"The Chaos of Stars" by Kiersten White

The Chaos of Stars (Sept. 10, 2013) by Kiersten White.

Parents that expect you to obey them? Pretty common. Parents that expect you to worship them? Not so much. But for Isadora, praying to her parents is expected even though she disapproves of it. Her parents are Isis and Osiris, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood and magic and the god of the afterlife, respectively. It sounds cool and impressive, but Isadora is so over them. Her dad acts like he doesn’t care about her, and her mom seems to just want her around as a worshipper. Do they even remember her name? Because her brother, Horus (god of war and protection), and her half-brother, Anubis (god of funerals and embalming), never do.  She is mortal and seemingly insignificant because of that.

            Isis portends that bad things will happen. Dreams of darkness and danger. So she sends Isadora to her mortal brother, Sirus, in San Diego. This is exactly what she wants, to be far away from her parents. And, bonus, Sirus actually remembers her name, though it helps, I suppose, that he’s her closest-in-age sibling. So Isadora goes to San Diego without telling her mother what she’s actually been dreaming. It isn’t all sunshine and purple hippos, after all. Fortunately, she’ll make a few friends, which is a few more than she had living in Egypt. There’s Ry (who, oh no, is full-blooded Greek), Tyler (a she, by-the-way) and Scott (Tyler’s boyfriend). She has fun with them, but it can’t mask the darkness coming that she can’t explain, nor can it explain the break-ins. Oh, floods, what is going on?

            “The Chaos of Stars” is an entertaining gem of a book. It also has a lovely cover. Kiersten White writes with the sarcasm and humor I’ve come to associate with her books. Isadora is an inherently selfish character, which is easy to blame on her parentage -- two godly parents and all. It’s also too easy to blow off a selfish character as therefore annoying and abhorrent and shallow, but as you read, you understand why she feels like she does. Her parents don’t seem to deem her existence important; she feels unimportant in their eyes. In other words, despite living with them, she feels a sense of loneliness and abandonment. Abandonment by the ones who should love her most. Isadora has a lot to learn, and this young adult novel is a fast ride with ups, downs, twists and betrayals. There’s also friendship, laughter and a budding romance. Ooh, and danger, too, but not intense danger.

            Putting thousands of miles between herself and her parents will show Isadora that family isn’t black and white. Only love or only disdain. One right way or one wrong way. She should know that with the Egyptian history (mythology) her parents have, but she doesn’t. Or doesn’t want to. Family is forever, even during the times we don’t want to claim them!

            By Kiersten White: Paranormalcy, Supernaturally, and Endlessly

            Also by Kiersten White: Mind Games