Lovestruck

Gr 8 Up—Set in the present with characters as old as time, this novel stars Kali, who lives on Mt. Olympus with her parents, Eros and Psyche. Along with her cousin Deya, a daughter of Aphrodite, she is in school to learn how to use their arrows to make the perfect love match between morties, but Kali has lost her edge and is making mistakes. When she shoots herself with an arrow and falls for a boy in an up-and-coming band in Arizona, she is sent to Earth by her father to figure out how to break the match. With Artemis as her chaperone and Deya as her babysitter, Kali is given time to figure out how to find her place in the world of the Greek gods. The story begins with a very dark tone, and, unlike in other myth retellings, there is little humor. Kali is not a very likable character as she is so consumed with her own issues and is not a very good friend even though she is surrounded by those who support her. Hopelessness is a theme throughout as Kali believes that the Fates make all decisions for gods and those living on Earth. The ending is tidy, and all the main characters' love matches are resolved.