Book review: The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker

Book cover from Goodreads

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Title: The Silence of the Girls

Author: Pat Barker

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mythology, Retelling

Goodreads link

Book review: Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures, by Stephen Fry

Book cover from Goodreads

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆

Title: Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures

Author: Stephen Fry

Genre: History, Mythology, Non Fiction

Goodreads link

Book review: The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

Book cover from Goodreads

And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.

A retelling of The Iliad by Homer. Written through the perspective of Patroclus, a companion of Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War. The story goes from Patroclus’ childhood, all the way through his exile to Achilles’ kingdom, Achilles’ training with Chiron, and up until the Trojan War. This is, in my opinion, a story of loyalty, sacrifice, love, coming of age, and of dedication. 

Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, by Rick Riordan

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology

I might be bias, but I do really like this book. Not only was I (1) a big fan of Greek Mythologies, (2) a big fan of Percy Jackson (the person and the series), (3) this book also works like magic (figuratively speaking, please don’t take it literally).

I did mention somewhere on my tumblr that I find this a very good book to be read for primary school kids; take your pick, bedtime stories moment or they can just read it for themselves. Think about it this way, not only that you are instilling a good habit early on in a child’s life by introducing a book, you actually taught them about Greek mythologies also.

For those who consider themselves as an expert on Greek mythologies, you might find yourself rolling your eyes while reading this book; maybe because of how some of the gods and goddesses were being portrayed, but don’t take this too seriously, this was suppose to be written by a young adult male who are famous for his sarcasm, supposedly it’s going to sound a bit bratty, not to mention that these are the gods and goddesses from the Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus’ realm.

I do really like Percy’s voice in this book rather than when he was in his own series, assuming that this book was written after the series has ended, showing that in some way Percy has grown up without losing his sarcasm and joking aside.

HUGE points for this book, for also reminding youngsters about the use of drugs, drinking alcohol, and raising awareness about sexual harassment! I applaud Mr Riordan for being attentive enough to raise these awareness without sounding condescending (this might be the reason why I like Percy’s voice  very much in this book). I can see myself reading this book to my kids (later on in the future) or my nieces and nephews, teaching them about the wonders about Greek mythologies without forgetting about the importance of not doing drugs and reckless drinking, also on what to do when you found yourself a victim of sexual harassment.

Looking back, I think one of the reason I really like the Percy Jackson series was because Mr Riordan manage to bring these gods and goddesses into to the future without losing its roots as a Greek mythology; *slow clap for Mr Riordan*.