Persephone the Phony (Goddess Girls)

By: Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Publisher: Alladin
Publication Date: April 2010
ISBN: 978-1416982722
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: April 12, 2010

Less than a month into school at MOA, the illustrious Mount Olympus Academy that is, most of the godboys and goddessgirls had formed friendships, except of course those like Hades who couldn’t even buy a friend. Guys from the Underworld just didn’t seem to be on anyone’s “wanna be my pal” list. Aphrodite, Artemis, Athena, and Persephone were all going to put on their “winged sandals” and head to the Immortal Marketplace, otherwise known as the mall. They all were psyched and ready to go. Well, at least three of them were. PersePHONY, who “lacked the guts to say how she really felt about even the smallest things,” would probably rather walk Artemis’s gnarly dogs than go there, but she was going. Can you spell P-H-O-N-Y?

One thing led to another and before you know it an out-of-control ball of yarn, go figure, landed Persephone in a cemetery, the last place she’d expect to meet a hot godboy . . . named Hades. Just as they were getting acquainted, her mother Demeter, a “chariot mom” supreme, swooped down yelling, “Stay away from my daughter, godboy!” Persephone was almost thirteen-years-old and was no child, but even her friends were against her on this one. Even Athena the Brain agreed that Hades was “trouble with a capital T!” He wasn’t. He just wasn’t. Persephone tried again to see him by shape-shifting into a dove, only to be ratted out by her busybody friends. There was only one thing to do . . . she had to figure out when Charon’s boat was leaving. Little did she know, she was in for one HOT adventure she wouldn’t forget any time soon!

The reader will find a full dollop of Greek mythology 101 in these pages and will be dying to find out more about Hades and the rest of the godboys and goddessgirls at Mount Olympus Academy. I enjoyed getting to learn a bit more about this crowd of youngsters and certainly wasn’t disappointed. This book had just the right amount of drama, humor, and of course, just the right amount of extra-ordinary goings on at MOA to satisfy my interest in this mystical mythical tale. Needless to say, I ended up being quite charmed by Persephone, even if she was a tad devilish. After reading this one I can truly attest to the fact that both young and old goddessgirls are going to LOVE this series!

Quill says: PersePHONY and her devilish crush on Hades will keep readers on the edge of their seats!