Phoebe Castro's plans for her senior year undergo a radical makeover when her widowed mother returns early from a Greek vacation, engaged to a man she's just met and determined to whisk Phoebe off to the tiny Aegean island of Serfopoula, where her future stepfather runs the academy that Phoebe will attend. The twist: it's Plato's Academy, now filled with the descendants of the Greek gods and goddesses. Debut author Childs's creativity in manipulating mythology gives an otherwise familiar plot a fun, fresh update. The academy's cliques, for example, include the Zeus/Hera set (into “power, privilege, and partying”), the Poseidon crowd (surfers) and nerds, who descend from Hephaestus (“I think he's embarrassed by them,” one student confides). Add the romantic island setting, snappy dialogue, boys as handsome as Adonis, a few conniving (but ultimately harmless) villains and a protagonist who is a hard-core athlete as much as a girl who squeals about the possibility of a date, and together they make an effervescent, fast-paced read. Ages 12–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

After her widowed mom marries again, high-school-senior Phoebe, a champion marathon runner, is furious that she has to move from California to a small Greek island where her stepdad is the school principal. The place completely bewilders her. Not only must she cope with her evil stepsister but she also discovers that the school is for the descendants of Greek gods, who have supernatural powers. When someone magically knots her Nikes, making her fall, she has plenty of suspects, including a gorgeous fellow runner and a vicious cheerleader. The blend of myth with contemporary jargon, IMs, and brand names makes for great comedy, especially given the wry first-person narrative, which recognizes the universals of geeks, nerds, cheerleaders, and jocks. Whether it's in the Hades harem or among the Zeus set, cliques and bullies are everywhere t so are friends, and family, and romance.

This collection of twenty-two short stories, mostly from Europe and Asia, offers a wide variety of chills and thrills for middle-grade readers. Most of the tales end with a scary, and occasionally surprising, twist, but there's nothing that's too upsetting. Black-and-white illustrations in many of the stories enhance their spookiness. Sources are included.

Few situations are more difficult than adjusting to a new stepfamily, but what if they are all descendants of the gods? After her mother's surprise marriage, Phoebe is whisked away to a mysterious island in Greece where she must spend her senior year at the exclusive Academy. Unfortunately, the fact that her new stepfather is the headmaster is just the start of her problems. In addition to ducking the supernatural powers of her stepsister, steering clear of Hades's progeny and navigating all manner of mythical problems, she must figure out how to land a place on the cross-country team. Normally that would not be an issue for a talented runner like Phoebe, but the other runners include the offspring of some pretty swift gods, including Hermes himself. Riding the wave of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series ( The Battle of the Labyrinth , 2008), the mythological concept elevates the usual high-school dramas of cliques, romances and scandals to new heights. Funny and light, this tale is a romance of Olympian proportions. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Gr 7 Up-Phoebe Castro is a distance runner who plans on winning a full-ride cross-country scholarship to USC with her two best friends. Then her mother returns from a family reunion abroad with a Greek fiancé who runs a private school and announces that she and Phoebe will be moving to an island in the Aegean. The news gets worse as the teen arrives to find out that there is no scheduled ferry service from the island. To top off everything, she learns that every other student is descended from one or more Greek gods. Her new stepfather tells her that she cannot share this fact with anyone, for the safety of everyone on Serfopoula. Things seem to be looking up when she meets an absolutely gorgeous guy while running on the beach and, despite her lack of divine ancestry, she is granted a provisional place on the cross-country team. The IMs fly back and forth between Greece and southern California, magical hijinks abound, and classes and practice keep the protagonist busy. The story is part "Harry Potter," part Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief (Hyperion/Miramax, 2005), and part shojo, and it will keep teens, particularly girls, reading to find out if Phoebe will finally fit in, get her crush, and make the team. Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

High school junior Phoebe Castro is getting ready to have the best summer of her life before she starts her senior year. She has just won the final cross-country meet and is almost guaranteed a scholarship to USC when her world is turned upside down. Her mother drops the bombshell that they are moving to a remote island in Greece and that she is getting re-married. Relocated on the small island of Serfopoula, Phoebe learns that her soon-to-be stepfather is the headmaster at the school she will be attending. But it is no ordinary school. The students are descendants of the Greek gods and have many special powers. Teens will love this romance with a bit of mythology thrown in for good measure. Childs does a great job of character development and creating a fast-paced plot to keep readers engaged. Many readers will easily relate to the anxiety of starting a new school and welcoming new siblings into a blended family. The author leaves the ending open to suggest a possible series of future adventures with the gifted students. Although the superpowers premise has been used before, female teens will still enjoy this read.-Robyn Guedel.