From National Book Award finalist Katherine Marsh: Percy Jackson meets The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy in this fantastical adventure about Ava, who attends a boarding school for the descendants of Greek monsters and uncovers a terrible secret that could change the world forever.
Ava Baldwin has always tried to keep her anger in check, just like her mom taught her. But when know-it-all classmate Owen King tries to speak over her yet again, Ava explodes . . . and Owen freezes, becoming totally unresponsive.
Although Owen recovers, Ava's parents whisk her off to her mother’s alma mater, the Accademia del Forte, a mysterious international boarding school in Venice. There, Ava and her brother, Jax, discover that the Olympian gods founded the Accademia to teach the descendants of mythological monsters how to control their emotions and their powers and become functioning, well-adjusted members of society.
But not everything at the Accademia is as it seems. After her friend Fia is almost expelled for challenging a teacher, Ava realizes the school is hiding a dangerous secret. To uncover the truth, Ava and her new friends embark on an adventure that could change the way they view history, mythology—and themselves—forever…or end their lives.
The idea of a book similar to Percy Jackson and the Olympians but with the children of monsters sounded amazing. How could I not want to read this book?
At the start of Medusa, you see how Ava's emotions are used against her. She is seen as too intense and angry when she rightfully gets upset over a boy using his "charm" to get his way. I was so excited to see Ava use her powers for the first time even though she didn't know what she was doing I could tell that this was going to be a journey where Ava would find her voice and embrace her inner "monster."
Ava quickly becomes friends with Fia who refuses to go by the status quo and says it like it is. She's always asking questions like why the monsters tend to be female and why the goddesses don't have statues in the Accademia del Forte. Ava acts like she is supposed to and excels in class but when Fia is in danger she is ready to fight back. I enjoyed reading about both Ava and Fia who were both well-thought-out and strong-willed characters.
The adventure aspect of the story was compelling because we got to learn another version of Medusa's story. I did wish as the characters journey from place to place that there was more action. It felt like the journey took only a day and could have been paced better. I also think the female empowerment was laid on a little thick towards the end but I still think it's such a great story for young girls. Some girls are more stubborn and strong-willed which is treated like a bad thing when it can be such a positive like how Ava and Fia modeled. If the author improves on the pacing and action I think this could be a hit series. I'm really hoping we learn more about Fia's ancestry and we travel outside of the Accademia in the next book.
Overall, a strong start to a new series that's fast-paced with a meaningful message.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with a copy of Medusa by Katherine Marsh in exchange for an honest review. Medusa will be released on February 20th, 2024.
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