ARC provided by the Publisher
Penelope Weaver has been looking forward to attending Anaximander’s academy, and being in the Athena house like her parents. Things start to go wrong from the very beginning; her parents can’t drive her and her twin brother, Paris, right to the dorm, and she is attacked by snakes on her way to the school. She’s late for the assembly, and arrives in front of the 500-600 students disheveled and muddy. When Anastasia Themis, the headmistress, has the students hunt for coins in the Hall of Legends, Penelope again has trouble. Using her coin in a giant gumball machine to find out her house, she is appalled to learn that she is assigned to Aphrodite instead. Luckily, fellow student Fifi befriends her, even though she calls Penelope “Ellie”. Anaximander’s has an unusual campus, in that the buildings are in different places everyday, and students each have a muse assigned to them. Penelope has Calliope, who is rather reluctant to help at all, although Fifi’s muse, Frankie, gives her 75 gumballs that she can chew to summon him. Aphrodite’s students have an epic party to welcome students, with amazing food, and they also have weekly movie and video game nights as well as a candy room and cookie baking times. Still, Penelope can’t help but yearn for the more staid, regimented life of Athena’s students. In Dr. Minthe’s class, the students find out about the myth for the year; Pandora’s Box. They are challenged to find symbols of the seven evils that were released, and Penelope manages to find the emerald key representing envy. She then convinces her house to participate in the year long competition, which they normally ignore. Penelope continues to have problems, which often include being attacked by snakes, and having odd things happen to her. She meets a boy from Hades house, Kyrian, who helps her get the second symbol, a book written in Attic Greek. Dr. Minthe’s is surprised that Penelope was able to travel into the Underworld to retrieve the tome, and more secrets come out about her abilities. I would not be surprised if this were the first book in a series.
Strengths: The world of Anaximander's academy has some good touches, such as the moving buildings, the awesome candy room, and the frequent parties. The Greek mythology is an always popular topic, and the houses uphold the standard perceptions of gods like Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, Athena, and Aphrodite, although there are some twists. Penelope's frequent problems, like her shoes getting dirty or Fifi calling her "Ellie" will speak to middle grade readers who frequently have their own days go wrong. While this could be a stand alone, the fact that there are still Pandora's symbols to be found and the year is not over could propel this story into several more books.
Weaknesses: It took Penelope almost 100 pages to get to the amphitheater for the welcome assembly. This pacing made me think that Wolff might be a young adult author, and sure enough, she has also penned the Crave series, where book one comes in at 575 pages.
What I really think: At 448 pages, this will be a hit with readers who like long fantasy books like O’Hearn’s Flames of Olympus or Messenger’s Keeper of Lost Cities.
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