Title: Hit the Road, Helen!
Series: Myth-O-Mania #9
Author: Kate McMullan
Genre: Middle Grade, fantasy, Greek mythology
Publication date: Sept. 2, 2013
Published by: Stone Arch Books - Capstone Young Readers
Source: The publishers via Netgalley (thanks!)
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Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository
Synopsis:
When Paris and Helen decide to hit the road together, it means more trouble than they can imagine for both themselves and the people of Troy. But who says Helen is entirely at fault? Sure she had a face that launched a thousand ships . . . but she also had a little interference from the meddling god of love and his mother, Aphrodite. Think you know the truth behind the Greek myths? Think again. Hades is here to set you straight once more on the true story of the Trojan War.
This was such a fun read! I especially liked that Hades was the narrator...I really like him! He's always portrayed as the bad guy when really he's not! And this book shows that!
So, anyway, this book tells the story of the oh-so-famous Trojan War. You know, the wedding of the goddess Themis (mother of Achilles) to a king and the only goddess not invited to the wedding was the troublesome Eris, goddess of discord. Eris resented not being invited so she decided to do what she does best: stir some trouble among the guests. She threw a golden apple into the crowd with the words "to the fairest" carved into it. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all claimed the apple to be theirs, and thus the trouble began. Zeus decided that in order to settle things, a mortal man would choose which goddess was the fairest (bad move, Zeus). And that very (un)lucky mortal was Paris of Troy! Long story short, Paris chose Aphrodite who promised him the most beautiful woman in the world (Helen of Sparta who was already married!) Paris stole Helen and took her back to Troy; Helen's husband was not happy and put together an army to attack the walls of Troy, beginning the start of a very long war, featuring many great heroes of Greek mythology!
When you think Trojan War, you might think, "Oh, that war that was started because of Helen of Troy?" and that everything was her fault? Well, it wasn't! I really liked how this book showed that, and the she was merely a victim of the gods' wrath.
I really like all the little quirky things you found throughout the book, such as Hades and his favorite pastime: wrestling, believe it or not! The books just had so many fun little things like that that certainly made things interesting.
There was one little thing though...because I LOVE mythology, I'm always (whether subconsciously or not) looking for accuracy in the myths. Now, all myths have many variations, and I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but I am almost absolutely positive that Cupid (Greek: Eros) is not a son of Zeus. He is usually always said to be son of Aphrodite and Ares or just Aphrodite alone. But anyway, there might be versions I might not know about.
But overall, I think this is a very fun read and entertaining read, especially for kids wanting to learn about the myths.
Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a comment! :)
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