Souhegan Reads 2019 Summer Reading List

Sadie by Courtney Summers: Sadie has grown up on her own, raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. When Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues. When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late. (mystery, revenge, murder, sisters, podcasts, thriller, suspense)

Boots on the Ground: America’s War with Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge: 40+ years after America left Vietnam in 1975, the war remains controversial and divisive both in the U.S. and abroad. The history of this era is complex; the cultural impact extraordinary. But it's the personal stories of eight people—6 American soldiers, 1 American military nurse, and 1 Vietnamese refugee—that create the heartbeat of Boots on the Ground. From dense jungles and terrifying firefights to chaotic helicopter rescues and harrowing escapes, each individual experience reveals a different facet of the war. (nonfiction, military, Vietnam War, personal histories, memoir, history)

A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi: It’s 2002, a year after 9/11. It’s a turbulent time politically, but especially so for someone like Shirin, a sixteen-year-old Muslim girl who’s tired of being stereotyped. To cope, Shirin drowns her frustrations in music and spends her afternoons break-dancing with her brother. Then she meets Ocean James, the first person in forever who really seems to want to get to know Shirin. It terrifies her—they seem to come from two irreconcilable worlds— and Shirin has had her guard up for so long that she’s not sure she’ll ever be able to let it down. (romance, breakdancing, prejudice, hijab, 9/11, bullying)

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware: On a day that begins like any other, Hal receives a mysterious letter bequeathing her a substantial inheritance. She realizes very quickly that the letter was sent to the wrong person—but also that the cold- reading skills she’s honed as a tarot card reader might help her claim the money. Soon, Hal finds herself at the funeral of the deceased, where it dawns on her that there is something very, very wrong about this strange situation and the inheritance at the center of it. (psychological thriller, suspense, inheritance, gothic, tarot, family secrets) Hooper by Geoff Herbach: Adam Reed’s basketball skills have taken him from a Polish orphanage to a loving adoptive mother in Minnesota. When he’s selected to play on an AAU team with some of the best players in the state, it confirms that basketball is his ticket to new friendships, the girl of his dreams, & a better future. Yet when a police incident threatens to break apart the bonds Adam’s formed after a lifetime of struggle, he must make a choice between his new family and the sport that’s given him everything. (basketball, adoption, sports, realistic fiction, friendship)

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas: 16-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. Yet it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral…for all the wrong reasons. Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. (realistic fiction, hip-hop, friendship, MC battles, fame, notoriety, dynasty, music, prejudice) My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows: You may think you know the story of Jane Eyre: penniless orphan Jane Eyre begins a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets dark, brooding Mr. Rochester. Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions, in which all is not as it seems, a certain gentleman is hiding more than skeletons in his closets, and one orphan Jane Eyre, aspiring author Charlotte Bronte, and supernatural investigator Alexander Blackwood are about to be drawn together on the most epic ghost hunt this side of Wuthering Heights. A tale of mischief, romance, and supernatural mayhem. (ghosts, humor, adventure, paranormal, governess, fantasy, Gothic, supernatural) Dry by Neal and Jerrod Shusterman: The drought—or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it—has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t take long showers--until the taps run dry. Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbors and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. When her parents don’t return and her life is threatened, Alyssa has to make impossible choices if she’s going to survive. (adventure, survival, drought, climate change, dystopian, apocalyptic, disaster, alternating narratives)

The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir: Essie Hicks is the youngest child on Six for Hicks, a reality television phenomenon. She's grown up in the spotlight, both idolized and despised for her family's fire-and-brimstone brand of faith. When Essie's mother, Celia, discovers that Essie is pregnant, she arranges an emergency meeting with the show's producers: Do they sneak Essie out of the country for an abortion? Do they pass the child off as Celia's? Or do they try to arrange a marriage-- and a ratings-blockbuster wedding? Meanwhile, Essie is quietly plotting her own future through entirely different means. (reality TV, family, mysteries, tough decisions, identity, realistic fiction) Kevin VanDam’s Bass Fishing Strategies by Kevin VanDam: The nation's most revered bass angler reveals everything you need to know to catch more bass from reservoirs, natural lakes, and rivers. In addition to dozens of tips for finding and catching bass, VanDam analyzes the dilemmas anglers face and how to overcome them. Regardless of their skill level, readers will become smarter and more efficient anglers as a result of what they learn from this edition. (nature, fishing, nonfiction, strategy, bass, bait) Vita Nostra by Sergey and Marina Dyachenko: While vacationing on the beach with her mother, Sasha Samokhina meets a strange man with an even stranger request: he directs her to complete a simple, yet strange task or risk a terrible consequence. After her task, Sasha receives gold coins in an equally strange fashion. She finds herself caught up and unable to defy the requests, but increasingly curious about their origins. This interaction leads Sasha to the Institute of Special Technologies, a school she has never heard of. Situated in a tiny village, she finds the students are bizarre, and the curriculum even more so. Yet despite her fear, Sasha undergoes changes that defy the dictates of matter and time; experiences which are nothing she has ever dreamed of . . . and suddenly all she could ever want. (dystopian, Russia, speculative fiction, fantasy, metaphysics, coming of age) Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus: Ellery's never been to Echo Ridge, but she's heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at 17. And only 5 years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows. The town is picture-perfect, but it's hiding secrets. Before school even begins for Ellery, someone has declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. (thriller, small town, serial killer, homecoming, theme parks, family relationships, romance, addiction) Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson: When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth — but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents’ jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv’s miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. (sci/fi, dystopian, aliens, invasion, technology, art, money) The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz: London, 1890. 221B Baker St. A fine art dealer visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson to beg for their help. He is being menaced by a criminal who has followed him all the way from America. In the days that follow, his home is robbed, his family is threatened. And then the first murder takes place. The House of Silk bring Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world's greatest detective. (Sherlock Holmes, mystery, detective, London, adventure, historical) One Goal: A Coach, A Team and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together by Amy Bass: When thousands of Somali refugees resettled in Lewiston, Maine, a struggling, overwhelmingly white town, longtime residents grew uneasy. Then the mayor wrote a letter asking Somalis to stop coming, which became a national story. While scandal threatened to subsume the town, its high school's soccer coach integrated Somali kids onto his team, and their passion began to heal old wounds. One Goal takes readers behind the tumult of this controversial team--and onto the pitch where the teammates vied to become state champions and achieved a vital sense of understanding. (soccer, refugees, team culture, memoir, narrative nonfiction, sports, current events, immigration) Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rivka Braun: 1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood 14-year-old June Elbus: her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart. (sisters, art, grief, coming of age, New York, 1980s, family, death, friendship) Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: Once again, Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a final assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens. But who? Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child. Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender's childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits, Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. He excels in simulated war games. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? (military, space, science fiction, war, coming of age, classic) The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston: Owen Foster has never wanted for anything. Then his mother shows up at his elite New Orleans boarding school cradling a bombshell: his privileged life has been funded by stolen money. After using the family business, the single largest employer in his small Louisiana town, to embezzle millions and drain the employees' retirement accounts, Owen's father vanished, leaving Owen and his mother to deal with the fallout. Owen returns to Lake Cane to finish his senior year, where people he hardly remembers despise him for his father's crimes. It's bad enough dealing with muttered insults and glares, but when Owen and his mother receive increasingly frightening threats from someone out for revenge, he knows he must find out what really happened at Louisiana Frac to understand the cryptic note his father sent him at his boarding school days before disappearing.(mystery, boarding school, embezzlement, Louisiana, fathers, revenge, scare tactics) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time, Slaughterhouse-Five centers on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Germany and Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most. (war, time travel, PTSD, science fiction, memory, satire, classic, aliens, humor, historical fiction) Broken Things by Lauren Oliver: Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. The rumor goes that driven by their obsession with the novel The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into a magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly. The only thing is: they didn’t do it. On the anniversary of their friend’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again, and the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago.( psychological thriller, death and dying, best friends, fantasy, mystery, Vermont) A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos: Headstrong Ophelia cares little about appearances. Her ability to read the past of objects is unmatched in all of Anima and, what’s more, she possesses the ability to travel through mirrors, a skill passed down to her from previous generations. Her idyllic life is disrupted, however, when she is promised in marriage to Thorn, a taciturn and influential member of a distant clan. Ophelia must leave all she knows behind and follow her fiancé to Citaceleste, the capital of a cold, icy ark known as the Pole, where danger lurks around every corner and nobody can be trusted. There, Ophelia slowly realizes that she is a pawn in a political game that will have far-reaching ramifications not only for her but for her entire world. (mirrors, magic, fantasy, psychic, politics, arranged marriage, conspiracy, novels in translation) World Class: The Making of the U.S. Women’s Cross-Country Skiing Team by Peggy Shinn: What makes a great team? Sports journalist Peggy Shinn answers this question through the dramatic rise of the U.S. women’s cross-country ski team, winners of 8 medals at 3 world championships over the past 5 years. Based on dozens of interviews with athletes, coaches, parents, spouses, and friends―it paints a vivid picture of the obstacles that America’s female athletes must overcome not just to ski with the world’s best, but to beat them. (sports, Nordic skiing, Olympics, Kikkan Randall, team culture, biography) This is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kheryn Callender: Playing it safe to avoid a broken heart has been Nathan’s MO ever since his father died and left his mom to unravel—but this strategy is not perfect. His best-friend-turned-girlfriend-turned-best- friend-again, Florence, is set on making sure Nate finds someone else. In a twist that is rom-com-worthy, someone does come along: his childhood best friend. After a painful mix-up when they were little, Nate finally has the chance to tell Ollie the truth about his feelings. But can Nate find the courage to pursue his own happily ever after? (romance, LGBTQ, hearing impaired, humor, queer, family) I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda with Liz Welch: It started as an assignment. Everyone in Caitlin's class wrote to an unknown student somewhere in a distant place. Martin was lucky to even receive a pen-pal letter. There were only ten letters, and fifty kids in his class. Yet he was the top student, so he got the first one. That letter was the beginning of a correspondence that spanned 6 years and changed 2 lives. In this compelling dual memoir, Caitlin and Martin recount how they became best friends --and better people--through their long-distance exchange. Their story will inspire you to look beyond your own life and wonder about the world at large and your place in it. (nonfiction, memoir, penpals, education Zimbabwe, Pennsylvania, letters, friendship) Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram: Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s a Fractional Persian—half, his mom’s side—and his first-ever trip to Iran is about to change his life. Darius has never really fit in at home, and he’s sure things are going to be the same in Iran. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they’re spending their days together, playing soccer, and eating faludeh. Adib Khorram’s brilliant debut is for anyone who’s ever felt not good enough—then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay. (realistic fiction, coming of age, friendship, mental health, Iran, fathers and sons) Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Changed the World by Pénélope Bagieu: With her characteristic wit and dazzling drawings, celebrated graphic novelist Pénélope Bagieu profiles the lives of these feisty female role models, some world famous, some little known. From Nellie Bly to Mae Jemison or Josephine Baker to Naziq al-Abid, the stories in this comic biography are sure to inspire the next generation of rebel ladies. (graphic novel, nonfiction, life stories, women, history, biography) Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West: Talking to other people isn't Kate Bailey's favorite activity. So when her best friend, Alana, convinces Kate to join their high school's podcast, Kate is not expecting to be chosen as the host. But to Kate's surprise, she turns out to be pretty good at the hosting gig. Then the podcast gets in a call from an anonymous guy, asking for advice about his unnamed crush. Kate is sure that the caller is Diego Martinez, and even surer that the girl in question is Alana. Kate is excited for her friend . . . until Kate herself starts to develop feelings for Diego. Kate finds that while doling out wisdom to others may be easy, asking for help is tougher than it looks, and following your own advice is even harder. (podcasts, romance, high school, friendship, lake) What If It’s Us? by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera: Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it. Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex- boyfriend’s things. But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them? (romance, relationships, LGBTQ, alternating perspectives, New York City, summer, first love) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. (space opera, aliens, space travel, friendship, wayfarers) Underground: A Human History of the World Beneath the Feet by Will Hunt: When Will Hunt was 16 years old, he discovered an abandoned tunnel that ran beneath his house in Providence, RI. His first tunnel trips inspired a lifelong fascination with exploring underground worlds, from the derelict subway stations and sewers of New York City to the sacred caves, catacombs, and tombs, from bunkers to ancient underground cities in more than 20 countries around the world. Underground is both a personal exploration of Hunt’s obsession and a panoramic study of how we are all connected to the underground, how caves and other dark hollows have frightened and enchanted, repelled and captivated, us through the ages. (archaeology, exploration, urban exploration, underground, history, nonfiction) Seafire by Natalie C. Parker: After her family is killed by a corrupt warlord Aric Althair and his bloodthirsty Bullet army, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women who have also lost their families to the same foe. The crew has one mission: stay alive and take down the armed and armored fleet. But when Caledonia's best friend and second-in-command barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Athair once and for all, or will he threaten everything the crew has worked for? (pirates, ships, adventure, fantasy, cliffhangers, sailing) Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka: In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery -- Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father. (graphic novel, family, addiction, coming of age, art, memoir, Massachusetts) Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life--until the unthinkable happens. (survival, mystery, abandonment, crime, literary fiction, nature, North Carolina, swamp) Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert: Danny Cheng has always known his parents have secrets. But when he discovers a box in his father's closet filled with letters and a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family, he realizes there's more to his family's past than he ever imagined. Danny has been an artist for as long as he can remember and it seems his path is set, with a scholarship to RISD and his family's blessing to pursue the career he's always dreamed of. Still, when Danny digs deeper into his parents' past, he uncovers a secret that disturbs the foundations of his family history and the façade his parents have maintained begins to crumble. With everything he loves in danger of being stripped away, Danny must face the ghosts of the past in order to build a future that belongs to him. (realistic fiction, art, California, immigrants, computers, friendship, LGBTQ)

Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris: As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she craved—to be an explorer, equal parts swashbuckler and metaphysician—had gone extinct. From what she could tell of the world from small-town Ontario, the likes of Marco Polo and Magellan had mapped the whole earth; there was nothing left to be discovered. Looking beyond this planet, she decided to become a scientist and go to Mars. In between studying at Oxford and MIT, Harris set off by bicycle down the fabled Silk Road with her childhood friend Mel. Pedaling mile upon mile in some of the remotest places on earth, she realized that an explorer, in any day and age, is the kind of person who refuses to live between the lines. The farther she traveled, the closer she came to a world as wild as she felt within. (adventure, borders, travel, memoir, cycling) Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman: In the medieval kingdom of Goredd, women are expected to be ladies, men are their protectors, and dragons can be whomever they choose. Tess is none of these things. Tess is. . . different. She speaks out of turn, has wild ideas, and can't seem to keep out of trouble. Then Tess goes too far. What she's done is so disgraceful, she can't even allow herself to think of it. Unfortunately, the past cannot be ignored. So Tess's family decide the only path for her is a nunnery. But on the day she is to join the nuns, Tess chooses a different path for herself. She cuts her hair, pulls on her boots, and sets out on a journey. She's not running away, she's running towards something. What that something is, she doesn't know. Tess just knows that the open road is a map to somewhere else--a life where she might belong. (fantasy, adventure, dragons, magic, sisters, trauma, journey) The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo: Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers— especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can’t stop thinking about performing her poems. Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent. (novel in verse, Harlem, coming of age, realistic fiction, body image, immigrants, twins, romance, writing) The Ring of Seven Worlds by Davide Turotti, Giovanni Gualdoni, et al: Seven planets linked to one another by the multidimensional gates of a giant ring. Only the passage to Nemo, one of the Seven Worlds, has remained sealed for three centuries in order to imprison its people after they savagely attacked the rest of the Empire. When the infamous gate reopens and unleashes the ancient enemy, Timo and Luce, two teenagers from the planet Mose, are caught up in a war they were not prepared to fight. (graphic novel, multiple dimensions, coming of age, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi, speculative fiction, steampunk, interplanetary) The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White: Elizabeth Lavenza hasn't had a proper meal in weeks and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything--except a friend. Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable--and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable. But her new life comes at a price. (survival, revisionist historical fiction, Frankenstein, monsters, horror, retelling, scientists, experimentation, thriller, adventure) Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak: Miryem is the daughter of moneylenders, but her father’s inability to collect his debts has left his family on the edge of poverty—until Miryem takes matters into her own hands. Hardening her heart, the young woman sets out to claim what is owed and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold. When a boast draws the attention of the king of the Staryk—grim creatures who seem more ice than flesh—Miryem’s fate, and that of two kingdoms, will be forever altered. Set an impossible challenge by the nameless king, Miryem unwittingly spins a web that draws in a peasant girl, Wanda, and the unhappy daughter of a local lord who plots to wed his child to the dashing young tsar. But Tsar Mirnatius is not what he seems. And the secret he hides threatens to consume the lands of humans and Staryk alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and her two unlikely allies embark on a desperate quest that will take them to the limits of sacrifice, power, and love. (retellings, Rumpelstiltskin, fantasy, magic, Russia, fairytales) Circe by Madeline Miller: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves. Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.(fantasy, gods, mythology, witchcraft, fantasy, magic, retelling)