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     Kate Winters loves her mom. Kate’s mom is very sick. Her mom wants so badly to move back home, so that’s exactly what Kate is doing. As they are leaving, Kate is realizing there will be no family that she knows, and she is going to be in a place where she knows no one. Because she loves her mom, she decides this move will hopefully benefit her. When she gets there, she meets some friends named James and Ava, and meets a strange guy named Henry. He claims that he is Hades, god of the underworld. Kate thinks he is crazy, until one of her new friends slips and falls. He rescues her from death, and she starts to believe him. But if he could save Ava, then why would he not save her mom? She agrees to stay in the underworld and face the seven trials it takes to become wife to Hades. She begins to hear of what happened to the other girls who have gone before her and begins to wonder, will she pass the next trial?

     After reading this book again, I saw a few things that I wanted to point out. Number one is that some of the Greek gods were portrayed a little bit differently than their “real” selves. Henry (Hades) is portrayed a little nicer than his mythological self. Another thing I wanted to point out was that there was a major lack of relationship between Kate and James, yet he still is bent on getting her to be his, and even when he knows that will never happen, he decides to be her best friend. She knows that she is going to be with Henry, and still decided to pursue the relationship with James, as friends. Lastly, the book itself was based a lot on Greek mythology, but the fact that they never tested Persephone for the seven traits makes me think that the seven traits were out of place a little. They tested several other girls, and all of them got killed. How had they not figured out the way they were all being killed is the question I kept asking all through the book, and it never got answered. With all the security that Henry got, they should have protected them more.

     I would have to say that overall, I give this book an eight out of ten. This plot was amazing, but with all the research I have done on mythology for schools, I feel as though it didn't hold true to what the Greek gods would have been. This book did have an amazing plot. I was expecting something with the character knowing mythology, having recognized her friends for who they were and the tests to be more human for Kate Winters. If you are a person who likes mythology, studied it and would feel “offended” by a book that included such things as incorrect association with traits to a god, this may not be a book for you. I hope you enjoy!

Check out The Goddess Test at the Newport Beach Public Library.