Odysseus In The Serpent Maze

Young Heroes #1

by Jane Yolen

Penelope screamed back as a serpent launched out of a side passage and aimed for her throat. Odysseus knocked Penelope down, and Silenus fell on top of her. Then Odysseus slammed the snake to the floor with the flat of his blade."Run! Run!" Odysseus cried.One by one they leaped over the stunned serpent and ran down the shadow-filled hall. Behind them came the furios hissing of serpents."They're everywhere!" Penelope cried. "Everywhere!"Odysseus knew, with darkening certainty, that she was right.

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Adventure

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in my day, we didn't have Percy Jackson to teach us mythology, we had to make due with Jane Yolen (who does NOT get enough credit for basically creating two middle grade series templates for JK Rowling and Rick Riordan to get rich off in the 2000's)!

I remember ordering this book out of the scholastic flyer in middle school and the it ended up shaping my understanding of Greek myth and legend nearly as much as Disney's Hercules.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little read about what Odysseus may have been like as a young teen and some of the adventures he may have had. There was plenty of action and humor and 'will they make it out okay' thrills. I would totally recommend it to young boys (and gals, because Penelope is a strong girl) except for the fact that Odysseus is a champion liar. And he does it all the time. And people think it's funny. And acceptable. And I'm not okay with that. His grandfather is also a master thief and liar and everyone laughs about it. (Can you hear my teeth grinding yet?)

While fun and interesting, this book will be leaving my home. I didn't appreciate the morals and there are better things for my boys to read.

[ramram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked Odysseus in the Serpents Maze because I read another book wrote by the same author. It had the same type of excitement in the beginning. The boar hunt made me sweat a little. It was action packed and humorous, I had the same feeling when I read other Greek mythology chapter books. Some things I knew very well and know a lot about like the labyrinth. A part I like is when they were in the labyrinth and started fighting the serpent in the maze. I was surprised that Odysseus stabbed the eye of the serpent with a broken spearhead. You really had to pay attention to the beginning of the book to understand and not be confused when you are at the middle of the book. The second part that I liked is when Helen of Troy got the key and freed Odysseus and Daedalus’s helper. The crease on Odysseus’s forehead seem weird, if you were going to tell a lie, the crease will give it away if other people know about what it means. Penelope was very kind to Helen, even though they are cousins. Since the group knows about Helen and her temper, whenever Helen gets mad, they call Penelope to soothe her and get her happy. After some time, they eventually find out how to get her temper down. they just ignore her or talk to her or listen to her tell stories about Troy. At the end I was relieved to find out that everything was going as planned. The fighting parts were action packed and made me want to read more. When I wasn’t reading the book, I was dying to. It taught me a little more about Daedalus and his smartness. There were so much “toys” that he made and traps that I thought he was a servant of Hephaestus. From want I have read, Jan Yolen includes a little of non-fiction with her book. The book is mostly fiction but has some information on Greek mythology. Though it had a little non-fiction I didn’t learn anything because I knew most of it. But when it included Odysseus and Troy, I thought Didn’t Odysseus bring the downfall to Troy? And if so, isn’t there something with a curse of Poseidon?Maybe I got the wrong name but those were some of my thoughts.I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Greek mythology or books written by Jane Yolen.

[Amy Oates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid and was surprised by how well it’s held up! It is still very much for young readers, but there’s so much respect and love for the original Odysseus mythology.

I’ll note that there are some awkward notes that could be better examined (Silenus continually talking about loving women and wine would perhaps be more critically examined today in light of the more feminist revisions of Greek myth we have).

But it’s accurate, it’s fun, teen!Odysseus, Penelope, Mentor, and Helen are all great. Definitely recommend

[Justin D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, and I would highly recommend this book. In this book 13 year old Odysseus goes on a big adventure, involving pirates, and 2 girls who play a huge role in his later life. I think you should read this book, and then read Tales Of The Odyssey ( a book about his future life and what happens in his adventure across the sea, and what happens to Penelope, his wife, while he is not there ). Or if you have read the Tales Of The Odyssey.

[rach · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’d rather just have reread percy jackson. like this wasn’t bad, but i dunno a bit misogynistic at times. like bro this is mythology not historical nonfiction. i did like the last segment “what’s true about this story” and the inspiration from Homeric legend

[Catling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really surprisingly good! I thought a middle-grade modern story about Odysseus would bore me, but it was actually a lot of fun, and obviously very easy to read. This is the best reading slump breaker I've ever come across.

[Olivia McCalmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story and the story of Odyssey, and if you go deeper into the mythology like read or hear the whole story, I recommend listening to Epic the Musical it’s only music right now or watch the animated version on YouTube it’s amazing.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to my 6yo and loved it.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Th opening was a bit slow, but
I enjoyed it quite a bit. And
the character arc of Odysseus
settled about where I expected it.
worth the read.

[Kendrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion this book is a good book and I think it is a good book to read if you are in to Greek mythology, adventure, and books about making teamwork the priority in the adventure.

[Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was some time ago but I remember liking it a lot.

[Julie Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to imagine Odysseus and Penelope in their youth. Well written and engaging read aloud.

[Kristen (belles_bookshelves) · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Heroes together or not at all."

A very fictionalized, children's version of the Odysseus story. If you're hardcore into mythology - don't read this, it's CLEARLY garnered towards children. On the one hand, I hate that I'd be teaching children a myth not in it's traditional form (I get you'd have to PG it down, but I really prefer the facts stay about the same). On the other hand, as purely a children's book, I like the storyline. So it's not terrible, but not factual either, which means I can't get into as much.

[Ari Slauson · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading this book I realized that this would be a good book to read in my future class. It teaches the children to get through different obstacles and challenges. It was a slight confusing, but I really did enjoy the book overall. It had some really good points in the book that kept me going and reading.

[Amber Pangburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was about a boy who was on a mission to get back home to his family after fighting in a war. He had to go through many obstacles to make it to where he was going. I would use this in a classroom to show the students that there may be obstacles but they can get through them.

[Danica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed seeing the characters of Odysseus and Penelope as children. Their relationship in the book was perfectly fitting, considering their relationship in The Odyssey.

Overall, a fun read, but I didn't feel fully satisfied with the end...

[Ratforce]

As a fan of both mythology and stories about heroes, you might want to try the Young Heroes series. The first volume follows a young Odysseus, and the other books tell tales of Hippolyta, Atalanta, and Jason.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly my memory is very vague since I read this years ago when I was in my early teens, but I remember loving this reimagining of Odysseus, Penelope, Helen and various characters as young teens who have to survive some trying adventures that prepare him for his later ones.

[Sheila Averbuch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever in-weaving of the original Homeric language, from the rosy fingered dawn to the wine dark sea, with an extremely accessible and tightly written adventure. Fabulous introduction to the Greek characters Odysseus, Penelope, Helen and Mentor.

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like revisiting all sorts of myths, this one didn't let me down. Written for a younger crowd, but sticking to the main myths, Jane Yolen engaged me throughout the whole novel. I'd recommend this to any young or adult reader.

[Remi · Rating 5 out of 5]

really good book, is adventure

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am just starting to like this book... but it is really fun to disipher the old grammer they use mixed in with the funny comady from this century

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a boy just starting to read chapter books. Based on Greek mythology, this adventure is engaging without being frightening.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little twist on the traditional legend of Odysseus and the labyrinth that held the minotaur in Ancient Greek myth.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun version of Odysseus as a young man suggesting how he comes about finding himself as a hero. Well written and easy to read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Percy Jackson series got me more interested in greek myths and I found some by Yolen that were great one night reads. Fun twist on the greek myth characters.

[Jessica B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this book years ago and LOVING it!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced adventure story with near-deaths and terrifying bad "guys."

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

My 11-year-old daughter thought this was boring.