By Tracy Barrett
Harcourt Children’s Books, $16.99, 312 pages

The people of Krete are happy – they have good crops, are at peace and worship their goddess who walks among them. Ariadne is a young woman and destined to inherit her mother’s place as goddess when she passes on and she is restless. Seldom allowed outside of the palace for her protection, she is initially excited when a ship from Athens arrives with two possible friends – her uncle’s new wife and the Athenian king’s son, Theseus. However, Ariadne starts seeing warnings everywhere about the newcomers – warnings that she ignores until it’s too late.

Dark of the Moon is a well-written novel about gods, goddesses and the people who were at their mercy. In it, the author adeptly makes myths real on several different levels: she shows the political systems that were created due to religious belief and nicely demonstrates how individuals were affected, both negatively and positively by their beliefs in the whims of the gods. In Ariadne she has a very relatable heroine – she is smart, concerned for others, questions things but struggles with her innate belief in her goddess. This novel will please those interested in myths as well as fans of young adult fiction.

Reviewed by Barbara Cothern

[amazon asin=547581327&text=Buy On Amazon&template=carousel]