Roar Cat Reads

Tag: mythology

  • The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

    The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro

    Genre | Middle Grade Fantasy & Mythology
    Page #s | 480
    Publishing Date | May 2023

    As the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo has been through so much, from the premature deaths of his mother and sister, to being outed against his will, to losing his friend Jason during the trials of Apollo. But there is a ray of sunshine in his life–literally: his boyfriend, Will Solace, the son of Apollo. Together the two demigods can overcome any obstacle or foe. At least, that’s been the case so far…

    Now Nico is being plagued by a voice calling out to him from Tartarus, the lowest part of the Underworld. He thinks he knows who it is: a reformed Titan named Bob whom Percy and Annabeth had to leave behind when they escaped Hades’s realm. Nico’s dreams and Rachel Dare’s latest prophecy leave little doubt in Nico’s mind that Bob is in some kind of trouble. Nico has to go on this quest, whether Mr. D and Chiron like it or not. And of course Will insists on coming with. But can a being made of light survive in the darkest part of the world? and what does the prophecy mean that Nico will have to “leave something of equal value behind?”

    Nico will have to face demons both internal and external as his relationship with Will is tested to the core in this standalone adventure featuring two of the most popular characters in the Percy Jackson saga.

    Goodreads

    I will apparently never outgrow the Percy Jackson universe, because I utterly enjoyed following Nico di Angelo back into Tartarus with his boyfriend, Will Solace in The Sun and the Star! As always, Riordan reinterprets Greek mythology into modern contexts (troglodytes and stacks of hats – adorable!) that makes these myths feel universal and relevant. Forcing a new couple to confront the darkness, or rather, Darkness aka Nyx, is a wonderful adventure as well as an apt metaphor to growing beyond puppy love into a love that encompasses the totality of a person.

    Riordan isn’t the only author this time around. Mark Oshiro, an out gay man, joins him to bring Nico and Will’s relationship to life in an authentically sweet way. I really admire Riordan for creating queer characters and for bringing in queer creators to tell more in depth stories. I don’t know who wrote what, but I’m assuming it is Oshiro who gives us moments of sweet connection between the two boys as they navigate the Underworld, survive Rivers of Pain, and avoid monsters.

    I’m a sucker for gay romances, and this relationship hit so many of my favorite notes. Rather than being a cute “opposites attract!” narrative about a son of Hades and a son of Apollo, both boys have to wrestle with their fundamental differences. Nico takes Will’s fear of the Underworld personally, fearing that he will have to match Will’s sunny disposition without there being room for his darkness. They learn to support and appreciate each other in very real ways, and I actually think this is a great book on how to process trauma within a relationship. And it’s a middle grade book about Greek myths! Fantastic.

    If you already like the Percy Jackson universe, I don’t have to sell this to you. If you’ve given up, I highly suggest trying this book out. It’s emotionally mature and resonate while keeping much of the silly creativity of the original series.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

    Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

    Genre | Fantasy
    Page #s | 478
    Publishing Date | April 2022

    “I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

    So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales about the might and benevolence of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the worthy. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to the marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.

    Desperate for independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With it, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen.

    But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak—and what legacy she intends to leave behind.

    Goodreads

    I love mythological retellings, and Kaikeyi was a very accessible and highly engaging reimagining of the Hindu epic Ramayana from the perspective of Rama’s villainous mother. Spoilers! When you see a story from a woman’s point of view, she’s a lot less villainous!

    In this decades-spanning novel, we follow the titular Kaikeyi as she navigates court life, first as a girl who is twin to the future king, then as a woman who is third wife to another king. She is consistently given power in accordance with her wisdom and intelligence, only to have the power taken away on a whim simply because she’s a woman. It’s a frustratingly realistic portrayal of the limits of female power within patriarchal systems.

    In addition to the politics, there is a lot of magic! Kaikeyi learns at a young age how to enter the Binding Plane, a place where she can see the threads that tie people together. She learns to influence those ties for her own good as well as the good of others. This is a very cool bit of magic, but it is annoyingly unexamined from a moralistic viewpoint. Later in the book she discovers someone else has this same power, and she is appalled a the way it is used without ever once acknowledging the similarities to her own habits of manipulation.

    Some of the other things I loved in this book was the depiction of the relationship between Kaikeyi and her husband’s other two wives. There is never a whiff of jealousy between them when it comes to their relationship to their husband or their role in the hierarchy. It was incredibly satisfying to read about a polygamous relationship of support without the assumption of drama.

    I am also a sucker for stories of people fighting against fate. Although I was unfamiliar with the story of the Ramayana, it was clear that terrible things were going to happen, if not for the reasons recorded in the original myths. Watching Kaikeyi desperately try to avoid disaster, only to cause it, was classic storytelling at its best. What elevates the experience is Patel’s merging of this classic device with modern storytelling. Although Kaikeyi cannot defy her fate, we the readers are invited to question the goodness of the gods, as well as whether the tragic fate of a royal household ought to be the focus of the story at all.

    What Makes This Book Queer?

    Kaikeyi is consistently described as asexual and aromantic. She is married off to a king at the age of 19, and although she admires him as a friend and partner, she never loves or desires him, nor anyone else. Her role as a wife who will bear children to a king despite being asexual nicely aligns with the book’s themes regarding women without choice fighting for autonomy and control of their lives.

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Kaikeyi is the perfect book to give to fans of mythological retellings who grew up on Percy Jackson and want to bite into something with a little more literary depth.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

    Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao

    Genre | Middle Grade Fantasy
    Page #s | 340
    Publishing Date | May 2022

    Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open.

    The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.

    And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.

    Goodreads

    I will forever compare middle grade mythology adventures to the Percy Jackson series (which I love), and I’m happy to say that Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor captures the same energetically educational vibes while also introducing some very compelling moral ambiguity into the story.

    Using Augmented Reality goggles as the gateway to introducing and interacting with the powerful spirits of Chinese emperors who offer 12-year-olds enormous powers was ingenious, as was the Pokemon GO-style game that is mimicked in the book. It’s very fun and feels written in a very forward-facing, technology-driven mindset while exposing readers to legends and stories from thousands of years ago.

    For me, there were two real highlights to the book. First, Zachary is a Chinese-American who was raised to assimilate into American culture, so he wrestles with his cultural identity throughout the book as he has to interact with people, places, and languages that he is totally unfamiliar with. He is the perfect way for readers with little to know background knowledge of Chinese lore to catch up alongside him, but it’s also a very poignant story about embracing your culture, no matter what age or “how late.”

    Second, this novel plays around with moral ambiguity in a way that is pure catnip to me! Zachary and his friends have inherited the power of emperors, and emperors have historically gained their power through violent, paranoid, and oppressive means. This book embraces this fact and forces Zachary to wrestle with the nature of power and figuring out whether the people he is working with are the heroes…or the villains. It’s very compelling, and I can’t wait for the sequel for more!

    What Make This Book Queer?

    This is a middle grade adventure book, so Zachary’s sexuality is not the focus by any stretch of the imagination. However, he mentions being attracted to boys, and he’s disappointed when a cute boy shows interest in a girl. It’s all very innocent and sweet, and I think representing gay or queer kids at this age is so important!

    Also, there’s a throwaway comment about Zachary being very pretty. He says that’s not a good thing in American culture, and his new Chinese friend assures him he would be very popular in China because of it. It was a brief but powerful statement about the cultural construct that is gender!

    Who Do I Recommend This Book To?

    Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is a fast, fun read that brings Chinese mythology to life in a dramatic and accessible adventure. A definite recommendation to anyone in Percy Jackson withdrawal.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag

    The Girl from the Sea by Molly Ostertag

    Genre | Graphic Novel
    Page #s | 256
    Publishing Date | June 2021

    From the author of The Witch Boy trilogy comes a graphic novel about family, romance, and first love.

    Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can’t wait to escape the perfect little island where she lives. She’s desperate to finish high school and escape her sad divorced mom, her volatile little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends…who don’t understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan’s biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the one about wanting to kiss another girl.

    Then one night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named Keltie. The two become friends and suddenly life on the island doesn’t seem so stifling anymore.

    But Keltie has some secrets of her own. And as the girls start to fall in love, everything they’re each trying to hide will find its way to the surface…whether Morgan is ready or not.

    Goodreads

    I’ve been a fan of Noelle Stevenson for over a decade, but The Girl from the Sea is the first time I’ve experienced her wife, Molly Ostertag’s, work. When the story began with an ultra-romantic fairy tale kiss of true love (albeit between a teen girl and a female selkie-turned-human), I was tempted to write it off as cheesy. But the story that developed became very meaningful, addressing plans and fears and a love that changes you rather than lasts forever.

    Morgan is a closeted teenager who just wants to get out of her small town so that she can start living her life. When she kisses a mythological kelpie into human form, she is suddenly confronted with the opportunity to change her plan and be fully herself now. Cue coming out scenes with her family and friends (her mom’s “coming out of the closet” joke made me literally laugh out loud in both delight and tearful joy). Her friends take a bit more convincing, but that’s less about Keltie being female than about her awkwardness as a new human who loves gaudy dolphin-printed t-shirts.

    Just as they are set to enjoy a young gay relationship, Keltie’s ecological goal to save the seals results in a chain of events that once again necessitates a change of plans. It is bittersweet, but absolutely the ending that I wanted. I love a good romance that shows how important it is to be with someone even if it doesn’t last forever.

    The story is excellent, and the drawings that make up the graphic novel are similarly wonderful. I especially liked the way Ostertag represented text conversations. She’s a great creator, and I’ll have to check out more of her stuff!

    Who Would I Recommend This Book To?

    Anyone who likes a sweet-to-bittersweet romance about growing up and accepting who you are.

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

    Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

    Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

    Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

    Goodreads

    Oh wow, I am losing it!  This book made me feel EVERYTHING, and there’s no way this review will be anything coherent.  I guess I know why The Iliad continues to be read millenia after it was created–no one can create a drama like the Greeks!  The tragedy here is SO STRONG, with characters acting so stupidly human that you want to shake them, but you totally see their point, and then everything falls apart because there are no real “good” guys and “bad” guys, only dumb humans seeking glory, and AHHHH!

    Okay, I’ll try again.  Reading The Song of Achilles is like watching Titanic.  I knew what was going to happen, but I couldn’t help but desperately hope things would turn out differently.  Every bit of foreshadowing heightened the horrified anticipation so that when the climax came I was just helplessly awash in emotion.  I mean, I actually thought I was holding it together pretty well, until I read the very last paragraph and surprised myself by bursting into tears.  

    Miller takes one of Western history’s greatest stories and plays up the romance angle, milking two sets of drama for all they’re worth.  She doesn’t have to change anything at all for Achilles and Patroclus to believably be in the most epic romance of all time.  I am a total sucker for friendship turning into romance, so one set in ancient Greece against the backdrop of gods and goddesses, blood oaths and battles – I was a goner.

    The Song of Achilles was amazing and everyone should read it. I want to read it again as soon as I stop jumping up and down to get rid of all the feels crawling around in my heart.

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!

  • Naamah by Sarah Blake

    Naamah by Sarah Blake

    With the coming of the Great Flood—the mother of all disasters—only one family was spared, drifting on an endless sea, waiting for the waters to subside. We know the story of Noah, moved by divine vision to launch their escape. Now, in a work of astounding invention, acclaimed writer Sarah Blake reclaims the story of his wife, Naamah, the matriarch who kept them alive. Here is the woman torn between faith and fury, lending her strength to her sons and their wives, caring for an unruly menagerie of restless creatures, silently mourning the lover she left behind. Here is the woman escaping into the unreceded waters, where a seductive angel tempts her to join a strange and haunted world. Here is the woman tormented by dreams and questions of her own—questions of service and self-determination, of history and memory, of the kindness or cruelty of fate. 

    In fresh and modern language, Blake revisits the story of the Ark that rescued life on earth, and rediscovers the agonizing burdens endured by the woman at the heart of the story. Naamah is a parable for our time: a provocative fable of body, spirit, and resilience.

    Goodreads

    I adored this complicated feminist retelling of Noah and the flood, from the perspective of his bisexual wife Naamah. It’s mysterious and sad and hopeful and never easy – like life.

    I grew up with Bible stories, and (spoiler!) they are overwhelming male stories about men doing things with other men. When a woman exists in the story, she is usually nameless, as Noah’s wife is. Blake names her Naamah, which is the name of a demon in Jewish mysticism. This is fitting, because she is a wild woman, desperately unhappy to live with the burden of surviving a worldwide disaster, angry at God for causing it, and acting out her grief in healthy and unhealthy ways. She’s deeply sensual and very opinionated. And the kicker? It’s all of these unruly qualities that makes God (or his representation in this novel) like her. Not to get too personal, but this was revelatory and healing for me as I try to reconcile what faith looks like for me as an adult.

    Naamah (both the woman and the book) wrestles with themes of unimportance and identity. “What makes a woman a woman?” is echoed throughout the book, especially with the awesome dreams with an angelic Sarai (another biblical woman who was given short shrift compared to her husband).

    Speaking of angels! The Angel and Metatron are fascinating. I love an asshole vulture angel. Some of the more outlandish ideas – like Naamah having sex with an angel – is all the more delightful because there IS a biblical precedent for it.

    And I guess, speaking of sex! There is a lot of it. Naamah is a very body-centric person, and it was satisfying to read about a middle-aged woman who processed joy and pain through sex. She’s an excellently written bisexual woman who loves her husband and also loves the women she sleeps with. It’s complicated and messy and very real.

    I don’t know if this book would speak to people who weren’t raised deeply evangelical the way it did me, but I loved seeing a story I thought I knew from a very different perspective, and being led into grief, hope, and healing in a way that felt more biblical than the Genesis story.

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    Check out our Queer Lil Library for more book recommendations and reviews!