Reviews

The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple & Dorothy by Corey Ann Haydu

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mbenzz's review

3.0

3.5 stars...

While the premise of this story sounded very interesting and fun, it ended up falling a little flat for me. Apple and Dorothy's friendship was extremely toxic and uncomfortable. I hated reading about Apple constantly steamrolling Dorothy, who is clearly suffering a deep depression over the death of her mother, into doing whatever Apple wanted to make HERSELF feel better about the death of her friend's mother. It was all rather icky.

At the same time, though, I didn't hate it. I read to the end to see what would happen and was happy with the resolution. It was very predictable, but it made all the things that preceded it a little less yuck.

Overall, this was a decent but forgettable read for me. I think the Middle-Grade set will lose interest quickly with this book as the plot gets very thin and slow in places.

karlybug's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this. In fact, I'm planning on picking up my own copy. Obviously there's a level of personal trauma related for me, but I thought the storytelling was so beautiful, as was the prose, and the setting/plot pretty inventive. I also think I'll pick up more by this author. I found this to be a lovely little discourse on grief, death, loyalty, friendship, and what it means to be human.

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evamadera1's review against another edition

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3.5

I found this reading experience confusing. At first I was mildly intrigued but only mildly because of the Greek myth connection. For about a third of the book it was fine but then a character said she was 12 which took me right out of the book because it read like a young adult novel. Things started to make a little more sense but then the characters started to make decisions that did not really make sense. Ultimately I did not really enjoy the story and think that the book is mis-marketed when it comes to age group.

torireadsnz's review

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hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a delightful middle grade read

chrisg's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring

4.0

madelinebrogan's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

bookbugbex's review against another edition

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3.25

The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple and Dorothy by Corey Ann Haydu

Middle Grade, Fantasy, Mythology

September 2023 by Katherine Tegen Books

362 pages

February 19-20, 2024

💬 “No one told me that so many feelings were possible at one time, ones that don’t fit together, don’t match at all.”

📖 Synopsis:

Our Hill is a town of modern-day near-gods who are descendants of the ancient Greek gods, nymphs, and muses. Once a year they all must visit Mount Olympus to preserve their near-godliness. One year Dorothy’s mother refuses to climb the ladder, thus forcing the gods to revoke her near-god status and turn her into a full human. She soon dies a human death and Our Hill is forever changed. The gods now deliver a ruthless ultimatum on the rest of the population, return to Mount Olympus and live as gods forever or stay on earth and live as fully human. Everyone now must make a choice.

🖋️ Review:
**May contain spoilers**

The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple and Dorothy by Corey Ann Haydu is an emotional tale about grief, friendship, consequences, the pressure of family expectations, and ultimately, hope.

Haydu, very smartly, chose to write this novel in dual-perspective. We are able to see this story from both Apple and Dorothy’s points of view. Because these two near-gods are opposites in almost every way, getting to peak inside their mind allowed the reader to see the full story from vastly different vantage points. It is a great reminder that situations, and life, can look enormously different depending on your perspective.

The main characters are young girls, aged 11, named Dorothy and Apple. Their parents play a crucial role in the story and their dynamic as well. Dorothy’s mom was the main connection between the girls. After Penny, Dorothy’s mom, passed they both experienced deep pain and had to navigate how to grieve her. Dorothy’s mom was also grieved by George, Dorothy’s father, and Heather, Apple’s mother and Penny’s best friend. They all handled their grief in different ways; some of it was healthy, and some was not as productive. I loved the different ways they all reacted, I think it shows a true picture how death affects everybody so differently and how important it is to process.

I think that a lot of girls could relate to Apple and her relationship to her mom, Heather. Heather attempts to appear near perfect, in charge, and posh. She passes this enormous pressure down to Apple as well, making her try to live up to Heather’s expectations.

Penny, Dorothy’s mother, on the other hand was a free-spirit, go against the grain, type of character. She pushed all of the buttons and wanted those around her to use their own critical thinking rather than just believing everything they have ever been told.

The differences in the two families compounds as the storyline progresses. The chasm between the two grows until there is really no connection left at all. Apple and Dorothy have a strange friendship that began because the mothers were best friends. The girls relationship was based upon forced proximity. After Penny’s accident, Apple takes charge of her and Dorothy’s friendship and drives them to become best friends themselves. Their friendship begins sweet and healing in many ways, but eventually turns toxic, leading to some choices that have enormous consequences. By the end of the story, thankfully, the girls are able to repair the relationship to a healthy state. I do love that this conclusion is not just a pretty box wrapped in a gorgeous bow. The end result is probably not what either of them would have chosen on their own but they are able to be happy with the outcome.

The Widely Unknown Myth had a very strong and clear plot line, but in my opinion, the story was more character driven. Without all of the nuance of the characters, this story could have easily been a short-story or fable. But because the characters were the main focus, the story was able to be fleshed out into a multi-themed novel.

If you are looking for a book about navigating grief, consequences, and relationships, this is a great choice for you! This would be a great book for many adolescents and adults alike. I would definitely recommend this book for any Mother/Daughter reading duo to be able to talk about complex emotions and situations in a less intimidating way.

🌟 - 3.25

Recommendation:

✅ - very quick read with a ton of digestible life lessons

🚫 - it is quite repetitive, the target audience is middle grade, therefore it is not a literary masterpiece, but a great story nonetheless

Recommended by:

⬅️ - Fabled Bookshop & Cafe in Waco, Texas

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