The Goddess Test

By Aimee Carter

Genre: Fiction

My rating: 3 1/2 stars 

Summary: (from goodreads.com)  

"EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.
NOW IT'S KATE'S TURN. 

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride and a goddess. 

IF SHE FAILS..."

What I liked: I loved the concept, as I like Greek mythology.  I thought the Greek gods and goddesses were portrayed in a very fun and unique way as the story unfolded, and I do want to read the next book in the series just to see more of these characters.

I liked how the story ended.  It was the perfect ending if this is the only book you want to read, but it also left it open for those who want to read the next book in the series to see what happens next.  Genius work, as a writer.

I really liked Henry's character.  He seemed much more different than what I always expected of Hades.  He's not evil, but rather, solemn, thoughtful, and generous.  He was definitely an interesting character.

And although I wasn't a huge fan of Kate's character, she had some unique character traits for a heroine, such as her frankness, her loyalty, her sense of morality and justice.

What I didn't like: Gotta be honest, I'm not a fan of profanity and sex in YA books.  Yes, I know, teens are surrounded by it, so it would make sense it would be in their books too.  But as a middle school teacher for several years, I had multiple students tell me they didn't like reading books with cursing since they heard it so much.  I'm not saying there's a lot of it in this book, but I didn't think it was necessary.

I had a hard time getting into the story until about 2/3 of the way through the story.  Sure, there were some intriguing incidents in the first several chapters, but not enough to keep me glued to the pages until further into the story.  I wish I was hooked earlier.

There were times I liked Kate's character, and times she drove me nuts.  She seemed to be so pensive and moody and then suddenly she would do something that seemed out of character to me.  I kept thinking "where'd that come from?".

I didn't feel like there was a lot of research about Greek mythology interwoven into this book, which is what I was expecting.  It was more like the author was inspired by the story of Hades and Persephone, and should have done her own retelling.  She could have done soooo much more with incorporating mythology into the story, like Riordan did with his Percy Jackson series.

Overall thoughts?  It was an ok read, but I was disappointed as I expected more from this.  But, like I said, I wouldn't mind reading the next book in the series, because I would think there would be more mythology in it, which is what I was looking for in this book.

Anyone else read this?  What did you think?

And how do you feel about profanity in YA books?  Am I just old-fashioned about wanting my MG and YA books to be free of sex and language?