Review: Temping Fate

Title: Temping Fate
Author: Esther Friesner
Publication Date: June 1st, 2006

Summary: Until she stumbled upon the Divine Relief Temp Agency, Ilana Newhouse was having a hard time finding a summer job. Apparently, a t-shirt that reads "ORC: The Other Green Meat" isn't appropriate for an interview. But when she reports for her first day as a temp, Ilana discovers why Divine Relief isn't shy about hiring someone a little left of ordinary. Ilana is temping for the extraordinary Greek mythological goddesses, the Fates. The three Fates are responsible for spinning, measuring, and cutting all the life-threads on the planet. Now her summer is going to be less about surviving a stuffy office and more about avoiding being turned into a pig - or worse!


Review:
I was a bit skeptical about this book at first, as I'm not usually a huge fan of books about dragons or wizards or gods or things of that sort. As I started reading, though, I really got into the book. It seems very weird for the first chapters, until you realize what's really happening. I was thinking, "This lady who's trying to hire her is crazy!! Why would anybody act like that?" but by the end of the book it just seemed natural. I think my favorite character in the book was Arachne - who was turned into a spider by the goddess Athena. She brought a bit more fun to Ilana's temp job with the Fates. I also loved the concept of the life-threads, that everyone has their own thread that is their life, and different aspects can be controlled by the Fates. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I originally thought I would, it was fun to read and it was definitely original.

Characters: 8/10
Plot: 8/10
Originality: 9/10
Writing: 9/10
Overall grade: B