Dark of the Moon

Ever since Ariadne became She-Who-Will-Be-Goddess, her friends have been afraid to touch or even talk to her. It is a great honor, but also a great burden. Ariadne will never be able to leave the island. She will never be able to fall in love and get married. Her only companion is her brother, who was born deformed and with so much strength and so little control that he is kept locked below the palace. One of her few pleasures is sneaking out to see the ships come in with tributes and dream of life in far away lands. That is where she first sees Theseus.

If you like new twists on Greek myths, you'll love this book!  It takes the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and sets it in the context of historical fiction instead of fantasy.  It finds ways of explaining how the story could have actually happened and then later be stretched into myth with the retelling. The book alternates between Ariadne's and Theseus's points of view.  The story has a dark tone with the old, goddess-centered religion dying out, the tragic Minotaur, and the harsh realities of the sacrificial system. 

Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett

Erica's Picks
7th - 8th Grade
Tags: Historical Fiction, Mythology, Retellings

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