Tori's Review: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Paperback - 304 pages
Price: $9.99
ISBN 13: 978-0373210268
Released: April 19, 2011

Aimee's Website
Buy it via Amazon

Obtained: NetGalley
Genre: Young Adult - Paranormal Romance
Series: The Goddess Test 
1. The Goddess Test

Every girl who has taken the test has died.

Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

If she fails...

My Rating: Two ratings: Technical - 2.5 / 5 wings; Enjoyment - 3.5 / 5 wings.

My Opinion:
I could go on for days reading about all the Greek myths that are available. The gods, particularly Hades, Artemis, and Athena, were my favorite aspects of the myths. So, to have them make an appearance in THE GODDESS TEST made me quite giddy. Then to discover that TGT was based upon the Hades/Persephone myth? Well, I requested the book yesterday (3/3/11) on NetGalley, got approved right away, and spent the rest of the night reading it on the computer.

The threat of a horrible headache (from reading on a computer for way too long) and a 13 hour day of classes in the city, however, did not deter me from my reading goal. Why then, you must all be wondering, did she give the book such weird ratings?  It was difficult. While I enjoyed the novel, was engrossed with what was happening (minimal skimming), there were technical problems which lessened my enjoyment. There were a few points where I would have preferred to close this book and never open it again because some of the scenes or characters were too ridiculous.

The mother/daughter relationship is what ultimately engrossed me with the tale from page one. I found myself continually tearing up in the beginning as Kate attempted to cope with her mother's illness and the fact that she would be alone soon. I have a wonderful relationship with my mother, and love her very much, which is why I had such ease relating and absolutely adoring the start to TGT. Had I been in Kate's position, I do not think I would have been so composed, which is why I respected her as a character also.

Alas, that relationship is soon cast aside as the paranormal swarms into Kate's life. I read that some reviewers felt the relationship Kate had with her mother was cheapened towards the end, but I did not think so. I was disappointed that Kate's entire attention span transferred from her mother to an emo punk, but she's a teen, and I think what happened was supposed to ween her off her dependency.

I had high hopes for Hades, aka Henry. I wanted him to be badass, I wanted him to woo Kate off her feet and seduce her into the role of Persephone. To bad it did not happen, and Kate was the awkward wooer. I was disappointed about how two dimensional Henry's character was at the start, and even towards the end. While I read all the scenes with him, he came off as apathetic in my mind--dull, even. I am also not buying the fact that he would let Persephone stumble upon such a fate in this book, reinventing a myth or not. Persephone's fate aside, Henry's characterization could use a lot of work in order for him to come alive for me.

Now that I'm talking about characterization, I might as well mention that this was my primary problem with the novel. None of the characters felt alive to me. Even Kate had her moments where she felt more like a paper-cutout and less like a real person. The only instances where the book and its characters truly felt genuine were the moments of interaction between Kate and her mother. The rest... I wish the secondary characters had more to them to make me care, because damn it, I wanted to care.

Suspending disbelief was a close second. I could not believe some of the friendships that were so easily accepted by Kate. There were no reasons whatsoever for Kate to feel such loyalty to some of the characters she just met. There was no reason for her to sacrifice her life for a girl who wanted to harm her.

Complaints aside, I think me reading this book in one night reveals that I still enjoyed myself. I think that's why I've given this book two ratings. For the enjoyment factor, it was definitely a 3.5 star book, and I want to recommend it to most people I know, but for the technical aspects, it is clear that this is a debut author's book. Some elements incorporated into the story needed to be fleshed out more, and because they weren't, they worked against the novel.

The weaknesses are what will make or break this book for some readers. I already know that most readers I usually agree with when it comes to disliking a YA will probably not enjoy TGT. I also know that many will adore it, because the positives will probably outweigh the negatives for them. To be completely honest, I'm still not sure how this book kept me going, but it did, and I want to know what happens in book 2.

Would I recommend THE GODDESS TEST to readers? Yes and no. Those who generally have similar tastes in YA books as me probably won't enjoy this novel as a whole, unless they have some weird "holy crap" moment like I did. For those readers, I would suggest checking the book out at the library or seeing if they can borrow from a friend/request from NetGalley if they still want to read TGT. I do not think an excerpt will be adequate, because the first few chapters were so beautifully written that I wanted to 5-star this book initially. As for everyone else, yes, yes you should get this book, and you should get it fast; it's a great read, and one you'll probably adore.