What do You think about The Immortal (1993)?
The Immortal, Christopher PikeWith all the deep novels out there that demand contemplation, sometimes you want a light read that takes your brain on a mini vacation. The Immortal, an aptly titled story for young adults, does just that as we follow two girls who are on their own vacation, one destined to change their lives. Josie’s screenwriter father pays the way to Greece for himself, his new girlfriend, his daughter, and her friend Helen. There, we taste Greece, the vibrant tourism, the steep hills, the nude beaches, the color of the sea, the heat and the sudden storms. The story centers on the two girls, who are probably eighteen or nineteen. Josie is recovering from a heart condition; Helen has survived a suicide. And both have survived a damaged love affair with the same boy. Perhaps they will find romance in Greece.There are no subplots, only events that serve to round out the characters. Josie’s father is suffering from writer’s block, his girlfriend is an aspiring screen star, and Josie and Helen seek romantic adventure, as told from Josie’s perspective. The two friends are energetic, apparently shallow and spoiled, typical of many teenagers. Their hormones rage while their sense of responsibility has yet to mature. Josie and Helen have been best of friends most of their lives, yet at times Josie feels as if Helen is her enemy. Why? Jealousy over boys plays a role. It did in the past; it does in the present. While much is made of this past conflict, we don’t see its importance until we are well along in the story.From the start, Helen has encouraged Josie and her father to vacation in Greece, having visited it previously herself. The place has power, she says, especially the sacred isle of Delos. It is an isle once inhabited by the gods. When Josie visits the power spot, she must agree. It’s even more powerful than she expected. She doesn't know to what extent Helen is touched, but Josie finds herself drawn into the power of a goddess, for good or evil. Right away we notice the boldness with which Josie and Helen use their sexuality. Is this typical of wild teens? Or have they surrendered to the ancient power of the gods? In fact do the gods still live? The obsession with Delos grows, changing these two friends in unexpected ways.
—Gloria Piper
I read this when I was 11 or 12 and was recently discussing it with some friends. I read plenty of these kind of books as a teen, but weirdly enough this one stood out from the sea of bad teen horror novels. The burger scene seemed to be particularly etched in my memory. In any case, I decided to read it again to see if it stood the test of time. Wow, this book really sucked. I mean, I'm sure I loved it as a pre-teen, and perhaps other pre-teens would enjoy it just as much. But as an adult reading this critically, it was just terrible. Christopher Pike's "girl" voice is awful, no teenage girl talks like that, but none of the characters are in any way believable so it probably would've been just as bad from a guy's POV. Most of the book is filler, there's a lot of saying and not a lot of showing. I swear there was 10 pages on just getting through the airport in Athens. Do we really need a descriptive scene of waiting in an airport? Beyond that, the friendship between Josie and Helen was just absurd. These girls are not friends, and you don't take your frenemy on vacation with you to Greece. And yeah, in the end you realize that they're not who you think you are, but they're still stealing each other's boyfriends and backstabbing and just terrible people. Also, Josie supposedly helps her dad write his screenplays, she's his "muse" (*hint hint nudge nudge*)and there are pages and pages of Josie and her dad going through some convoluted sci-fi story. Was that really necessary? We could've condensed that into 3 pages, maybe. I realize this is quite a long review for a book I despised, and to give it SOME credit I did finish it. The "action" scenes were pretty decent. So yeah, 1 star.
—Joanna
I loved Christopher Pike in middle school and high school. My coworker found this in her attic and brought it to the office for me to have a stroll down memory lane. It was a fast read, but I didn't feel like Christopher Pike was really into this book. I feel like he took a vacation in Greece and was like, "Well, I might as well make some money off of it," and just wrote whatever came into his head, which was a bit silly. BUT I do still admire the man and want to read some of his other books b/c I really do remember him to be a good storyteller and I need to see if that still holds true after so much time. I also love how Christopher Pike never avoided writing about sex like some young adult authors did and do. Hurray.
—Michelle
