Oh My Gods follows Helen, Zeus’ teenage daughter as she navigates a new school, new family, new home … and her very first kiss, all while trying to conceal a very big secret; her family are really gods.
Helen has been living with her Jamaican grandmother since her mother died, but now she has moved to London to live with her father Zeus and his unusual family. Zeus is either too interested in what Helen is up to, insisting on Sunday study sessions, or totally absent spending every moment with his ‘lady friend’. The house is rarely empty though, as her incredibly beautiful and annoying older sister Aphrodite has a room upstairs and Eros (agony aunt) and Apollo (musician) are always in and out.
There are two key rules they all have to live by or the council of the gods could recall them to Olympus or, worse, remove their immortality: One: ‘gods must not reveal their immortal identity for any reason’; Two: ‘gods must not use their powers to interfere with the fate of mortals for any reason’.
Zeus has an extra rule, too: no mortals in the house. This means Helen can never have a sleepover with her new friends and is destined to be the school weirdo. With Apollo and Aphrodite both seeking fame and money, the family is on thin ice, and to add fuel to the fire, Helen's new boyfriend is not as benevolent or mortal as he seems.
The strengths of this book are in its supportive female friendships and how it deals with teenage emotions and desires. It successfully blends Jamaican, Greek and British cultural elements and handles a deceased parent sensitively and beautifully.
Unfortunately, the plot may fail to engage many readers as the points of drama are being able to throw a cool house party and having a first kiss; that is, until near the very end, when the family are put on trial for breaking the rules - which is when the novel is at its best. The characters of the gods feel two-dimensional to any reader familiar with Greek mythology, and the teenage characters do at times feel like stereotypical teen caricatures.
While it does offer a different take on Greek gods that may draw some readers to Classics, it is more teen flick than meaningful modern reception, and young people interested in Greek mythology may be put off by the premise.
Open access
