Sunday, July 12, 2009

Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

Genre: YA-Mythology

Author Site: www.emilywhitman.com

First Line: “Stay here, Persephone,” says my mother. “I have some work to do.”

One Word Review: Enjoyable

Book Synopsis: "He smiles. "Hello." It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes. I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin. Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more—something dangerous and exciting—something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself. In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who—and what—she really is." -GoodReads

My Review:
I really liked this book. I’ve always loved Greek mythology and didn’t realize when I picked this up that it was a retelling of the story of Persephone. I just thought the cover looked good and checked it out. All the old myths claim that Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, God of the Underworld. This story is told in the voice of Persephone and how she fell in love with Hades and willingly chose to become his queen. I thought it was very well written, and still had the same feel as the old stories. The relationship between Persephone and Demeter (her mother) was one that a lot of girls could probably relate to. Demeter wanted to keep Persephone sheltered and safe. Persephone saw this as a prison and didn’t realize how much Demeter actually cared for her. I like the growth that Persephone goes through and I enjoyed hearing the story from her point of view. I also liked how Hades was portrayed in the book. He is power-hungry but you could tell that he was really in love with Persephone and saw the great potential that she had. Overall, a very fun read. If you like Greek mythology than you will like this book. I hope Emily Whitman writes more books, especially ones based on Greek lore.

Other Reviews:
The Compulsive Reader

6 comments:

  1. This book sounds interesting. I just finished reading "Enthusiasm" after learning of it from this blog. Loved it!!!

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  2. I've had my eye on this one. Can't wait to read it. I love the Persephone myth.

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  3. Mary- I think you'll like Radiant Darkness, its was a fun retelling. I'm glad you liked Enthusiasm, it has been one of my recent favorites!

    Angie-This was a great retelling of Persephone. I think you will like it!

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  4. Looks interesting! I LOVE Greek mythology. That's probably why I liked the Percy Jackson series so much. I will definitely be picking this one up. By the way, I love how you do your reviews! The first line, and the one word that sums it up. Great ideas!:)

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  5. Chantel-Thanks! I can't take all the credit though, I like to take different ideas from other blogs. =) Its kind of hard coming up with just one word reviews though, but I still like doing that. You should add it to your blog! =)

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  6. I might just have to do that! I've been looking for something new to do! My word for my last book, The Looking Glass Wars, would have to be...probably...Insane? Ha! Alice in Wonderland creeped me out as a kid as well. The one with the real girl with the jaberwocky chasing her through a castle? That kind of rings a bell, but I don't remember anything else about it. Sorry for the novel length comment...;)

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