Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite

The Science of Monsters: The Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear Matt Kaplan

Kaplan looks at many mythical monsters and what was going on in the world that people explained with monsters. He then looks at how the roles of the particular monster have changed over the years as our understanding and world has changed. I think it's at it's strongest when talking about the scientific explanation for things that we understand now, but back then Occam's Razor really did logically lead to "vampire." I also found the exploration of the role such creatures play today in our collective psyche (and how it has changed over time) to be interesting--especially when he looks at what we most fear today, and what's going on in our world that makes us fear those things instead of others. (Although, see below, I do have a few complaints about this section.)

Kaplan writes for the Economist, and much of this book has that same tone of sarcastic snark, which is something I personally love but may be a major turn-off for some readers. It's an adult book, but it's written in a very accessible, readable style (again, think Economist) and I think many teens would enjoy it.

My main complaint is when he’s looking at Greek monsters today, he obviously uses a lot of Percy Jackson, but… he uses the movie, not the books. I’m not even sure he’s aware that they are books. *headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk* He does the same thing with Harry Potter, but we at least mentions the books. When it comes to adult stuff (such as Jurassic Park) he’ll actually talk about the differences between books and movie.

But, I did learn a lot and it was very readable and interesting. It’s mostly European-centric, but he does pull in non-European cultures and monsters occasionally. He does a great job at looking how sometimes different cultures have different monsters that look similar but are very different-- often one sees it as evil, one sees it as an overall benevolent force.

It’s a great look at how humans use monsters to explain what we don’t understand and also as a way to name our fears.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Everbound

Everbound Brodi Ashton

Jake went into the Everneath in Nikki’s place. Jake is what kept her alive when she was there and she’s not about to let him go that easily. There’s only one solution--she’s going in after him. Of course, to save him, she has to work with, and trust, Cole, who has his own agenda for getting Nikki back to the Everneath.

I do love a good story where the girl saves the guy. I also like how this one builds on the mythology, politics, and world-building of the Everneath. You really get to dig into this world more, as most of the action takes place in the Everneath as Nikki tries to rescue Jake.

I reviewed the third book in the trilogy, Evertrue, here at RT Book Reviews.


Book Provided by... my local library

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Everneath

Everneath Brodi Ashton

Nikki Beckett is back in town, but everything’s different. She’s been gone for 6 months and there are rumors surrounding where she’s been--most people assume rehab. She knows she was taken by Everliving, an immortal who feasts on human energy. Being feasted on kills you, but Nikki survived, never being able to forget Jake, her boyfriend. But because Nikki survived, she’s not the only one who’s back--Cole, the Everliving who dragged her into the Everneath, is also back, and has to get her to go back to the Everneath with him. Nikki only has 6 months, and then she has to go back for good. 6 months to say goodbye properly and to make everything right, but it’ll be harder than she ever expected.

I liked this one. It’s told in alternating timelines, now, when Nikki’s trying to settle back into life so she can fix the mess she left behind and make things OK for when she goes away again, and then, which shows the beginning of her relationship with Jake, and how she ended up in the Everneath. This allows for a slow unveiling of the backstory, and a slow introduction to the mythology that Ashton’s creating and playing with (overall, the story is Persephone meets Orpheus). I also liked her family. Things are tense with her politician father after her disappearance, but they’re working on it. I like the balance he tries to strike between being a responsible parent and getting her the help he thinks she needs and not being so stifling that she leaves again. And her little brother is awesome.

I also just liked Nikki. I liked her voice. I liked that she didn’t have any superpowers, but could also take care of herself. She wasn’t a shy mousey clutzy girl that everyone actually loved, but was more middle-of-the-road real.

Stay tuned for my review of the sequel tomorrow.

ARC Provided by... the publisher for review consideration (hey look at that! Sometimes I do get around to reading the unsolicited ARCs that I set aside because they look interesting!)

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Awaken

Awaken Meg Cabot.

Things aren’t going well in the Underworld-- the boats are late, it’s very hot, and there are swarms of birds coming. The hurricane is above land and below, and the tension and release is real and metaphorical. Only, right before the storm breaks, John somehow dies. And none of the souls can move on, unless Pierce and crew can find the spirit of Thanatos on land, in the middle of a hurricane.

Do me a favor-- read this trilogy at once. I mean, it starts with a hurricane warning and the storm doesn’t really hit until the climax of the third book. It’s a very compressed timeline and would just flow better if you read it all in one go. (And now that all three books are out, it's easy-peasy to do that.) And here lies one of the problems-- I like John and Pierce. John’s an ass, but Pierce can handle it. It makes sense how their relationship unfolds over the 3 books, but when you think about the actual timeline involved, it’s pretty quick.

Over the series, Pierce really grew on me, and I loved the visual of her running around in a hurricane, in her fancy dress with an old school whip, kicking some serious ass. I loved the cultural slice-of-life of what life in the Keys is like when a storm hits (something I trust Cabot to be very familiar with, as that’s where she lives).

It’s not my favorite of Cabot’s works. But it was very enjoyable and I did like reading it. I also liked her take on daily life in the Underworld, and how mythology might still work in our modern time frame. I also appreciated that Pierce demands that Queen of the Underworld = Co-Regent, and how she really dives in and takes charge in this one.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Abandon

Abandon Meg Cabot

Two years ago, Pierce died. She hit her head, fell into a pool, and was dead for over an hour before the doctors could bring her back. Since then though, things haven't been the same. The adults in her life think she's slightly mentally unbalanced, and after what happened at her last school, dangerous. But Pierce knows the truth-- there's evil in the world and she can see it. She has to stop it.

After her mother moves her back to her hometown on the Isla Huesos (Island of Bones-- very much based on Cabot's current home of Key West) Pierce starts to discover more and more clues about what happened, and why.

So... this is based on Persephone. Basic premise is Pierce meets John (Death Deity) in a graveyard when she's young. When she dies, she sees him again. He gives her a pretty necklace. Pierce can't accept she's dead, runs away, and ends up back in the world of the living. John keeps showing up to save her from bad guys trying to kill her. And now Pierce has moved right on the gateway of it all (so... like Sunnydale's Hellmouth, but it's the mouth of all dead stuff, good and bad.)

So this is Cabot doing something a bit darker than most of what she does. It's not too twisted or dark or depressing and if you like Cabot, you'll probably like this, but just be warned, it's not funny (and it's not trying to be).

BUT! TOTAL CLIFFHANGER ENDING! Gah! That's how the 2nd book in a trilogy is supposed to end!* Not the first!!!!

I like how this takes a well-known myth and doesn't retell it, but uses it to go in a completely different direction.

I like the world Cabot has built and can't wait to explore it more. I really want to see what's going on with the A-wingers and why Pierce's cousin hates them so much.

I also like Pierce a lot. She's nice and strong, but has believable weak moments, so she seems more real. The tension between her and John doesn't overtake the novel (in fact, there could have been more). I like that she's dealing with some serious other stuff besides boys and her problems aren't of her own invention. She's troubled, but not annoyingly neurotic.

Also, I love that Pierce and her friends who are obviously the good guys are all in the New Pathways program, which is for troubled youth. Yay for a book that paints troubled kids as real kids with yes, problems, but they aren't the bad guys, even if the rest of town sees them that way.

Overall, I really liked it and can't wait to read more.

*This is a rule I learned when Boba Fett carted off Han's carbonite encased body at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. It's not a rule I like, but it's one I have come to accept. Luckily for me, when I learned the rule, Return of the Jedi was already out on video, so I didn't have to wait to see what happened next.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Artemis the Brave

Artemis the Brave (Goddess Girls) Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

Artemis has never understood her boy-crazy friends (especially Aphrodite) but when she meets Orion, a new exchange student at school, watch out! Suddenly she's ditching her friends and even forgetting archery practice with Apollo just to follow Orion around. The problem is, Orion's an egotistical jerk. Artemis is sick of having to defend him to her friends, and her friends are sick of having to listen to her go on and on about how great he is. But... even when Artemis realizes that Orion does stuff wrong, she can't help like him.

While this is the longest of the Goddess Girl series so far, it ties in the least with actual mythology. In this version, Orion (last name, Starr) is a mortal actor who does things like spray his body with something called "God Bod" to make him shimmer like his immortal classmates. He's not a hunter by any means, nor does he do anything heroic. The closest we come is that the fact he has a dog named Sirius. In another odd mythological quirk, the school play is the story of Eros and Psyche. With Aphrodite playing Psyche. While there is much mention of the "vengeful goddess" who causes all the harm, it never states that the goddess is supposed to be Aphrodite herself, because well, that wouldn't make sense in the context of the Mount Olympus Academy world. Also, let's just mention this-- BOY CRAZY ARTEMIS. What? Artemis?

While the mythology is thin in this one (and, with the school play, strained, and with Artemis chasing boys, laughable) it's still a good addition to the series, and it's a series I've been enjoying quite a bit. It's light and fun, showing good friendships with light romance. It's a good one for early middle grade and I'm very much looking forward to April's release of Athena the Wise and August's release of Aphrodite the Diva.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Goddess Girls

Goddess Girls Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

A lot of my comments on this series hold for each book, so I thought I'd review them together instead of separately so you don't have to read the same thoughts over and over again.

The basic premise is that many of the Greek gods and goddesses attend Mount Olympus Academy, where they learn the things they need to know to become gods and goddesses. There are a few regular humans as well (Pandora) and non-immortal characters (Medusa, centaurs). Everyone's a student except Zeus, because he's the loud, good-natured, and slightly bumbling principal. If you know your Greek mythology, there's a lot of it represented here, but it's rather watered down to make the books more age appropriate* (I'll get into specifics in a bit).

Overall it's a light and fun series. While I'm not sure on the need to refer to everyone as godboys or goddessgirls (it gets a little annoying) there's something about this series that I really enjoy. Also, as a fast adult reader, they're the perfect length to read (and finish!) in the bath.

Athena the Brain

In the first book, Athena gets a letter from Zeus claiming he's her father and that she needs to transfer to Mount Olympus Academy immediately. Through her newcomer eyes, we get a good sense of the social structures and how the Academy functions. She immediately makes an enemy, but Medusa hates everyone so... eh. She also quickly becomes best friends with Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis.

Athena's mother is a fly, who still lives in Zeus's brain. They are still rather in love and talk to Athena a lot, giving her the family she always wished for. (See what I mean about watered down?)

This book also features the Trojan War, which is a class project in Hero-ology.

Persephone the Phony

As we learned in the first book, Persephone's mother, Demeter, is very over-protective-- Persephone's the only Academy student who has to live at home! Here we also learn how much Persephone hides of herself-- Demeter's always told her to "go along to get along" so she always agrees with her friends' thoughts and plans, even when deep down, she disagrees.

Then she meets Hades. He's considered a bad boy because he's from the Underworld. No one will really talk to him. Her mother and friends warn her to stay away but she's finally met someone she can just be herself with.

Once again, a little watered down. There's no kidnapping (there is some running away) and no marriage-- Persephone and Hades just want to be friends and while they bond over a pomegranate seed spitting contest, it was all above ground so Persephone's not trapped in the underworld at all. There's also a happy ending and of course Hades isn't a bad boy at all, he's just shy and from the wrong part of town.

What I really liked about this one is that it's a characterization of Persephone I haven't seen before. She's so afraid to voice her own opinion and lets herself be run over by her friends and mother. It was a really interesting take on her character.

Aphrodite the Beauty

Aphrodite has decided that what Athena needs is a makeover. She goes along with the plan and suddenly all the boys are ignoring Aphrodite in favor of Athena! Aphrodite thought she'd enjoy a break from the attention and never thought she'd begrudge Athena anything but... she's jealous. Especially because Ares seems to have forgotten Aphrodite exists. And... even though he's a big jerk, readers of the previous books will realize that Aphrodite has a HUGE crush on him.

Only one boy is still taken with Aphrodite over the new and improved Athena-- the extremely talented but unpopular Hephaestus. So Hephaestus is obviously the good choice and Ares totally sucks, and Aphrodite KNOWS this and knows she shouldn't be so shallow, but... in the end, she doesn't choose anyone, because there's not a lot of romance in these books. There are minor crushes and occasionally characters will dance together at school dances!!! But... watered down for age accessibility.

In a lot of books based on Greek myth, Aphrodite is often portrayed as a shallow mean girl. The immortal equivalent of the evil head cheerleader. OR a complete and total ditz with hearts doodled all over. I do like books that give her a little more depth and explore her facets a little more. In this series, Aphrodite does doodle a lot of hearts and is shallow, but it's something she recognizes and struggles with. She also tries really hard to be a good friend.

All in all, I'm really looking forward to Artemis the Brave, which comes out today and will hopefully hit my library very very soon (it's on order. I already have my hold placed.)

*Reading level puts it at a strong 3rd grade level, but there aren't content worries. I'd put the upper age limit at 5th/6th grade. Reading level might be a little low, but I think it would still appeal, content-wise.


All Books Provided by... my local library

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Ancient Girls Kicking Butt

Nobody's Prize Esther Friesner

Helen's back, and this time she's sailing with Jason and the Argonauts as they search for the fabled Golden Fleece. Not only does Helen have to hide herself from the brothers, but hiding her gender is becoming harder and harder as she has to start dealing with the joys of puberty.

I liked this one a smidge more than I like Nobody's Princess. I had hoped this one would cover Helen's life during the Trojan War but, alas, no. It's still a good adventure. I do wish Helen had been able to discover more about Medea and offer some more explanations to her erratice behavoir besides being crazy. I also like that, while, never explicitly discussed, hints in not-at-all subtle ways that some characters are homosexual. It would be weird (and inaccurate) to have an Ancient Greece without any gay characters.

Book Provided by... my local library

Sphinx's Princess Esther Friesner

Following in the same path as her Nobody's Princess and Nobody's Prize, Friesner this time looks at the early life of Nefertiti. Like Helen, Nefertiti is a strong female character. She cajoles a scribe to teach her how to read and write and comes to understand the horrors of slavery. But, when she is brought to the royal palace by her aunt, the queen, Nefertiti realizes that her strength is all she has to survive many court intrigues.

Nefertiti has a common problem of heroines of historical fiction in that she sounds and acts like a modern woman, but in a different time period. This may not be as large of a problem in this case because we know from history that Nefertiti was an uncommon woman. But, another one of my historical fiction pet peeves is there as well. Often, books about the early life of a famous person, the story starts when the narrator is very young, but the narrators observations of the world and voice don't change as the narrator ages. So, Nefertiti at age four sounds the same as Nefertiti at age fourteen and older. The ending was rather abrupt, so I was glad to see that there is a sequel, Sphinx's Queen coming next fall. All that said, while it might not be the greatest work of historical fiction, it was a very enjoyable read, with great intrigue and adventure and I did really like it. Fans of Friesner's stories about Helen of Troy shouldn't be disappointed by her take on Nefertiti.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Greek Mythology that isn't Percy Jackson

Today, for your pleasure, I bring you two books for teens that deal with Greek Mythology.

Radiant Darkness Emily Whitman

You know how the story goes. One day Hades shows up in Demeter’s garden and steals away Persephone. Demeter searches the earth for her, allowing the fields to dry and the people to die. Except, maybe that’s not quite how it happened. Maybe Demeter was so into her plants and the mortal adoration that she didn’t let Persephone ever leave the garden. Maybe she was keeping Persephone young and sheltered, despite her blossoming womanhood. Maybe Hades courted her. Maybe Persephone let willingly, excitedly, and was, frankly, surprised that her mother even noticed.

This is the version of the tale that Whitman imagines. One with a goddess not entirely used to being, well, a goddess. A woman learning to use her powers for herself, learning to see what powers she has, learning the role the gods play in the lives of mortals.

Whitman has taken a story that usually is less than a page and created complex characters with varied motivations for actions they can’t foresee the consequences of. Whitman’s Persephone captures much of the angst of growing up—parents who aren’t able to let you go, coming to understand the wider world view, discovering lands and places and cultures and lives outside what you have known, feeling like you’re ready to take on the world and still longing for home. A must for any fan of Greek mythology. Or pomegranates. (Mmm… pomegranates. Is it fall yet?) But also enjoyable for anyone who likes a good coming-of-age romance..

Oh. My. Gods. Tera Lynn Childs

Phoebe is NOT HAPPY. Her mom comes back from vacation ENGAGED and is moving Phoebe from LA to a small island in Greece. As if this weren't bad enough, her new stepsister is straight from Cinderella and her new school is seriously hard-- hard enough she's worried about keeping the B average she needs for her scholarship to USC. Oh, and here's the kicker-- all of the other kids at school are descended from the Greek Gods. Because being the new kid isn't bad enough, she has to be the only NORMAL kid?

This was fun and enjoyable, although totally predictable. It's an great frothy, lie-around-on-a-summer day read. I will definitely be looking for the sequel, Goddess Boot Camp.

One complaint though. At one point Phoebe says "I'm not a feminist or anything, but I like my rights and I'd like to keep them." Sorry Phoebe, but YES YOU ARE.

Hour 1.5

Hours Read: 1.5
Books Read: .5
Pages Read: 153

I know MotherReader's only tracking time and not books and pages, but I'm still kicking it OLD SKOOL.

Anyway...

Nobody's Princess Esther Friesner

This is what we know about Helen of Troy-- she was the most beautiful woman in all of Ancient Greece and was stolen from her husband. The Trojan War happened to get her back and then she was returned to her husband.

Friesner wanted to know what happened before. So, this is Helen's story, growing up, longing to be more than a pretty face, longing for more from life than having a husband picked for her and being queen. So, Helen trains with her brothers, talks her way into the boar hunt of Calydon and befriends Atalanta AND the Oracle at Delphi.

A thoroughly enjoyable adventure tale, even though those versed in Greek Mythology will scoff at the premis. Friesner has an excellent authors note at the end, explaining where she got her details, as well as the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Helen could hande a sword. I very much want to read Nobody's Prize.

Here's another book that I read awhile ago and have the review written for that ties in well:

Quiver Stephanie Spinner

This is a novelization of the story of Atalanta. There are a few versions of the Atalanta myth, but Spinner pretty much follows the one that is outlined here. Told in first person from Atalanta's point of view, there are a occasional breaks that show conversations between various gods and goddesses to show how and why they are interfering in her story, and changing the course of events.

This is an excellent retelling of myth and a good author's note at the end. Y'all know how much I adore a good author's note.

The main difference (besides style) in these works is that Spinner has the hunt for the fleece happening before the hunt, so Atalanta and Jason are already friends (and, of course, Helen isn't there!) Friesner puts the fleece after the hunt.

Julius Lester (plus a few)

I do love books by Julius Lester.

Day of Tears? Fantastic! I had to read it for a lit conference and was extremely disappointed by the discussion we had on it. No one could get beyond "Gee, Slavery really sucked" to discuss why Lester's tale of it was such a powerful stand out in a sea of stories about the same general subject. No one brought up that it was one of the few stories to really explore the emotional impact instead of the physical one... powerful stuff.

In the hands of a lesser storyteller, The Old African would have been absolutely dreadful instead of being as wonderful as it is.

Most recently, I read Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire. This is classic Greek Myth, but told in a vernacular, Southern African American story telling style.

Because of Lester's great skill, it totally worked and I loved it.

Psyche is beautiful to the point of it being a burden. Cupid is the son of Venus and a total mama's boy. When Venus (who is aging) is jealous of Pysche's incredible beauty, she orders Cupid to poison her with destructive love. (I have to say I was reminded of that exchange in Love Actually "I have say I'm a bit relieved, I thought it was something worse." "Worse than the total agony of being in love?!")

Anyway, of course, Cupid falls in love with her. He enlists Apollo's help. Apollo is not a fan of Cupid, so tells Psyche's father that she will marry a great monster.

In the end, Venus attempts to seek revenge and true love--both Psyche's love for Venus and various other deities' love for Psyche is put to the test.

I know some readers will (and are) annoyed by the storyteller's voice and his meditations on story, beauty, love, and lust, but I really really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the comments on how much work love is. You don't get that truth a lot in YA literature.

Shout out to Bookshelves of Doom for bringing it to my attention.

Now, to catch up on something I read last year, I didn't like Time's Memory nearly as much.

And here's where Lester's genius is more of a burden than a blessing-- I simply expected more from him.

The nyama spirit embodies Nat, a young man who is a slave on a Virginia plantation. He's in love with the Ellen, the plantation owner's daughter. Nat's father is the leader of a bloody slave revolt.

Highly mystical and spiritual, it just didn't work as well as it should have and ultimately left me dissatisfied. However, there is a lot going on in the book, so I would highly recommend it for book discussions.

Another I read at the same time, which won the Coretta Scott King Award is Sharon Draper's Copper Sun.

This is another fantastically written story about slavery. There isn't as much under the surface, but it tells the story of Amari, from her time in Africa through the middle passage and slavery. It also tells of her friendship with Polly, an indentured servant. The two run away--but instead of going North, they go South, to Spanish controlled Florida.

What I really liked about this book was the unflinching look at many things we usually don't see. We usually don't read of the coastal slave castle before being put on the boats, or how other Africans helped round people up to be sold.

We know of, but usually don't see in fiction, the rape of women by lonely sailors every night.

I also really appreciated how nuanced the characters were--there were good people and and bad people and people who were good and bad. Some of the good people where white, some of the bad people were black. Many authors, when telling a story of slavery, go the understandable route of making all white people bad. Or really, really good. Draper writes people as she knows them. No one's all good or all bad. And goodness doesn't fall on color lines.

By doing so, she writes a very accurate and incredible tale of slavery that covers what we learned in history class, and a whole lot more.