Helen of Troy
A month ago we reported on Libba Bray’s $2 million deal to write a jazz-age trilogy for Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. Now, it looks like the huge YA contract of the month is going to a newcomer: HarperTeen has paid seven figures to Josephine Angelini for a trilogy billed as “a Percy Jackson for teenage girls.”
From Publisher’s Weekly:
In Starcrossed, which brings Greek tragedy to high school, a shy Nantucket teenager named Helen Hamilton attempts to kill the most attractive boy on the island, Lucas Delos, in front of her entire class. The incident proves more than a bit inconvenient for Helen, who’s already concerned that she’s going insane—whenever she’s sees Lucas (or any of his family members) the image of three crying women appear to her.
Turns out Helen is a modern Helen of Troy, and she’s in love with Lucas. And if they get together? You guessed it: They’ll start a Trojan War. Starcrossed hits shelves in 2011, and it’ll be followed by Persephone’s Garden and Ilium. Will you (or your teen) read this love story of epic proportions?
Related in BookPage: Read an interview with Libba Bray or a review of The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson series.
As much as I like bloodsuckers, I’m sick of seeing them on the shelves. So mythology would be a welcome change. I’m just getting into the Percy Jackson books, so a series aimed at girls would be interesting.