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maryehavens's review against another edition
4.0
I was, probably, 2/3 rds of the way through this book before I realized that Pheus and Euri were Orpheus and Euridyce!! This book was part of the SYNC Audiobook program previously and I have quite a few of those saved on my phone. I just wanted something a little different from what I had been reading and this was it, didn't really read the synopsis.
I liked how this book combined the Greek myth with some very contemporary PTSD from Hurricane Maria with a YA twist. It got a little confusing at times - it was hard trying to figure out if Ato (sp?) was real, imagined, something else entirely, etc. But, suspend the reality and just go with it.
I really liked the audio with a male narrator for Pheus and female for Euri. It also helped to hear the Spanish pronunciation of the Spanish text.
Solid retelling with a twist! :)
I liked how this book combined the Greek myth with some very contemporary PTSD from Hurricane Maria with a YA twist. It got a little confusing at times - it was hard trying to figure out if Ato (sp?) was real, imagined, something else entirely, etc. But, suspend the reality and just go with it.
I really liked the audio with a male narrator for Pheus and female for Euri. It also helped to hear the Spanish pronunciation of the Spanish text.
Solid retelling with a twist! :)
blodeuedd's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to one of my freebies, and a re-telling of Orpheus and Eurydice sounded interesting.
At first I did not know what to think. Eury was suffering from ptsd after the hurricanes in Puerto Rico. So when we had flashbacks of her talking to this boy, well they were clearly real! But were they actually real, I mean was this fiction or a paranormal? But yeah spirits are real, and her creepy best friend is real and wants to take her to the underworld. I guess that makes him Hades.
Eury meets Pheus in New York. He is a bit of a player, a great musician and they fall for each other. But she is haunted and the story takes a darker turn.
A good retelling, and I liked the spirits of this world. It would be interesting to see more.
Good narration
At first I did not know what to think. Eury was suffering from ptsd after the hurricanes in Puerto Rico. So when we had flashbacks of her talking to this boy, well they were clearly real! But were they actually real, I mean was this fiction or a paranormal? But yeah spirits are real, and her creepy best friend is real and wants to take her to the underworld. I guess that makes him Hades.
Eury meets Pheus in New York. He is a bit of a player, a great musician and they fall for each other. But she is haunted and the story takes a darker turn.
A good retelling, and I liked the spirits of this world. It would be interesting to see more.
Good narration
neglet's review against another edition
This book quickly sucked me in with its two points of view—the girl trying to heal from the trauma of Hurricane Maria, and the boy trying to decide what his music really means to him. Both are sympathetic characters, and their slow connection pays off as we get a fully developed yet satisfying take on the Orpheus myth. Very enjoyable!
emmasijbers's review against another edition
3.0
Niet slecht, ook niet super goed. Gewoon een herschrijving van de mythe van Orpheus en Eurydice. Er wordt wel af en toe wat spaans gepraat/spaanse woorden gedropt die ik abso niet kon lezen maar het was niet genoeg om het verhaal niet te begrijpen!
jlbailey831's review against another edition
4.0
This was lovely but I wanted a liiiiittle more from it. I love retellings of myths and this one was almost there.
_rosa_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Perfect for the younger YA reader. Or anyone really!
Things I loved:
REPRESENTATION:
The MCs are Caribbean Afro-latinos. I was especially surprised and ecstatic when I found out Eury is Puerto Rican. As someone who left the island myself, I could relate to her mourning for Puerto Rico and home, yet celebrating its culture and endurance.
MYTHOLOGY:
I read this expecting to see Greek mythology, and I did. But I did not expect the author to mix this with Caribbean and Indigenous mythology as well. I appreciated the references to Taino culture. It was something I have not seen before and liked the mixture of different cultures.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS:
Mental health is sort of a taboo subject in Latin communities. In this book you see the struggle of accepting the reality of mental health between two generations.
BLM:
The author wrote this book during quarantine at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, right when the Black Lives Matters movement was gaining more and more traction. Without specifically mentioning the movement, Rivera reflects the social climate and the need for change through the experiences of Pheus.
When it comes to subjects and themes, I think the author did a wonderful job. I also like the relationship that Eury and Pheus have and seeing it develop. The only complaint I have is that the quality of writing could have been better. Aside from that, the book was really good.
If you enjoyed Lin Manuel's "In the Heights" you might want to check this out.
Things I loved:
REPRESENTATION:
The MCs are Caribbean Afro-latinos. I was especially surprised and ecstatic when I found out Eury is Puerto Rican. As someone who left the island myself, I could relate to her mourning for Puerto Rico and home, yet celebrating its culture and endurance.
MYTHOLOGY:
I read this expecting to see Greek mythology, and I did. But I did not expect the author to mix this with Caribbean and Indigenous mythology as well. I appreciated the references to Taino culture. It was something I have not seen before and liked the mixture of different cultures.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS:
Mental health is sort of a taboo subject in Latin communities. In this book you see the struggle of accepting the reality of mental health between two generations.
BLM:
The author wrote this book during quarantine at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, right when the Black Lives Matters movement was gaining more and more traction. Without specifically mentioning the movement, Rivera reflects the social climate and the need for change through the experiences of Pheus.
When it comes to subjects and themes, I think the author did a wonderful job. I also like the relationship that Eury and Pheus have and seeing it develop. The only complaint I have is that the quality of writing could have been better. Aside from that, the book was really good.
If you enjoyed Lin Manuel's "In the Heights" you might want to check this out.
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
This book was beautiful. I LOVED this retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, loved how it integrated the characters' Puerto Rican and Dominican cultures and a critique of colonialism and racism, really liked that we didn't know for the first part of the book whether Eury is seeing a literal spirit or whether she's hallucinating, and I liked that the two narrative voices were so well differentiated (even if Eury's voice - both internal and external - got a little emo sometimes, which is probably the main reason I didn't give it 5 stars). Great pacing and the plot tied together really well. Good integration of mental health concepts into the story.