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A review by pagesandleaves
Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit by Colby Cedar Smith
5.0
Colby Cedar Smith took me on a beautiful journey and I loved every second of it. Historical fiction just always hits and this book solidified why it is one of my favourite genres. A sweeping story across time and generations ? Sign me up. Also i’m having a great reading month so far so *cross toes* that it continues.
Call Me Athena follows a young woman, Mary, as she struggles for independence and identity as the daughter of Greek and French immigrants in 1930s Detroit. Mary yearns for true love, to have a career of her own, to become a modern American woman much to the frustration of her parents who want her to be a ‘good greek girl’. Told in verse, this novel captures the perspectives of three narrators, Mary in 1930s USA and Gio and Jeanne’s in WW1 , and delivers a powerful message of love, grief, courage and most importantly, hope.
Aahhh this book just made me feel many things and I'm still thinking about it. I was angry ,I laughed , I swooned , and probably would have cried if i had tears left. The lyrical verse perfectly carried this story and breathed life into the narratives of the characters. The story, which was loosely based on the author’s own family , tells the story of being an immigrant in America so beautifully, detailing the reality of being in the land of the free but chained and struggling at almost every turn. The yearning for a life of your own and choices of your own in a world that doesn't make room for you because of your background or your gender. Mary was a captivating character to read from , I was rooting for her right from the beginning and felt myself cheering for her at every obstacle. All of the characters in the book had depth to them and this helped make their stories so much more engaging and made their actions more understandable. I don’t know how to talk about this book other than discussing my favourite moments so I will now get onto that.
This book comes out 17 August 2021 and I think everyone should pick it up if you enjoy historical fiction and stories told in verse. I cant wait to buy it so I can go back and relive all my favourite moments and poems ☺️
**Okay now for some maybe spoilery gushing**
Billy and Mary were so freaking cute, i just bookmarked i think all of their moments because seeing Mary happy just made me so happy. Their first kiss, her in that green dress, when he dropped her off in the car - I JUST LOVED THEM. Seeing her parents, Jeanne and Gio’s story really gave them so much depth and allowed for them to be humans and people instead of these caricature immigrant parent characters. You really got to understand the way they were now and the things they had gone through.Reading from their perspectives and their love story was lovely and I love them so much and just wanted to protect them. im so happy and relieved that Mary got to live the life she wanted to and have the love she wanted and a career of her own, just ugghh so happy for her and mostly just pleased that the author didn't give me a devastating ending.
Thank you to Netgalley and Colby Cedar smith for the eArc and the opportunity to read this lovely story.
#CallMeAthena #NetGalley
Call Me Athena follows a young woman, Mary, as she struggles for independence and identity as the daughter of Greek and French immigrants in 1930s Detroit. Mary yearns for true love, to have a career of her own, to become a modern American woman much to the frustration of her parents who want her to be a ‘good greek girl’. Told in verse, this novel captures the perspectives of three narrators, Mary in 1930s USA and Gio and Jeanne’s in WW1 , and delivers a powerful message of love, grief, courage and most importantly, hope.
Aahhh this book just made me feel many things and I'm still thinking about it. I was angry ,I laughed , I swooned , and probably would have cried if i had tears left. The lyrical verse perfectly carried this story and breathed life into the narratives of the characters. The story, which was loosely based on the author’s own family , tells the story of being an immigrant in America so beautifully, detailing the reality of being in the land of the free but chained and struggling at almost every turn. The yearning for a life of your own and choices of your own in a world that doesn't make room for you because of your background or your gender. Mary was a captivating character to read from , I was rooting for her right from the beginning and felt myself cheering for her at every obstacle. All of the characters in the book had depth to them and this helped make their stories so much more engaging and made their actions more understandable. I don’t know how to talk about this book other than discussing my favourite moments so I will now get onto that.
This book comes out 17 August 2021 and I think everyone should pick it up if you enjoy historical fiction and stories told in verse. I cant wait to buy it so I can go back and relive all my favourite moments and poems ☺️
**Okay now for some maybe spoilery gushing**
Billy and Mary were so freaking cute, i just bookmarked i think all of their moments because seeing Mary happy just made me so happy. Their first kiss, her in that green dress, when he dropped her off in the car - I JUST LOVED THEM. Seeing her parents, Jeanne and Gio’s story really gave them so much depth and allowed for them to be humans and people instead of these caricature immigrant parent characters. You really got to understand the way they were now and the things they had gone through.Reading from their perspectives and their love story was lovely and I love them so much and just wanted to protect them. im so happy and relieved that Mary got to live the life she wanted to and have the love she wanted and a career of her own, just ugghh so happy for her and mostly just pleased that the author didn't give me a devastating ending.
Thank you to Netgalley and Colby Cedar smith for the eArc and the opportunity to read this lovely story.
#CallMeAthena #NetGalley