Girl, Goddess, Queen

When Girl, Goddess, Queen was released there was another Hades & Persephone retelling published. A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair, so clearly it’s the zeitgeist. This was also Bea Fitzgerald's debut and a glorious find it was.

My partner is a fan of the Chthonic myths and I was only halfway through my library copy before I went out and bought her a paper copy, I also purchased Bea Fitzgerald's The End Crowns All her retelling the myth of Cassandra.

Girl, Goddess, Queen follows Kore, later known as Persephone (a name meaning chaos bringer). The young girl escapes her fate of marriage by jumping into the Underworld, ruled by Hades. Hades and Persephone become relatable, witty young people trying to find their place in the world. We find out that there’s much more to Hades than the harsh way he portrays himself and that Persephone is no longer the helpless damsel we know her.

The YA story does not shy from portraying the culture of the Greek gods as misogynist, with the threat of violent rape a possibility which whilst not graphically portrayed in honestly conveyed necessary in any faithful reading of the Greek myths.

Similar to Jennifer Saint’s novels, you don’t have to have any knowledge of Greek mythology to enjoy this read. I had no idea what the original story was meant to be until I Googled it. However, I’d say there are definitely ways the author nods to the original story.

Much of the conflict comes from miscommunication between Hades and Persephone and in this case the trope is used well without it feeling silly. Hades and Persephone constantly avoid opening up about their feelings to each other, for fear that they’ll break the friendship they have.

The resolution is tried to the myth and provides a satisfying conclusion.