SNAKEHEAD

The classic myth of Perseus and Andromeda gets a stylish makeover. As in the original, headstrong Perseus, son of Zeus, saves the princess Andromeda from being sacrificed and his mortal mother Danae from forced marriage to evil King Polydectes by slaying Medusa and using her head to turn his enemies to stone. But here Halam fashions a retelling both lyrical and laugh-out-loud funny by combining modern elements with bits of ancient Mediterranean history. The author references an actual earthquake that devastated the Minoan civilization, while giving a wink to her audience by having Perseus find the garbage of the ages (including discarded soda cans) washed up on the shores of the Styx. Meddling gods make their star turns, as does Jason of Argonaut fame, portrayed here as a salty-tongued surfer dude. Andromeda, no shrinking violet, manages to invent written language before happily marrying a thoroughly impressed Perseus. Though too leisurely paced for the Rick Riordan crew, this novel should be a fanciful feast for fans of Adèle Geras’s Troy (2002) or Catherine Fisher’s Oracle Prophesies. (author’s note, map) (Fantasy. YA)