Aphrodite the Beauty

Aphrodite the Beauty
by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Goddess Girls, book three

Aphrodite delights in helping mortals in love, but she's pretty annoyed at the constant attention she gets from the godboys at Mount Olympus Academy. When she decides to give Athena a makeover, she's a bit unprepared for the result. She didn't count on all the interest Athena's new look would get. And she certainly never thought she'd find herself jealous of one of her best friends! Will she be able to put the jealousy behind her?
(description taken from back jacket copy)

This is such a good, easy to read tween series. This book, the third in the series, features Aphrodite. After giving Athena a makeover, she has to deal with some major feelings of jealousy. Then, when Ares starts to ignore her and Hephaestus begins to pay her a little too much attention, Aphrodite learns to see the beauty within. She and the other goddessgirls also learn to ignore gossip, as it generally never leads to anything good. Though I still think that Persephone's story has been my favorite so far, I really enjoy these books and I look forward to reading Artemis the Brave.

Goddess Girls Series

Goddess Girls

Book 1: Athena the Brain

Book 2: Persephone the Phony

by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams

Join the class at Mount Olympus Academy with this new series that puts a spin on classic Greek myths.

Athena the Brain - Finding out I'm a goddess and getting sent to Mount Olympus brings new friends, a weird dad, and the meanest girl in mythology -- Medusa.

Persephone the Phony - Hiding my feelings works fine until I meet a guy I can be myself with -- Hades, the bad-boy of the Underworld.

This series is for ages 8-12 and should really appeal to those girls that love the mythology of
Riordan's Percy Jackson series or Hennesy's Pandy series. This may even be the bridge into those longer series for some girls. These books are fun and introduce a lot of mythological characters and concepts in an easy way. The focus is not so much on the mythology itself, but on the four "goddessgirls," the way they relate to each other as friends, the lessons they learn individually, and how they are going to grow up to become their famous selves. They read like friendship books with a fun, mythological twist.

My favorite scene in the "Athena" title is when Athena and her classmates must send their mortal heroes on quests and they set the Trojan War in motion on a giant model in their classroom. The best part is that Athena views it like a giant chess board and is unashamed of her smarts...and it works out for her! Very similar to Hermione from the Harry Potter series in the fact that she makes it okay to be smart!!

My favorite part in the "Persephone" title is not one specific scene, but more about the character growth. Persephone finally owns up to her mother, Hades, and her friends that she is not sunny-natured all the time, but neither is she angry all the time. Once she conveys that she is a blend of the two and tells her mother that she needs more freedom to explore her own decisionmaking skills, Persephone is pleased to find that no one hates her for exposing her true feelings. This book really conveys that it is okay to be yourself and that you shouldn't judge others too quickly.

A great start to a new series and I look forward to reading Aphrodite the Beauty and Artemis the Brave.

Full disclosure: Books won from contest on Readertotz and sent by author, Joan Holub!