384 p. (Gr. 9+)
In a world filled with Persephone and Hades retellings, this stands apart. Written in verse, the audiobook (available on Libby) is read by the poet and author Safia Elhillo. If Elizabeth Acevedo is your vibe, this will be too!
So often in the mythology the perspectives of the mother and the lover are explored but the girl’s is never heard. And in modern days we often see the story retold through a romanticized lens. Here we get to know a modern Persephone (Samira) a girl stuck between two worlds long before her Hades (Horus) even enters her life.
Samira was planning the perfect summer when she finds herself grounded for the duration. Thanks to her aunt she is allowed one reprieve, a poetry workshop, where she gets to spend some precious hours away from the ever-watchful eye of her mother and the other aunties in her community, what happens next is a tale of self discovery and empowerment. This is, at its heart, still a love story.
This work examines the intricacies of so many kinds of love. The love we carry for our art, family, friends, community, and romance.
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