Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Summary from Goodreads:

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Review:

This is what I want in a YA book. I’ve been craving this for months, not really even knowing it. A book, that keeps you up late at night turning pages and has you thinking about it long after you’ve finished it. What a fun read! Just when you think you’ve seen all you possibly can with Greek mythology, think again. Bracken comes up with her own mythology, her own rules and games for the gods.

And this is dark, a whole lot darker than Percy Jackson Greek mythology. The main character comes home from stealing back a shield and finds the brutalized dead bodies of her parents and two younger sisters, dark….It’s a revenge story. Because who wouldn’t want revenge for that? But, also, it’s a Hunger Games style battle to the death hunting of Greek gods turned into humans story.

It also takes place in modern day NYC, where most people aren’t aware that Greek gods walk among them. I love books where fantastical worlds run parallel to realistic ones! And this one is fantastic! There are scenes in warehouses, museums, townhouses, whole city neighborhoods, diners, etc. The setting was just perfect. Though, watching NYC get a little destroyed in floods and explosions was a tiny bit harsh…it made for excellent reading though. I couldn’t put this book down!

Then there’s the twists! Some of the twists I did not see in advance! At one point, I literally yelled out loud, “NO!” and dropped the book. I of course quickly picked it up again. I was just shocked. SHOCKED. Though, I did feel bad that Lore was lied to so much…like a lot. Also, unlike in Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games, the characters have cell phones! What a difference this makes. Though, I think there’s some point, they go underground or something and they don’t work….But still, crazy concept, no?

I also love that Lore has conversations with Athena about women’s rights and blaming the victim. This is literally the conversation I would choose to have with her. I would want answers about Medusa also! If anything was missing, I’d say more of the normal character development. Lore keeps referring back to her time in the town house with Miles, but we never really got to see it. So, I didn’t have a frame of reference or care much about her normal years “hiding” from the gods. Maybe it could of started there, given us a chapter of normal first?

I feel like all of the books I loved last year were mostly Middle Grade, and it’s been a while since I really loved a YA book. This is that YA book I wanted. It’s filled with shocks and twists, and a ton of action. I loved the urban setting. I loved the new plays with Greek mythology. I loved the revenge story. I loved the characters. I give it a 10/10.