi (Freya) has been cooling her heels in a mental hospital for many years when a corporation reaches out through a sinister pitchman, Garen, to recruit her with a nearly irresistible deal. The Norse wisecracker's refusals are met with escalating violence, semi-deific powers, and magic. Freya pulls Nathan, a new asylum employee, along with her as she reenters society, and he provides the updated savvy she needs about cell phones and fashion while she charms money out of banks and buoys her rising strength, based on the belief of enraptured children at Disney World. Before long, hiding is not an option, and Freya must go the double agent route to try to take down nefarious forces. Hand this to readers ready to move on from the high jinks of Percy Jackson and to fans of Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 The time of the gods is over, and Freya, the Norse goddess of beauty, love, and war, has been lying low in a mental hospital as a teenager named Sara. Few people worship the old gods anymore, and Sara's content where she is, until she's confronted by a representative of the Finmedi Corporation, who harness the powers of gods from all cultures. One sort-of kidnapping of an intern later, Sara's on the run, reacquainting herself with modern fashions for the first time in decades and landing a job as a princess at Disney World. But the goddess of war can't stay passive for long, and Sara's gearing up for one heck of a battle. The highlight here is the inclusion of a diverse array of pantheons: familiar Greek and Norse faces appear, but so too do Egyptian, Hawaiian, and Aztec deities. Freya is as assured and self-possessed as a god should be, and the action-packed finale should hook readers for the sequel. Move over, Percy Jackson, there's a new girl in town.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)