With the sophomore honor classes finishing up The Odyssey by Homer and starting their finals, I feel like a good genre to talk about would be Greek Mythology. Whether it’s about the gods smiting people or drama among themselves I don’t really think you could go wrong with a good-written Greek Mythology book!
One of the books I wanted to talk about was Circe by Madeline Miller. This book takes us through the eyes of Circe, Helio’s daughter, and as we watch her grow up and the trials she has to go through regarding other gods, the lives of mortals, and her exile. Even though it has yet to be made into a movie I think it would be a great adaptation, and do well in a movie similar to Hercules. Circe is a really interesting character and I hope some more light would be shed on her and her backstory regarding books written on Circe.
The next book I would like to talk about is Lore by Alexandra Bracken. Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. It was honestly one of my favorite books for a while, and the lack of a sequel killed me.
Moving onto reviews, the first one I’ll be looking at is from Simone Vanheijst. You can find the review I’ll be covering on her blog. Simone said that she really liked the way the book was paced, the setting of the book, the fighting elements, and the genre of the book. The book’s genre was Young Adult Fantasy or YA. I agree that the book was fast-paced, that was what had originally kept me wanting to keep reading it. I also think you really can’t go wrong with a fantasy book. Books like that have things for everyone whether it’s medieval times, dragons, elves, or magic.
I asked some kids from The Honnor’s English class if they liked reading The Oddessy and if they like the genre of Mythology in general. The first person I asked was Maci Cornish, she said “I enjoyed it. I like Greek mythology significantly. I like learning about the past and talking about the gods and goddesses.” The next person I asked was Maira Richey she said “I really like Greek mythology and all the different stories, so reading The Odyssey was really enjoyable.”
If you are looking for books to read similar to Lore, The Odyssey, and Circe. You should check out the story of Cupid and Psyche –Psyche is so beautiful that the jealous goddess Venus commands her son Cupid to make her fall in love with an unworthy man. However, Cupid falls in love with Psyche himself. Concerned about Psyche’s lack of suitors, her parents consult the oracle of Apollo- It has elements of Romance, Mythology, and Fantasy that fit with the stories we talked about above. The other story I wanted to talk about is The Song of Achilles where the epic tale of the Trojan War is transformed into a moving love story, told from the perspective of Patroclus, the beloved companion of the Greek hero Achilles. I’ve heard great things about this one from looking online to asking people here in our school! This book also has elements of romance from Circe to the fighting that is also prevalent in Lore.
I hope that everyone gets to read these books at some point in their lives. They show an amazing storyline and experience the wonderful cast of characters they show! I am glad I had the chance to read these!
