MEDUSA (The Myth of Monsters, Book 1), by Katherine Marsh
When I teach contemporary rewritings of Greek mythology, I begin with a warning: The world these myths conjure is especially brutal for women. We read fiction about Iphigenia, sacrificed by her father, Agamemnon; about Clytemnestra, duped into sending her daughter to her death; about Briseis and the Trojan women, captured by Greek invaders and subjected to every imaginable horror. We see the lonesome drudgery of Penelope at her loom and of her doomed maids, hanged upon Odysseus’ return. The rape and banishment of Persephone, the grief of her mother, Demeter.
So it’s a treat to encounter a fearless heroine in Katherine Marsh’s “Medusa (The Myth of Monsters, Book 1).”
Ava is a seventh grader coping with wild brown curls; an older brother, named Jaxon, who always seems to outshine her; childhood friends turned mean girls; and flares of anger her mother urges her to control.
When a classmate pushes her too far, the intensity of Ava’s rage literally freezes the boy in place and sets in motion an unexpected journey for Ava and Jax.
Within days, they’re enrolled in their mother’s alma mater, the Accademia del Forte — a boarding school founded by Zeus, Poseidon and Hades — where they’re informed that they, and all their fellow students, are the descendants of “monsters.” Not to worry, the smooth-talking headmaster, Mr. O’Ryan (a.k.a. Orion, Poseidon’s son), assures them; their education will prepare them to control any unseemly powers that develop in their adolescence, quash monstrous impulses and “be forces of good, rather than evil.”
Choosing their own destiny doesn’t sound too bad, although early on a fiery Irish girl named Fia demands to know why there aren’t any goddesses in the frescoes on the Great Hall’s ceiling.
Ava is eager to follow her mother’s example and “fit in to normal mortal society.” For the first time she’s a top student; even myth enthusiasts might wonder at her encyclopedic knowledge of all things Greek. She’s eclipsing Jax. She’s making true friends. She doesn’t want the lonely life of a monster.
But slowly Fia’s outbursts, Ava’s own questions and glimpses of her mother’s surprising history reveal a more sinister agenda at the Accademia, where Orwellian conformity shores up the power of male gods.
When Fia is harmed, she and Ava team up with their friends on a quest to find Medusa. Instead of slaying her (as Perseus did), they must restore her.
Greek mythology is a pillar of both Accademia coursework and this middle grade saga, but the novel is most inventive when Marsh (a 2023 National Book Award finalist for “The Lost Year”) finds lively ways to disrupt its familiar narratives.
The school is not in Greece but in a Venetian palazzo — an eccentric and invigorating choice. The adventurers make their escape during Carnevale. Poseidon lurks in canals and lagoons, sending floods to discipline unruly students.
Descendants of Scylla and Charybdis show up as malevolent swim team members but also reveal an unexpected twist: The sight of Medusa (and her wild-haired descendants) petrifies only boys and men.
Athena, the traditional ally of male heroes, from Perseus to Odysseus — and Medusa’s nemesis — is hostile in this retelling. It’s Demeter, the nurturing health teacher, who offers counsel and gifts. “The world we live in isn’t fair,” Ms. Demi tells her students. “Maybe someday that will change.”
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.
At first only Fia intuits that what the school calls monstrous might actually be “a superpower.” But Marsh does well to let Ava find her voice gradually, because this book hinges on the power of storytelling. It’s only through piecing together Medusa’s secret history that the children can save themselves.
Among Marsh’s most satisfying choices for upending established versions of Greek myths is her omission of Perseus. The golden boy of the standard narrative is pushed to the margins, hinted at in sly references to Ava’s fear of sharp objects and in her mother’s warning that “it’s important not to lose your head.”
Instead, Marsh shines a light on the hearth goddess Hestia, whose tiny form reflects how rarely she figures in stories of the pantheon. Hecate and Metis emerge as mothers with transformative love for their daughters. Persephone may be seasonally confined to the underworld, but she’s more than capable of managing Hades.
In this feminist retelling, girls take the lead while boys support and trust them.
At the heart of the adventure are the bonds Ava forms with her friends and the evolving dynamics of both her ancestral family and her relationships with her mother and Jax.
I wish Marsh had done more with Ava’s father, who barely registers. But many Olympians also haven’t made memorable appearances yet — and Athena’s arc offers intriguing possibilities for Book 2.
MEDUSA: The Myth of Monsters, Book 1 | By Katherine Marsh | Ages 8 to 12 | Clarion | 288 pp. | $19.99
