Medusa

by Katherine Marsh, Hope Newhouse (Read by)

Overview

"You won’t be able to stop turning pages . . . it is so stinking good!” —Colby Sharp, author of The Creativity Project: An Awesometastic Story Collection

From National Book Award finalist Katherine Marsh: Percy Jackson meets Wednesday Addams in this fantastical adventure about Ava, who attends a boarding school for the descendants of Greek monsters and uncovers a terrible secret that could change the world forever.

Ava Baldwin has always tried to keep her anger in check, just like her mom taught her. But when know-it-all classmate Owen King tries to speak over her yet again, Ava explodes . . . and Owen freezes, becoming totally unresponsive.

Although Owen recovers, Ava's parents whisk her off to her mother’s alma mater, the Accademia del Forte, a mysterious international boarding school in Venice. There, Ava and her brother, Jax, discover that the Olympian gods founded the Accademia to teach the descendants of mythological monsters how to control their emotions and their powers and become functioning, well-adjusted members of society.

But not everything at the Accademia is as it seems. After her friend Fia is almost expelled for challenging a teacher, Ava realizes the school is hiding a dangerous secret. To uncover the truth, Ava and her new friends embark on an adventure that could change the way they view history, mythology—and themselves—forever…or end their lives. 

Praise for Medusa

• "I'm in love with this book. Like the best Pixar movies, Katherine Marsh's Medusa is full of layers." —Jennifer La Garde, The Adventures of Library Girl!
• "Here is a novel that casts young people as agents of that change, while acknowledging the risks they face when adults, or a pack of patriarchal gods, lie in wait to silence those who speak truth to power. In this feminist retelling, girls take the lead while boys support and trust them." —The New York Times
• "Sound the sirens! Katherine Marsh has gifted us with the Greek mythology series we didn't know we were missing!" —Melissa LaSalle, The Book Mommy and What to Read to Your Kids
• "A unique and distinctly feminist fantasy series launch set in a contemporary world." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
• "A fast-paced adventure offering a fresh, feminist take on popular themes." —Kirkus Reviews
• "A story flipping traditional mythology and the voices telling them on their head starring a resourceful, brave Gorgon. Suggested where mythology stories are popular.” —School Library Journal
• One of Kirkus's most anticipated books of 2024!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212899161
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/20/2024
Series:	Myth of Monsters , #1
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Katherine Marsh writes books for children and young adults, including The Lost Year, a National Book Award finalist; Nowhere Boy, winner of the Middle East Book Award; The Night Tourist, winner of the Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery; Jepp, Who Defied the Stars, a New York Times Notable Book; and The Door by the Staircase, a Junior Library Guild selection. A former journalist and managing editor of The New Republic, Katherine lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, two children, two cats, a rabbit, and an assortment of exotic pets.

Born in the United States and based in France, Hope Newhouse comes from a stage background ranging from medieval farce to contemporary drama to children’s theater. Now more often found behind a microphone, her warm and engaging voice has been heard on commercials, video games, e-learning programs, institutional films, and audiobooks.

Editorial Reviews

Hope Newhouse magically presents this fantasy replete with Greek mythology. Listeners meet brave, endearing Ava, whose encounter with a classmate prompts her parents to send her to a Venetian school founded by mythological gods to teach their descendants how to control their emotions. Newhouse colorfully introduces the prodigious cast, including some faculty bearing pseudo-legendary ties, such as Headmaster Orion and Ava herself, a descendent of Medusa. Another standout character is timid Arnold, who eventually blossoms as a Harpy. The well-rendered feminist slant--exemplified by Ava's questioning why the gods are male and the monsters are female--is surprising and meaningful. In addition to offering effective strategies to confront prejudice and bullying, the unexpected conclusion is intensified by Newhouse's sterling delivery. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2024 - AudioFile

★ 11/13/2023

Using the Medusa mythos as a framework, Marsh (The Lost Year) crafts a unique and distinctly feminist fantasy series launch set in a contemporary world. When confronting a bully, seventh grader Ava Baldwin somehow freezes him in place. Within days, she’s whisked away to Accademia del Forte in Venice, Italy, a boarding school her mother also attended. Things take a turn for the bizarre when headmaster Mr. O’Ryan reveals himself to be the mythic hunter Orion and announces that Greek gods are real—and that all the students at the academy are descended from monsters of myth. Though Ava seems to flourish at the academy, she’s haunted by her mother’s distraught silence upon Ava’s departure. As Ava’s new best friend, Irish-born Fia, defiantly questions the school’s male-focused dogma, Ava considers both what it means to be a monster and the school’s true intentions. By exploring the patriarchal origins often present in Greek mythology, Marsh evokes powerful analogies about how girls and women can be taught to fear the world and themselves via a take-charge, intelligent heroine and her compassionate first-person voice. Ava is described as having golden-brown skin. Ages 8–12. Agent: Alex Glass, Glass Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"It’s a treat to encounter a fearless heroine in Katherine Marsh’s Medusa. Here is a novel that casts young people as agents of that change, while acknowledging the risks they face when adults, or a pack of patriarchal gods, lie in wait to silence those who speak truth to power. In this feminist retelling, girls take the lead while boys support and trust them." — The New York Times Book Review

"A unique and distinctly feminist fantasy series launch set in a contemporary world. Marsh evokes powerful analogies about how girls and women can be taught to fear the world and themselves via a take-charge, intelligent heroine and her compassionate first-person voice." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A fast-paced adventure offering a fresh, feminist take on popular themes." — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

03/01/2024

Gr 3–6—Ava Baldwin, 12, is tired of being bullied by Owen and loses her cool; her dark hair pops out like snakes and suddenly he's literally frozen. The next morning, her mother sends Ava and her brother Jax to the exclusive school she attended in Venice. The school is run by the Olympians, and incoming students must be tested to know which mythological Greek monster they are descended from. When Ava finds out she is related to Medusa (who is still alive), she embarks on an adventure with her friends—a Harpy, a Chimera, and an Empusa—to uncover the true story of Medusa, give voice to the goddesses who have been silenced by male gods, and perhaps find her own purpose. While this story fits into the increasingly popular modernized mythology trope, it puts a different spin on it from the perspective of the "villains" and will appeal to a younger audience. However, the theme of women being oppressed by the male gods is presented in such a didactic manner that it detracts from the powerful message. Medusa is described as black-haired with her skin glowing golden brown; Ava is depicted as having the same skin color in the cover illustration. Many other characters are described as pale-skinned when appearance is mentioned. Missing is additional information about Greek mythology, the monsters, and Medusa. VERDICT A story flipping traditional mythology and the voices telling them on their head starring a resourceful, brave Gorgon. Suggested where mythology stories are popular.—Clare A. Dombrowski

School Library Journal

2023-12-06
Ava and her new friends, descendants of mythological monsters, journey across ancient and modern worlds to change their fates.

Seventh grader Ava Baldwin is about to choose her favorite goddess as the topic for her report when she’s interrupted. Owen King, an arrogant white boy, talks over her to claim Athena, and after they’re assigned to share the topic, he tries to snatch her library book. “Chill out,” he tells Ava; “It’s not a big deal.” Overcome with rage, Ava’s anger explodes—and Owen freezes, remaining still as stone even as he’s taken away in an ambulance. Ava soon discovers that through her mother, she’s a descendant of the monster Medusa; like Medusa, Ava can freeze men. She’s sent to the Accademia del Forte, a boarding school in Venice, where she’ll learn to control her powers along with other kids from around the world who are descendants of mythological monsters. There, Ava shares a room with an Empusa, befriends a Chimera, and schemes with a Harpy. When her friend Fia is cruelly punished for attempting to expose injustice within the school, Ava leads her companions on a journey to restore power to those who deserve it, traveling from Tartarus, “the deepest pit of the underworld,” to Olympus, the home of the gods. Readers familiar with this genre will still find plenty of new twists to thrill and delight. Curly-haired Ava has West African and European heritage.

A fast-paced adventure offering a fresh, feminist take on popular themes. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews