Persephone (Daughters of Zeus)
Author: Kaitlin Bevis
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: July 6, 2012
Summary:
There are worse things than death, worse people too.
The “talk” was bad enough, but how many teens get told that they’re a goddess? When her mom tells her, Persephone is sure her mother has lost her mind. It isn’t until Boreas, the god of winter, tries to abduct her that she realizes her mother was telling the truth. Hades rescues her, and in order to safely bring Persephone to the Underworld he marks her as his bride. But Boreas will stop at nothing to get Persephone. Despite her growing feelings for Hades, Persephone wants to return to the living realm. Persephone must find a way to defeat Boreas and reclaim her life.
The “talk” was bad enough, but how many teens get told that they’re a goddess? When her mom tells her, Persephone is sure her mother has lost her mind. It isn’t until Boreas, the god of winter, tries to abduct her that she realizes her mother was telling the truth. Hades rescues her, and in order to safely bring Persephone to the Underworld he marks her as his bride. But Boreas will stop at nothing to get Persephone. Despite her growing feelings for Hades, Persephone wants to return to the living realm. Persephone must find a way to defeat Boreas and reclaim her life.
Review:
Persephone is a wonderful young adult book that is a modern adaptation of Greek mythology. The heroine is named Persephone, who believes she is just a normal high school girl, until one day her world is turned upside down and her mother tells her she is actually a goddess - an actual daughter of Zeus. After this revelation, Persephone begins on a strange and dangerous journey of fighting her way out of the Underworld and defeating Boreas, the god of winter.
I found this book to be a fun and fast paced adventure through Greek mythology with a modern twist. The characters were realistic and believable, so it was easy to connect with them - especially Persephone. The narrative is well written and has excellent descriptions and story building. I loved the idea of Greek gods and goddesses facing issues that people today would - especially Persephone and her issues of learning she's a goddess while trying to navigate high school and the normal trials of teenage life. The author did a great job with this first novel, which I'm hoping will be a series. I'm eagerly waiting for the next installment to see what will happen next.
About the Author:
Kaitlin Bevis spent her childhood curled up with a book, and a pen.
If the ending didn't agree with her, she rewrote it. She's always wanted
to be a writer, and spent high school and college learning everything
she could so that one day she could achieve that goal. She graduated
college with my BFA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing,
and is pursuing my masters at the University of Georgia.
Her
young adult fiction novel "Persephone," will be released this summer.
She also writes for Athens Parent Magazine, and truuconfessions.com.
Connect with Kaitlin:
There seems to be a glut of updated greek myths making the rounds lately.
ReplyDeleteMust be because of the Percy Jackson series. Everyone's more interested in mythology than they were - which is great. I will say that I have read Persephone, and it is an amazing book and quite unique! It's kind of a cross between paranormal romance and epic adventure, and Hades is portrayed in a very new and interesting way. He's quite likable, actually. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting your review. I'm glad you enjoyed it :). Dusty, I'm glad you enjoyed my portrayal of Hades. Ryan I'm enjoying the resurgence of the myths into popular culture, it's a pleasant break from vampires. :). But you're absolutely right. Funny story, I actually got a rejection from one of the first publishers I sent Persephone to because Meg Cabot and Aimee Carter were coming out with their own takes on the Persephone myth later that year. It's weird how ideas spread. Like all writers everywhere get a taste of the same thought or something. I even heard from Karen Hesse that she and a group of other YA writers had been working on a Persephone anthology the same year. They ended up not pushing forward with it, but isn't that crazy? So many unconnected people with one very similar idea.
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