I was very excited to get my hands on today's read, and it's been on my pile for months just waiting to be read...I promised to wait until closer to release day. The reason I was so excited about this one...don't expect depth here...is due to it's amazing side printing! This book is being released with a snake skin printing along the all sides. I'm not sure if this is a limited thing or will be on all hard cover books, but either way, it caught my attention right away. As said, I'm not about intellectual depth when it comes to first appearances.
As to the tale (which is actually the most important part), I'm hoping I like it but have my hesitations. It twirls around Greek gods and myths, and this is a direction I've been avoiding the last years. I was a bit burned out a few years ago when tons of reads trying to catch the flow of Percy Jackson and Co hit the shelves. But that was also several years ago, and I'm hoping I'm ready to dive back in, now, without that fatigue.
Anyway, let's see where this tale leads because I'm hoping it holds tons of adventure.
THE AFTERMYTH
The Aftermyth #1
by Tracy Wolff
Aladdin
Middle Grade Fantasy
448 pages
ages 8 to 12
COMING FEBRUARY 3rd!!!
In a world ruled by the tenets of Greek mythology, one girl’s fate is more than it appears in the first book in a new dark academia fantasy middle grade series from #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Crave series Tracy Wolff.
What’s your myth?
Penelope Weaver has spent her whole life preparing to attend Anaximander’s Academy, where students learn how to bring to life the stories of Greek mythology as well as discover the Greek god whose principles they most embody. Penelope knows she’s an Athena—all smart, practical, and rule-following girls who take part in stories that matter are Athenas.
But when Penelope and her twin brother Paris arrive at Anaximander’s, it appears fate has other plans. Penelope isn’t placed with Athena but with students who are anything but practical and who prefer parties to rules. And that’s just the beginning. She’s given the world’s worst muse, her assigned tasks feel impossible, and the magic of Anaximander’s is overwhelming. Not to mention, there are two very different boys making her new life even more confusing.
But as things go from bad to dangerously worse, one thing becomes in a world where everything is fated to happen a certain way, some stories need to be rewritten. As the world around her shifts and cracks, Penelope is asked to forget everything she thought she knew to help create a better story…even if that changes every plan and breaks every rule.
What’s your myth?
Penelope Weaver has spent her whole life preparing to attend Anaximander’s Academy, where students learn how to bring to life the stories of Greek mythology as well as discover the Greek god whose principles they most embody. Penelope knows she’s an Athena—all smart, practical, and rule-following girls who take part in stories that matter are Athenas.
But when Penelope and her twin brother Paris arrive at Anaximander’s, it appears fate has other plans. Penelope isn’t placed with Athena but with students who are anything but practical and who prefer parties to rules. And that’s just the beginning. She’s given the world’s worst muse, her assigned tasks feel impossible, and the magic of Anaximander’s is overwhelming. Not to mention, there are two very different boys making her new life even more confusing.
But as things go from bad to dangerously worse, one thing becomes in a world where everything is fated to happen a certain way, some stories need to be rewritten. As the world around her shifts and cracks, Penelope is asked to forget everything she thought she knew to help create a better story…even if that changes every plan and breaks every rule.
MY TIDBITS
Rich world building, whimsical touches, action, and middle grade awkwardness all pack together with dabs of Greek mythology to create an engaging read.
Penelope is an Athena woman just like the rest of her family and knows exactly what she has to do to stay in this lane, which is what she needs to have as the first day at Anaximander's, a bordering school to help students learn to fulfill the Greek mythology selves, arrives. But from the very first moments, nothing runs smoothly. After several exciting, strange, and dangerous incidences, she makes it to the first assembly just as it's coming to a close and is almost passed over, but with a very fought for coin in her hand, she shoves it into the school's gumball machine to be officially sorted into her group. While she has no doubt she's Athena, the gumball places her in the Aphrodite group. She's immediately greeted with open arms and finds an instant friend in Fifi, but Penelope can't accept being placed in the wrong group. She's an Athena girl, after all. But she has little time to only worry about this as she discovers a key to a huge puzzle known as the Pandora's Box and opens the door for the Aphrodite group to enter the school's biggest contest. While Penelope is driven to prove that she's a true Athena girl, she needs to convince the very hesitant Aphrodites to take on the challenge. But then, this is only the beginning of the adventure she's about to face.
The world building in these pages draws in, not only due to the school and Greek nods, but the author adds all sorts of fun details and situations to speak to middle graders while still leaning into a darkish direction with intrigue, secrets, and more. There are video game sessions, parties with tons of wonderful foods, constantly moving buildings, and all sorts of whimsical touches. On the other hand, the danger haunts the shadows and pokes its head with the promise of ever growing threats. While all of this hangs in the fantasy area, there are also moments of familiarity as Penelope deals with the usual social struggles of middle school (bullying, peer pressure, and such) and awkward situations such as facing the first day in a new outfit only to suddenly have super muddy shoes. Add the danger and constantly exciting twists, and it's a read and world to get lost in.
While this takes nods at Greek mythology and includes the gods with their characteristics, it also takes some unique twists to keep a fresh atmosphere. It circles more around the expected attributes and how Penelope (and the other characters) are expected to shape their lives, personalities, and paths after each one. As an academia tale, the school structure gives Harry Potter vibes but also holds aspects which remind of The School for Good and Evil and even Keeper of Lost Cities. The writing, characters, and situations fit nicely to the middle grade audience and fans of these above reads. At the same time, the flow and pacing reminds more of a young adult read. I even stopped to check the suggested age group about 50 or so pages in because of this. After all, it took 25% of the book just for Penelope to get through the first assembly. But even during the first chapters, it is, by no means, a boring read. Quite a bit happens to Penelope as she runs from one ridiculous, awkward, and unexpected adventure into the next. Let's just say she has quite the adventure even before the main adventure hits.
This is the first in what promises to be a very grabbing series, which I have no doubt it will be enjoyed.
And here she is...
Tracy Wolff is the #1 New York Times, #1 internationally, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of the Crave series as well as many other novels. A lover of mythology, vampires, and getting lost in a great book, she’s spent her whole life asking “what if” and “what happens next”—questions being a writer has helped her answer again and again. At six, she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow, a unicorn, and a shapeshifting prince—and at seven, she forayed into the wonderful world of middle grade literature with her first Judy Blume novel. A one-time English professor, she now devotes all her time to writing fun, action-packed, romantic stories with fantastical worlds and characters who leap off the page. She has written all her seventy-plus novels from her home in Austin, Texas, which she shares with her partner, her sons, and their three adorable dogs.
