Sunday, January 2, 2011

Boot Camp for Goddesses

Goddess Boot Camp
Tera Lynn Childs knows how to whip up a fun, flirtatious story! Goddess Boot Camp, the sequel to Oh. My. Gods., continues the story of Phoebe, a normal girl who found herself transported to an isolated island in Greece when her mom is remarried. At the end of the first book, she learns of her status as a descendant of the goddess Nike. Now she is suffering the consequences of that realization.

Being the descendant of a God or Goddess sounds all fun and laughter, but it is a big responsibility. It comes with powers, the responsibility of keeping the life secret from non-descendants, and the isolation of Serfopoulos- the island where the Gods school is. Phoebe is a closer descendant than most of the other kids at her school, which means her powers are even more powerful, and therefore more difficult to control. All she has to do is daydream about the ocean and her living room is saturated. One thought about her annoying stepsister as leaves her covered in frosting and very unhappy. The problem? Her unpredictable powers have put her on the radar of the Gods, and if she can't get them under control, there is some serious smoting in her future- no one wants to be smoted!

Now, in addition to training for a marathon at the Pythian Games and dealing with her boyfriend spending a lot of time with his beautiful ex-girlfriend Adara, Phoebe has to attend Goddess Boot Camp. To make matters worse, Boot Camp is run by her irksome stepsister Stella and Adara and Phoebe is the oldest one there by 6 or 7 years! The summer is full of misunderstandings, power malfunctions, heartbreak, and the truth about Phoebe's father's death, but even with all that seriousness, there is still fun, goofiness, and laughter!

This is a fun follow-up to the first book with plenty of Greek mythology and teenage goings-on to keep a wide range of readers happy and engaged. Childs does a good job of writing complete books that don't leave the reader hanging, but still continuing the story of Phoebe and her misfit Gods and Goddesses. The story is very clean and appropriate for all ages, much like the first story. It would be acceptable for middle school through high school students. While the mythology is the background of the story, it doesn't go into a great deal of depth into the mythology. Still, the series is a lot of fun and will make you wish you were descended from the Gods!

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