The Wolf-Girl, the Greeks, and the Gods

Starred review from September 9, 2024
In this epic tale, lavishly illustrated by Cockcroft (A Song of Sun and Sky), Holland (Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age) mixes reality and mythology to tell of the Persian Wars through the eyes of Gorgo, the eventual queen of Sparta who grew up in a world teeming with violence and magic, where gods actively influenced the course of events and the tides of war. Via straightforward yet lilting narration, through which Gorgo ages from tweendom to adulthood, she shares stories of gods, heroes, mortals, and monsters, as told to her by the people in her life. Over the course of her storytelling, Gorgo finds herself embroiled in matters of politics and diplomacy, becoming instrumental in guiding her people through years of strife and uncertainty when the Persian Empire—led by Xerxes, the mighty King of Kings—threatens to conquer Sparta. Historian Holland draws from his subject-matter expertise to deliver an accessible, educational, and engaging reimagining of Herodotus’s Histories. Though it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the plethora of characters, events, and myths covered here, it’s a fascinating work and an ideal primer for curious readers and Greek history enthusiasts alike. Ages 9–12.

October 1, 2024
Atmospheric illustrations ratchet up the melodrama in this retelling of the war between the Greeks and Persians. Plainly influenced by ancient vase paintings, Cockcroft places slender, actively posed, geometrically planed warriors and women into darkly clouded settings sometimes splashed with red to reinforce the grim tone of a narrative delivered by Gorgo, daughter of a Spartan king. Like nearly everyone in the cast except the Greek gods and demigods who put in occasional appearances, she was a real historical figure. Though Holland reifies ancient legends by having Athenian girls literally turn into bears at will and Spartans of both sexes into wolves, he also sticks closely to the historical plotline while delivering pithy accounts of numerous myths and disturbing details of growing up in Sparta. Gorgo lays out in detail the political situation that led to the successive invasions and recounts Greek heroics at the battles of Marathon, Salamis, and Plataea. As a wolf, she witnesses the doomed stand of her husband (and half uncle) Leonidas at Thermopylae, with the illustrator treating readers to the particularly lurid sight of Leonidas' severed head mounted on a spear. "Know that what you have read is the truth," she concludes, but what may stick with readers is not so much what happened as the violence the book glorifies. Characters are pictured with a variety of skin tones. Dark and brutal. (cast gallery, map)(Fictionalized history. 11-14)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from November 1, 2024
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Here's a marvelous balancing act of a book: Holland, a historian at heart, takes readers through an appropriately fantastical version of the Greco-Persian Wars (that took on some measure of pop-culture relevance thanks to Frank Miller's 300 and the film adaptation), grounding the events in the experience of Gorgo, first a princess and then a queen of Sparta. As Gorgo comes of age in her brutally bellicose culture, she (and through her, the reader) receives explanations of the gods of Olympus--including pertinent stories of Artemis, Zeus, Apollo, and others--as well as of the geopolitical situation of the period. Those expecting a traditional novel may falter, as the history and mythology underpinning the plot receive equal emphasis, the great events and themes taking priority over character development or world building. Meanwhile, as various epic tales alternate on center stage, Cockcroft injects veritable murals onto each page, often encroaching from the margins into the text or filling entire pages with atmospheric backdrops. Candlewick Studio is at their finest here, with the book's larger trim-size and dedication to presentation elevating the proceedings at every turn. More than a mere book, this is a thrilling experience of history, mythology, culture, and adventure that will appeal to nascent nerds of those varieties, or even the budding Tolkien fan.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.