Goddess Girls: Persephone the Phony by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams


Book Jacket

As Persephone's mother encourages her to do, she often "goes along to get along" instead of doing what she really wants.  But when she meets Mount Olympus Academy bad-boy Hades, she finally feels she has found someone with whom she can be herself.  He's the first person who actually listens to her, and she finds herself liking him, despite the fact that the other goddess-girls think he's bad news.  But if he makes her feel so special--and so comfortable--can he really be all that bad?

Authors Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams put a modern spin on classic myths with the Goddess Girls series.  Follow the ins and outs of divine social life at Mount Olympus Academy, where the most privileged godboys and goddessgirls in the Greek pantheon hone their mythical skills.

Review

The story of Persephone and Hades has always been one of my favorites.  I have never thought that Hades was as bad as his reputation, and I like the idea that there was a goddess who loved him despite everyone's disapproval.  Obviously, I subscribe to the stories in which Persephone chooses to live in the Underworld, not the ones in which Hades kidnaps her (though there's a nice allusion to that in this Goddess Girls book).

And Persephone herself is so interesting!  A goddess who lives in both life and death, who alternates between the earth and the Underworld....so much is fascinating about her duality.  Holub and Williams deal with that very nicely in their middle grade book, showing that Persephone has both a sweet side and an angry side.  It is only when she realizes that she is both of those moods that she can accept herself and truly be honest with her friends.

Nice lessons, cute story, funny nods to Greek mythology and terms.

Four out of five eight-armed lunch ladies.

Release Date:  April 2010
Reading Level:  Grade 1+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection:  J HOL