Goddess Games [Paperback]

Niki Burnham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2008

One summer.

Three fates.

all goddess.

Three girls are about to have a summer they will never forget. They've all taken jobs at King's Crown, looking for something they think they'll find at Colorado's most luxurious mountain resort.

Seneca, the daughter of an Oscar-winning actress, schmoozes with the Hollywood power players to get back on the A-list.

Drew, an elite athlete, trains in the mountains to gain a competitive edge and to escape the horrors of home.

Claire, a local girl, is looking for a second chance to get her life on track.

Thrown together as roommates, at first all Seneca, Drew, and Claire can see are their differences. But fate brings them together on purpose -- for the support, guidance, and friendship they can only get from one another. Once they realize this, they also discover that what they needed most they can find with the help of a fellow goddess.

Spend a summer at the spa celebrating friendship, life, and the inner goddess in us all.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Niki Burnham is the RITA Award-winning author of several books for

teens, including Scary Beautiful, Sticky Fingers, and the

popular Royally Jacked series about Valerie Winslow. Originally from

Colorado, she now lives in Massachusetts. You can find her online at www.nikiburnham.com.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416927727
• ISBN-13: 978-1416927723
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,334,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Niki Burnham is the RITA-award winning author of over a dozen novels. Originally from Colorado, she spent her childhood traveling around the world thanks to her father's military career. After attending high school in Mannheim, Germany, she graduated from Colorado State University and the University of Michigan Law School. Niki currently lives in Boston. She maintains a blog called The Go-Ahead where she often talks about writing, her travels, and her two favorite baseball teams, the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies. Her website is www.nikiburnham.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Niki has done better, July 21, 2008

By 

A. L. Wooden (Bedford, OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goddess Games (Paperback)

I found this to be a little predictable and lacking in substance. the characters had a pretty good background story but it just seemed a little rushed and seemed just be about sterotypes. I read this book in one day. The story line could have dug a little deeper to make it more impactful.

Its still an okay read, something check out if you want to pass the time but nothing too exciting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good teen read, but nothing to do with goddesses, July 25, 2007

By 

Constant Reader (Gloucester MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goddess Games (Hardcover)

As the other reviewers noted, this is a solid teen read about three very different girls thrown together as roommates working at a resort over the summer. All three find love in unexpected places and learn to see past their assumptions about one another, and it's well-written. The marketing and title, however, are very misleading; I would guess the publisher decided to tap into the wiccan teen market by calling it goddess games, and promising in the blurb that the book is about "one summer, three fates, all goddess..." The only real reference to goddesses is the "goddess yoga" class the girls all take. Drew is totally uninterested in "that woo-woo" stuff and Claire is a born-again trying to get into a closer relationship with J.C. Absolutely nothing here for the pagan/wiccan reader--quite the opposite--despite the deceptive marketing.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 11, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Goddess Games (Hardcover)

Summer jobs at the plush King's Crown Resort and Spa hopefully hold the answers for three teens in search of solutions to their very different problems.

Seneca is used to having whatever she wants. The daughter of an Academy Award-winning actress, Seneca has grown up with the "haves" and doesn't have much patience with the "have nots." Unfortunately, that has all changed. Her mother's job offers have been few and far between since her break up with a famous Hollywood movie mogul. Now Seneca is hoping her job at the resort will result in a boost for her mother's career.

Claire already knows all the ins and outs of the summer resort and its snobby crowd of guests because she's one of the locals. Most of her previous year was spent dating the popular young son of one of the regular members. Clubbing, partying, and drinking were the order of business for Claire her entire junior year. She hides a secret that is the reason she's chosen not to work in the family business this summer. Instead, she's trying to mend her wild ways and get in touch with God and her spiritual side.

Then there's Drew. She's hoping a summer away from Fort Leavenworth and her depressed mother will help her confront her demons. Loss of a loved one has turned her into a compulsive runner determined to use this summer to train in the higher altitude. But perhaps she is really just running from her problems instead.

The start of the summer is pretty rocky as the three roommates attempt to fit their very different personalities into one tiny cabin. Tempers flair and sides are chosen as they privately struggle with their personal troubles. However, as the summer unfolds, each girl finds things they weren't expecting -- new friendships and better understandings of where their lives may be headed next.

In GODDESS GAMES, Niki Burnham blends gossip and celebrity with the struggle to overcome life's hurdles. Teens will relate to the characters and their search for meaningful relationships.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"