Oh. My. Gods. [Mass Market Paperback]

Tera Lynn Childs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 14, 2009

When Phoebe?s mom returns from Greece with a new husband and plans to move to an island in the Aegean Sea, Phoebe?s well-plotted senior year becomes ancient history. Now, instead of enjoying a triumphant track season and planning for college with her best friends, Phoebe is trying to keep her head above water at the überexclusive Academy. If it isn?t hard enough being the new kid in school, Phoebe?s classmates are all descendents of the Greek gods! When you?re running against teammates with superpowers, dealing with a stepsister from Hades, and nursing a crush on a boy who is quite literally a god, the drama takes on mythic proportions!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—Phoebe Castro is a distance runner who plans on winning a full-ride cross-country scholarship to USC with her two best friends. Then her mother returns from a family reunion abroad with a Greek fiancé who runs a private school and announces that she and Phoebe will be moving to an island in the Aegean. The news gets worse as the teen arrives to find out that there is no scheduled ferry service from the island. To top off everything, she learns that every other student is descended from one or more Greek gods. Her new stepfather tells her that she cannot share this fact with anyone, for the safety of everyone on Serfopoula. Things seem to be looking up when she meets an absolutely gorgeous guy while running on the beach and, despite her lack of divine ancestry, she is granted a provisional place on the cross-country team. The IMs fly back and forth between Greece and southern California, magical hijinks abound, and classes and practice keep the protagonist busy. The story is part "Harry Potter," part Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief (Hyperion/Miramax, 2005), and part shojo, and it will keep teens, particularly girls, reading to find out if Phoebe will finally fit in, get her crush, and make the team.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

An effervescent, fast-paced read. -Publishers Weekly, starred review

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (May 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142414204
• ISBN-13: 978-0142414200
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Greek & Roman

More About the Author

Tera Lynn Childs is the award-winning author of the mythology-based OH. MY. GODS. and GODDESS BOOT CAMP, the mermaid tales FORGIVE MY FINS and FINS ARE FOREVER and a new trilogy about monster-hunting descendants of Medusa, starting with SWEET VENOM and SWEET SHADOWS (Fall 2012). Tera in Seattle and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Story Siren Reviews:, May 2, 2008

By 

The Story Siren "Kristi" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Oh. My. Gods. (Hardcover)

If Phoebe Castro can keep her grades up and have another stellar cross-country season, her dream of attending USC with her best friends is only a track scholarship away. She's made all her plans, so it's a complete shock when her mom announces she's marring a mysterious stranger and moving them halfway around the world to- Greece.

Phoebe's stuck on a secret island in the Aegean attending the super-exclusive Academy, where her new stepfather is the headmaster and the kids are anything but your average students- they are descendants of the Greek gods, superpowers included. That's right, Greek gods are no myth! If Phoebe thought high school was hard, she knows this is going to be mortal misery.

Securing that scholarship seems like Phoebe's only ticket out of Greece, but training and maintaining her grades will be grueling, even without a sabotaging stepsister from Hades and a gorgeous guy- what a god!- who just might be her Achilles' heel. One thing is for sure- summoning the will to win and finding her place among the gods could be Phoebe's toughest course yet.

The Greek gods get a makeover in this romantic odyssey of mythic proportion."

(This is the summary from the back of the book, I thought it was to great to pass up, and I don't think summarizing is one of my strong points!)

I don't even know where to start! I guess first off, I should say that I've been looking forward to reading this book since I first heard about it, I'm a huge fan of Greek Mythology. So, to say that I was expecting a lot going into it, doesn't quite cover it. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I always look at the thickness I have left of a book to read once I start a good reading spell, and I either think two things; 1.) okay I only have this much more to go. Or 2.) oh no! This is all that's left! This book definitely falls under the later. I loved Childs writing style, and her interruption of the Greek gods. What is so good about this book is the reality mixed with the myth. I mean, we have a honest portrayal of a girl struggling to make sense of the world, and it works even a mythical one. The characters are distinctive, and each portrayal of their god or goddess remains in tact within the distinctiveness. What else can I say, I absolutely loved it. I loved the story, Phoebe, her struggles and triumphs, and of course the catalyst to any good romance, the boys. What else could you want?

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Girl's Knock-off of Percy Jackson, January 6, 2010

By 

Tashva (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oh. My. Gods. (Hardcover)

Proof that when a book makes it big, all the other publishers jump on the bandwagon, Oh. My. Gods. is very similar to The Lightning Thief. . . . Except it's written for girls.

Phoebe's mom goes to Greece to meet her late husband's extended family and comes back with a fiance. Against, her will, Phoebe is forced to move to a small island near Greece where said fiance is the headmaster of a small school.

Based on the title of the book and the book I compared it to, I'm sure you've already realized that the school is a school for the offspring of the Greek gods. Differing from the Percy Jackson series, Phoebe is not half-god (at least... not in the majority of the story), and therein lies the crux of the story. Everyone hates her because she's normal, and she has a crush on the most popular guy in school, who just happens to be dating the most popular girl in school, who just happens to be a spiteful bitch.

Despite its unsurprising storyline, this was a decent read. It only took a few hours, and it's entertaining. Finding out that Phoebe's crush has a heroes' complex and literally cannot pass up someone who needs help is a welcome and funny surprise for the reader. Seeing the stepsister and Phoebe settle their differences (but not become best friends) is refreshing (although perhaps outweighed by Phoebe's new best friend throwing aside her 10-year dislike of the Phoebe's crush in a matter of minutes).

Overall, as a fluff book, this is a good read. There's romance and betrayal. Lots of teen angst. An evil stepsister. Loyal best friends. New best friends. Perfect matches. A bet reminiscent of the late '90s (think She's All That.) All the components necessary for a good teen read. But if you're looking for something life-changing and mind-altering, you might want to keep looking.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down!, May 15, 2008

By 

Lark Howard (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oh. My. Gods. (Hardcover)

Poor Phoebe is dragged off to a Greek island, away from her best friends, only to learn her new stepfather is headmaster at a school for the descendents of the Greek gods. Unless she can keep up her grades and make the track team, she'll lose her scholarship to USC and the chance to return home for college. But how does a girl hold her own against super-kids determined to make her life miserable? And then there's her track nemisis Griffin, too gorgeous for even a Greek god.

Luckily I started this book on a Saturday afternoon because I read it in one sitting and immediately wanted more. (Yes, I've heard there's a sequel coming but not quickly enough!!!)I loved Phoebe and her friends, both old and new. Mythology is cleverly woven into the story but never takes over. Although it's a young adult book, it's so original and fun, even adults will enjoy it. Buy it. Now.