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A review by louturnspages
Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit by Colby Cedar Smith
5.0
Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This novel is absolutely beautiful. It is written in verse which is one of my favorite methods of storytelling, and it far exceeded my expectations which were admittedly quite high. Smith's poetry is masterful, evoking emotions, drawing powerful images and expressive plot onto every page.
Call Me Athena is the story of Mary, a 16 year old girl growing up in Detroit in the early 1930s. The daughter of French and Greek immigrants, Mary faces the struggle of finding her own place and following her heart against the darker realities of the Great Depression, being seen as an outsider, and the cultural expectations for "good Greek girls." The novel is haunting at times and realistically portrays the challenges and loss faced during this time in American history.
In a twist that I did not know to expect, (don't worry, this is not a spoiler), Smith tells the story through multiple POVs, Mary's-in the 1930s, and each of her parents-during the first World War (when they were the age Mary is at present), and eventually in the present as well. Smith also includes letters written between Mary's parents during the war. Mary finds the box of them in storage, and they are artfully used to enrich the story.
There are footnotes throughout the book, and the author included photographs and a detailed note at the end which explain that Call Me Athena is a tribute to her own grandmother, Mary. This story is stunning at every level. The poetry itself is rich, the storyline is powerful, and Smith balances between the haunting realities of growing up during the first World War and the Great Depression with a shining thread of hope. Although the book is considered YA, this is truly a book for everyone who has ever faced growing up, finding themselves, facing cultural expectations, and finding a place and a family who love you as you are.
This novel is absolutely beautiful. It is written in verse which is one of my favorite methods of storytelling, and it far exceeded my expectations which were admittedly quite high. Smith's poetry is masterful, evoking emotions, drawing powerful images and expressive plot onto every page.
Call Me Athena is the story of Mary, a 16 year old girl growing up in Detroit in the early 1930s. The daughter of French and Greek immigrants, Mary faces the struggle of finding her own place and following her heart against the darker realities of the Great Depression, being seen as an outsider, and the cultural expectations for "good Greek girls." The novel is haunting at times and realistically portrays the challenges and loss faced during this time in American history.
In a twist that I did not know to expect, (don't worry, this is not a spoiler), Smith tells the story through multiple POVs, Mary's-in the 1930s, and each of her parents-during the first World War (when they were the age Mary is at present), and eventually in the present as well. Smith also includes letters written between Mary's parents during the war. Mary finds the box of them in storage, and they are artfully used to enrich the story.
There are footnotes throughout the book, and the author included photographs and a detailed note at the end which explain that Call Me Athena is a tribute to her own grandmother, Mary. This story is stunning at every level. The poetry itself is rich, the storyline is powerful, and Smith balances between the haunting realities of growing up during the first World War and the Great Depression with a shining thread of hope. Although the book is considered YA, this is truly a book for everyone who has ever faced growing up, finding themselves, facing cultural expectations, and finding a place and a family who love you as you are.