Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* This striking reexamination of the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur maintains the bones of the original story: Minos, King of Crete, angers sea god Poseidon, who exacts his revenge not on the king but on the king's wife. Queen Pasiphae, seduced by a bull, births Asterion, the famed future Minotaur, who is ultimately locked in a labyrinth and killed by hero Theseus. Elliott focuses this novel in verse on Asterion and the women in his family, painting them in a particularly sympathetic light. Rotating first-person narrations appear in a variety of poetic forms. Poseidon takes on the role of irreverent, anachronistic narrator, as he raps the story (Life's not for wimps. / Sometimes gods are gods / And sometimes they're pimps); Pasiphae grows increasingly nonsensical; Asterion speaks in childlike rhymes; Daedalus, labyrinth builder, is ever the architect with rigid, four-line stanzas; and princess Ariadne's flowery language is imbued with a clever slant rhyme that belies her coquettish facade. When Theseus the hero finally struts onto the page, it's with significant frat-bro swagger (Ariadne! What a rack! / I knew I'd get her in the sack / As for her bro? / He won't outlive me. / No sweat. / In time they all forgive me). Effective both for classrooms and pleasure reading, this modernization brings new relevancy to an old story. It's a conceit that easily could have floundered; in Elliott's capable hands, it soars.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Using the cadences and unfiltered directness of rap, Elliott (Nobody's Perfect) tells the Greek myth of the Minotaur in the seven distinct voices of Poseidon, King Minos, Queen Pasiphae, her half-man/half-bull son Asterion, his sister Ariadne, Daedalus, and-in a minor but critical role-Theseus, prince of Athens and, possibly, Poseidon's son. The story unfolds in interior monologues, each in a different poetic form, which the author deconstructs in one of two closing notes. All are heard by Poseidon, who comments and adds background: "And rather than be called a slut/ She said I was the father of her mutt./ (You humans tend to be less catty/ When an immortal is the daddy)." Everybody knows how this myth ends, yet Asterion's final words still resonate: "Hell is the freezing/ scorn for who you are/ that transforms a faultless boy/ to Minotaur." Elliott contemporizes the ancient story of blackmail, betrayal, and revenge with humor, poignancy, and profanity. Hamilton comparisons are unavoidable, yet the personalities and voices Elliott brings to these mythical characters make this powerful and engrossing book a genre of its own. Ages 14-up. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-In this retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur, the familiar characters illustrate their viewpoints in verse. The story begins with Poseidon as the powerful mastermind behind the famous events that are prompted by King Minos's hubris: Minos's wife is impregnated by a bull and gives birth to Asterion, half-man/half-bull. Once Asterion reaches the age of 17, the narrative shifts to present tense, when King Minos orders that a labyrinth be built to imprison Asterion. Asterion's 15-year-old sister, Ariadne, attempts to rescue him, but instead she succumbs to attractive Theseus, who has been sent to kill the Minotaur. Elliott's contemporary take on the classic myth incorporates modern slang, profanity, and a bawdy sense of humor into an accessible, highly entertaining, and original novel. The characters are given a sense of humanity not found in the original tales; the young adults, for example, are afforded impetuousness, ignorance, easy trust, arrogance, and quick infatuation, all of which make them easily identifiable and relatable to a current teen audience. The use of varied poetic forms and negative space on the page conveys urgent emotions, including instability and madness, anger and self-righteousness. VERDICT Recommended for most large collections, particularly those in need of engaging interpretations of classic myths.-Hillary St. George, Los Angeles Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Elliott's clever verse version of the classical story of the Minotaur unrolls in the voices of seven characters, each with his or her own poetic form (an appended author's note details them), but it's the god Poseidon who determines the tone--as instigator, manipulator, and despiser of humankind. Raplike wordplay, rhymes with coercive predictability, unpleasant intensity--it's horribly effective. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
