Aphrodite the Beauty (Goddess Girls)

By: Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams
Publisher: Alladin
Publication Date: August 2010
ISBN: 978-1416982739
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: July 2010

Best goddess-girlfriends Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, and Persephone were all busy cracking the scrolls at the illustrious MOA, Mount Olympus Academy. With the exception of Beauty-ology, Aphrodite had little interest in scrolls, but when it came to godboys and love she was all eyes and ears. If you counted the matchmaking, you could count her in as nose-y. She was pretty good at it except for the time one of her “fatally flawed” ideas for matching up Paris and Helen caused a war. She was the “goddessgirl of love and beauty,” but she’d have to leave the brains to Athena. Naturally all the godboys went wild over her, so one little mistake wasn’t that big of a deal. After a while all the attention Aphrodite was getting made her a bit “fed up with godboys,” but braniac Athena looked like she would enjoy a bit of attention now and then. Mmmmmm!

Aphrodite, or “Bubbles” as nasty Medusa nicknamed her, “loved stirring up romance for others.” She pored over “Teen Scrollazine” getting new ideas for Athena’s makeover, a makeover that was so successful even Poseidon, “Fishface,” exclaimed, “Wow, Athena...you look really different.” Unfortunately when blond haired, blue-eyed heartthrob, Ares began eying Athena and calling her “Theeny,” Aphrodite felt twangs of jealousy. When the skinniest godboy wimp, Hephaestus, began crushing on her, she was totally humiliated. She really had to concentrate on matching up mortal Hippomenes with Atalanta and had to forget about the whole fiasco. If he didn’t beat Atalanta in a race he would die, but this whole mess with Athena was going to kill her instead. These days she couldn’t stir up a cosmetic recipe with a spoon, let alone stir up a romance for herself. How did she get into such a mess?

Aphrodite, MOA’s irresistibly vain goddessgirl of love, will simply charm the reader with her matchmaking foibles. This marvelous series is a lot of fun and just as irresistibly charming as its main characters. The reader will roll her eyes when she learns that Aphrodite has an “automatic reflex” to peer inside every mirror she passes and contrarily, will feel sorry for her when “tears brimmed in her eyes” when she was humiliated. In addition to a bubbly tale, the reader will have a learning experience even without giving a thought to Greek mythology (or cracking a scroll). This series is proving to be a hit with all the goddessgirls, godboys, and mortals out there and with the introduction of each new character, it’s getting harder to pick a favorite and soooo...I’ll just have to say I love ‘em all!

Quill says: This delightful, bubbly series will charm the young ‘tween and teen readers with its “modern spin on classic Greek myths!”