BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Aftermyth’ blends Greek myths and middle school in a smart, character-driven debut | Books

11 hours ago

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The drive to the Berkshires was supposed to be the start of the perfect school year for Penelope Weaver. She’d arrive at Anaximander’s Academy, join Athena Hall and everything would go smoothly.

Everything goes awry when she eats a misshapen doughnut hole. Her twin brother, Paris, eats the rest of the doughnut holes — which give passage to the school — and her parents can’t make the rest of the journey with them. Then, Paris disappears on the bridge; she gets lost and shows up late for the opening ceremony. What’s worse is that she gets assigned to Aphrodite Hall, and no matter how hard she tries, she can’t convince anyone that it must be a mistake. Oh, and her roommate, Fifi, has given her a nickname — Ellie.

In Tracy Wolff’s debut middle-grade novel, “The Aftermyth,” Anaximander’s Academy is a mystical boarding school where students learn to bring Greek mythology to life. There, students are assigned to dorms of the Greek gods they most emulate — Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena or Aphrodite. With the help of their muse, the students complete 12 tasks that, upon graduation, grant them a special gift.

That setup is fun, but it’s also doing something more interesting. Wolff uses Greek mythology — a tradition that has long been unkind to women and anyone labeled “other” — as a framework for asking readers to reconsider the stories they think they know. Pandora, created by the gods to punish Prometheus, is still blamed for unleashing suffering on the world. Why aren’t the gods blamed? Throughout the novel, Wolff quietly asks, “What if that isn’t the whole story?”

Ellie, as she’s now called, will soon learn that not everything, including the Greek myths she’s been raised on, is as it seems. She soon learns that Aphrodites aren’t the careless, unorganized partiers she’s always assumed they are, but instead are sensitive, caring, supportive and carefree friends.

As Ellie settles into Aphrodite Hall and slowly accepts she’s there for the time being, she has a lot to deal with: a terrible muse and a cryptic set of tasks, mysterious things happening to her, a now-strained relationship with her brother and the challenge of convincing her hall they can win the Pandora-themed scavenger hunt.

“The Aftermyth” is a perfect read for fans of Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson & the Olympians,” “The School of Good and Evil” series or Netflix’s “Wednesday.” While the students of Anaximander’s Academy are not demigods and don’t possess magical or supernatural powers, their families are closely associated with — and favored by — the Greek gods.

This environment, with its mix of expectation, mythology and mystery, shapes how the students learn about themselves — especially Ellie.

Wolff is keenly aware that tweens exist in a very precarious state. It’s a time when they begin to discover who they are and develop their own identity outside of their family and friends. Ellie is a perfect example of someone starting this journey. She’s known — or at least thought she’s known — exactly who she is: an Athena girl. She’s embodied the Athena mindset — smart, practical and organized — that her family fully embraces. But once she’s assigned to Aphrodite Hall, she begins to question whether that mindset is missing something important: compassion, empathy and emotional connection.

It’s also a time when friendships and bonds are formed, tested or strained. Ellie feels increasingly isolated from Paris, who has started spending time with Reya, a mean girl in Athena Hall. At the same time, she’s growing closer to Fifi, her bubbly roommate, and her hallmate Arjun — her new besties. She’s also trying to make sense of her feelings about Kyrain and Sullivan, two boys who have caught her attention. Are they just friends, or could one of them be something more?

There are so many great messages embedded in “The Aftermyth.” It’s OK not to know who you are. It’s OK to be different. It’s OK — and important — to question things. What happens when you consider the world from a different perspective? These are all messages kids need to hear, and honestly, adults do, too.

I really only have one issue with “The Aftermyth”: Wolff is still writing the second book in the series, and I now have to wait to read what happens next.