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    Toca Train

    Toca Train

    Education and Games

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    All aboard? Time to get on Toca Train! Your kids are the train driver in this fun and friendly...

    La Granja

    La Granja

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    Tabletop Game

    La Granja In La Granja, 1-4 players control small farms by the Alpich pond near the village of...

Medusa: The Girl Behind The Myth
Medusa: The Girl Behind The Myth
Jessie Burton, Olivia Lomenech Gill (illustrator) | 2021 | Children, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Now THIS is the side of the story I have always wanted to hear about! Medusa’s OWN story from her OWN mouth. In mythology, she is always portrayed as ugly, dangerous and unpredictable - lethal. In this story, we see a young girl, afraid and alone, forced to live away from others in case she hurts them - or they harm her. Her only companions, a dog and her sisters, the Gorgons, who fly out to hunt during the day, returning to their sister at night with food.

One day, a boy lands his boat on the island - it’s Perseus.

We see the side of Medusa that the original myth writers would never have imagined: a young girl who is taken advantage of, vulnerable, used by men for their own pleasure, and then blamed for something that she has no control over.

In the original stories, she gets her just desserts. Medusa is ugly and not to be trusted. It gives an insight into how men regarded women at this time. Be subservient. Be a virgin. Don’t get raped, and if you do, it’s your own fault - you brought it on yourself (I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about this). Women don’t come out of myth and legend terribly well.

I absolutely loved this. Medusa isn’t a meek, mild victim, but neither is she evil. She knows, or has some idea anyway, her glance can cause a lot of damage - so she hides herself away.

And in this story, not a single head is lost.

The illustrations are gorgeous as well.

I wonder if Jessie Burton will write more Greek myths in this way? Because I’m all in!
Many thanks to Bloomsbury Children’s Books for my copy of this gorgeous book through NetGalley.
  
The Last House on the Cliff [Audiobook]
The Last House on the Cliff [Audiobook]
Anne Wyn Clark | 2022 | Mystery, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a dark and creepy mystery/thriller that kept me engaged from the start.

Lowri hasn't had the happiest lives so far and when she returns to Anglesey on the death of her beloved aunt, Gwyn, she thinks this might be the start of a better life for her and her daughter, Ruby. Little does she know what nightmare awaits.

The location and setting of this story is genius; the author captures the small island village and the ever present dangerous cliffs together with the dark and creepy atmosphere of the house perfectly and I was transported there by her excellent and vivid descriptions.

There are quite a few characters and it did take me a while to get a grasp on them all but they are an interesting and eclectic bunch and not all of them are particularly likeable but all fit in and have their place in the story.

The story itself is a complex one of historical family trauma that spans generations. There is a pervading sense of the creepy and the unsettling from the start with some great twists culminating in a very satisfying ending that brought everything together.

The narrator was excellent; her voice was absolutely perfect for the story and I actually think I enjoyed it more because of her narration. Would I have enjoyed it had I read it rather than listened? I think so but I would definitely have had trouble with pronouncing the Welsh words!

Overall, a great audio book to keep you company whilst driving, cleaning or doing just about anything that doesn't need a lot of thought and many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts on The Last House on the Cliff.