Tired of being treated like a child, Persephone runs away from home and elopes with the ever-charming Hades, Lord of the Underworld. However she finds it difficult to settle into her new role as Queen and is troubled when she learns her mother, Demeter, is so distraught with worry she has stopped the earth from producing food, causing a major famine among the mortals. Persephone convinces Hades to let her visit her mother. However Demeter learns Persephone cannot stay with her because Persephone had eaten food from the underworld. In order to satisfy both Demeter and Hades, Zeus rules that Persephone will stay with her mother six months out of the year and the return to Hades for the remaining months.
It was refreshing to read the story from Persephone's point of view since the story is usually centered on Demeter. However, I feel the only reason it is a young adult novel is because of the elopement between Persephone and Hades and a few cuss words. My suggestion would be not to romanticize the myth. The original tale is not a story about an adolescent finding love but one about a mother trying to find her kidnapped daughter. It would have been better if the author would have stuck to the original version of the myth.
Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Holly Springs, North Carolina , United States of America
