Author: Kate McMullan
Publisher: Capstone
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Synopsis from Book:
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.
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A current trend in children's literature is that of Greek and Roman Mythology. Rick Riordian (who wrote the Percy Jackson books) and others have made this a favorite genre-and so, I believe this Myth-O-Mania series would be equally popular. I had never heard of it before I read this book nor did I know it was number nine in its series. Perhaps if I had, I would have enjoyed it more.
What I did enjoy was the author's writing style. It was quite good and entertaining. What also made this book unique was that it was written from Hades's, "Lord of the Underworld," point of view. Perhaps all books in the series are like that; I am not an authority on that. Hades was a very funny character and I'll admit it, I kept picturing the animated Hades from Disney's Hercules.
However, I have discovered something about myself: I am not a fan of Greek mythology. All of the gods and goddesses run together for me. The obvious ones are easy enough to handle, but Hit the Road, Helen! drifted into territories where there were too many people. I skimmed several portions of the book. Partly because it was formulaic (i.e. I knew after he had one interaction with certain gods how the rest would go). Partly.....I wasn't as interested as I wish I had been.
That being said, I think most middle graders will love it. There is an element of comedy that the kids will enjoy and the myths are presented in a whole new way. (Thus making it not boring for young readers). It will also appeal to what is current--and publishing is all about giving the masses what they want.
So while I might not read one again, I can definitely recommend it to fans of Zeus and Hades, Aphrodite, and the like ;-)
I really want to learn to tell all those Greek gods and goddesses apart, so maybe this series would help me with that. I'd never heard of it before, so thanks for the heads-up! I'll see if I can find these at my library.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think it would be good for that purpose! There is a different book for each god and goddess which is cool.....it's just not my biggest cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you think should you read them!