Becoming Athena by Katherine Lore

I was initially drawn in by the title “Becoming Athena” because I am a huge fan of Greek mythology. I had no idea how one became Athena if it wasn’t the goddess’s tale, but understanding some of her characteristics made for a compelling lead character that I would stick with for a while. And Scarlet did not let us down. She begins as this aloof high school student who neither fits in nor stands out.

The fact that she had such a strong will meant that even before she faced the demons, I wanted to see her triumph. She had a lot of rules that provided her control over her life and kept her motivated. While some of them were restraining, they made her a good sister with good intentions. It was just that she wasn’t exactly living.

Cy was surprising and never ceased to make me wonder. First of all, who doesn’t adore a dashing Texas boy with the charm to take on a leprechaun? I was intrigued from the moment he named her his “love,” especially when you consider that he has five adorable little sisters and a passion for fixing vehicles.

RELATED STORIES

Stuck in Her Head by Kylie Wang

8 Best Trending Fiction Books of 2023

December 23, 2023

1.5k

8 Most Anticipated Young Adult Books of Fall 2023

November 11, 2023

1.5k

I do want to point you that the subject of this book is religion. The subject of Mormonism is a serious one, and while that can turn people away, I didn’t get the impression that it was a sales pitch. I think it was courageous of Lore to employ such a component to affect character growth and behaviour. She did a good job of getting Scarlet to reject her religion or any religion, in fact.

She came from the only non-Mormon household in the neighbourhood, thus discussions about religion frequently reinforce as well as contradict one another’s beliefs. It’s a treat for me if I can learn something new while reading a modern romance. In addition to learning a lot about science, astronomy, and Greek mythology, I also learnt a lot about religion. All of these concepts are challenging to understand, yet they are employed so skillfully that I now feel smarter.

This is a love story, but I won’t reveal any spoilers. At first, it’s rife with youth and identity exploration. High school never fails to test our limitations or serve as the backdrop for our worst errors. There is also a lot of heartache because Scarlet and Cy were still figuring out how to balance their individual challenges.

These challenges brought out a lot of emotion in me, and I am grateful that Lore divided them up over the course of the book so that I wouldn’t have to deal with them both at once. I’m not sure how I would have managed.) Despite how distracted I was by how many tears I ended up crying, these two made me believe in love, which is a sign of a beautiful love tale.

Becoming Athena features family turmoil, adolescent development, signals from the gods, and religious debates. This narrative caused me to doubt my faith, consider my mortality, and keep an eye out for opportunities. The writing of Katherine Lore has me in awe. This was a powerful debut from a writer to keep an eye on.

About The Book

For fans of Nicola Yoon and Nicholas Sparks, Becoming Athena grants a tender look at the grandiose highs and heartbreak of YA coming of age, marking one girl’s evolution from girl to goddess.

Unlike her high school classmates who yearn for glory or romance, Scarlet Leone clings to science and Greek Mythology to cope with a tragic home life. Love, especially if it mirrors her parent’s relationship, has no place in her mythos. Until Cy Smith, the Mormon boy next door who Scarlet casts as Apollo, asks for her help with his astronomy paper.

Soon, Scarlet finds herself bruised from battling her own heart as a foreign intimacy uproots her from all that she has known and believed. Over the span of several years, Scarlet discovers a love so heroic it deserves to be written in the night sky.