Book Review: Zodiac

 

Summary: At the dawn of time, there were 13 Houses in the Zodiac Galaxy. Now only 12 remain…. 
 Rhoma Grace is a 16-year-old student from House Cancer with an unusual way of reading the stars. While her classmates use measurements to make accurate astrological predictions, Rho can’t solve for ‘x’ to save her life—so instead, she looks up at the night sky and makes up stories.
 When a violent blast strikes the moons of Cancer, sending its ocean planet off-kilter and killing thousands of citizens—including its beloved Guardian—Rho is more surprised than anyone when she is named the House’s new leader. But, a true Cancerian who loves her home fiercely and will protect her people no matter what, Rho accepts.
 Then, when more Houses fall victim to freak weather catastrophes, Rho starts seeing a pattern in the stars. She suspects Ophiuchus—the exiled 13th Guardian of Zodiac legend—has returned to exact his revenge across the Galaxy. Now Rho—along with Hysan Dax, a young envoy from House Libra, and Mathias, her guide and a member of her Royal Guard—must travel through the Zodiac to warn the other Guardians.
 But who will believe anything this young novice says? Whom can Rho trust in a universe defined by differences? And how can she convince twelve worlds to unite as one Zodiac?

Thoughts: I don't normally read Young Adult books if I can help it because they tend to sacrifice character and plot for romance but I decided to give this one a try because I've always liked the idea of using the zodiacs in a fictional story. Reading this book reminded me why I don't like YA.
 The characters, particularly the main character Rhoma, start out strong, determined, but believably scared. I liked everyone for the first third of the book. And then the love triangle asserted itself and drama took over and I couldn't really enjoy any character after that. And Rhoma became nothing more than a confused and besotted girl who was playing with two different guys with the excuse that she couldn't make up her mind so development was dropped there. 
 The writing was actually fairly good and kept me reading through even most of the painful romantic scenes (most not all, see Content below).
 If I was ever going to read another in this series it would purely be for the amazing world building I glimpsed in this story. The set-up of each zodiac from government to trade was perfect and every new piece I learned just made me want to know more! I was dazzled with this starry world of ships and planets. 

Content: Some common language such as D***, H*** and Sh**. War and mob violence. Magic-like supernatural abilities. A couple of kisses. SPOILER Rhoma has intimate relations with one of the characters on her seventeenth birthday. I skipped the scene so I can't say for sure how explicit it got but it left no doubt about what was happening END SPOILER.
 All in all I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone but I would place it at a mature high-school level or above for those still interested.