Athena the Brain

Athena the Brain (Book one in the Goddess Girls series)

Author: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams

Publisher: Aladdin Books

Pages: 160

Read Time: I read it out loud to little kids.

Tag Words: Greek myths, Middle Grade, Athena, Aphrodite, Medusa, Artemis, Pandora, Zeus, the battle of Troy, Athena’s inventions

My Summary:

Athena has just received a summons to Mount Olympus Academy from Principal Zeus, who is none other than her father!

Will Athena, who is apparently a goddess, find a place to belong high above the earth?

My Review:

Right on time this middle grade series about the Greek gods and goddesses reads like a fabulous twisted fairytale. I graduated from middle grade reads long before I was even in middle school and I authentically enjoyed this and feel it was quite well written and plotted out, excluding a few discrepancies.

Athena’s mom is a fly stuck in Zues’s brain? Oi. That didn’t make any sense, or work within the myths at all. Athena sprung from Zues’s brain fully formed. There’s a lot of awesome ideas that could (excuse the pun) spring from that story, none of them including arthropods.

I think all the characters are true to myth and I look forward to more from Team Holub & Williams!

Notes on the Names:

Well, they’re classic, aren’t they? The one that wasn’t a godboy/goddessgirl, or a “special” mortal, like Pandora, was Pallas. Athena’s BFF on Earth. I love the name Pallas. I think it’s so pretty, and if I didn’t know people would be spelling it P-A-L-A-C-E the rest of her life it would be on my list!

Thoughts on the Cover:

I have a secret love for illustrated covers, especially on MG series. Now I’ll have another collection to add to the Mod Podge Bookshelf.

Parental Book Review *spoilers*

Sexual Content:

None.

Language:

None.

Violence:

None.

Other Notables:

Squeaky clean!