Oh. My. Gods

Oh. My. Gods, by Tera Lynn Childs

ISBN: 9780142414200
New York : Dutton Children's Books, 2008

Plot - Phoebe loves to run.  It reminds her of being with her dad, who's been gone for six years.  But for the life of him, her coach, who's seen the best of the best at her age, can't figure out how she does it so seemingly effortlessly.  No matter, though, Phoebe's this close to a full ride scholarship to her dream school, USC, after a fantastic showing at her running summer camp before senior year.  Her mother's waiting for her at the finish line of the most important race and that's just wrong.  Her mother is supposed to still be in Greece meeting her dad's big family.  Her mother is definitely not supposed to be saying the words, "I'm getting remarried" or certainly not "we're moving to Greece."  But it happens. Phoebe is stuck on an island called Serfopoula where, she learns quickly, not only is her new step dad the head of school, all the students are descendants of real live Greek gods.  So much for trying to keep up her 3.5 GPA or her running skills in any recognized competitive way.  To make matters worse, her step sister, Stella, has it out for her and her main competition on the track is entirely too gorgeous to completely hate, though he definitely deserves it.  Still, Phoebe is not going to give up on her dreams..it's just going to be a little harder and involve a little bit of something extra she never expected.

Critical Evaluation - This is ChickLit at its fluffy best.  Phoebe, her nemesis and crush, Griffin, Stella, and even Phoebe's mom are all developed only as far as they need to be in order to carry the plot and make for a good story.  And the story is good.  It's certainly and obviously born from The Lightening Thief's success, but Childs adds a distinct and worthwhile element in Phoebe's love of running.  Her competitive spirit and pur joy when she's on the track lends an edge to her character that will make her identifiable to many sports-loving girls.  The plot moves quickly, and although it's thin there are twists that keep it interesting to the end.

Reader's annotation -Phoebe is the best of the best until she has to compete against athletes whose ancestors were gods! 
Genre - YA nonfiction
Curriculum Ties - none
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Set the stage for story in which champion runner with perfect best friends has to leave it all behind but keep her vision clearly set on returning and claiming what should be hers.
2. Read a bit from the scene where Troy gives Phoebe a feather, pg. 78.  It's a beautiful description of her experience running.

Reading level -12+  Yes, it's a fluff read for even a 12 or 13 year old, but it's also a lot of fun as a quick break for a stressed-out 17 year old staring down 15 college apps. 

Challenge issues -none
Why I included this book - As I remarked in the reading level section, above, this is a fun book, plain and simple.  It's a quick read for an older girl, and a great one for a reluctant reader.  I believe we need these in the midst of other, more weighty books we can really sink our teeth into.