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Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard - Review

Thursday, May 16, 2019


Where did I get it? I bought it at Northern YA Lit Fest in March. Alexandra was one of the panellists and I liked the sound of her book so I bought it and got her to sign it. 

What's it about? Helen has just moved to London to live with her dad and half siblings. Her mum died when she was ten and she's been living with her grandma, but now her dad wants her to live with him. The twist though is that her dad is Zeus, the Greek god, and her siblings are Aphrodite, Eros, and Apollo. They are immortal gods, but they have to keep their powers under wraps in order to be allowed to live on earth.

Helen tries to fit in with her family, but Aphrodite, who is trying to make it as a make up artist, seems to hate her. Adonis, Aphrodite's son, has auditioned for the latest big talent show, and her dad has disappeared off with his new girlfriend. Helen is trying to make friends at school, but she can hardly invite them over to a house full of gods, can she? Then there's Marco, a boy that Helen really likes... 

I liked the premise of the book, and I liked Helen as a character. I didn't really like the book, though. Time skipped about which confused me, and I think it wasn't edited very well so there were some factual errors. Helen writes letters to her dead mother, and they were written in a really stilted way, explaining things that her mum would have known. I thought the twists were really obvious. I thought that it skewed a lot younger than it was supposed to. I'm sad, because I really wanted to love the book, but I didn't.

I would definitely keep an eye out for something by Alexandra in the future, though, I think she's a really promising writer and I wish only the best for her. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, Helen is mixed race - her mum was black and there's some nice stuff about her background and culture. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, a bit, it's not graphic 

Are there swear words? Not many, if any. 

What criticisms do I have? I think I outlined them above. It just wasn't for me. 

Would I recommend the book? I sort of still would, if it sounds like your kind of thing. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? We were going on holiday and I grabbed it from the pile at the side of the bed! 

What other books is it like? I'm really not sure of any 

How many stars? Two out of five 

Where is the book going now? I will keep it, I do always keep signed copies of books. 



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