Teen Fiction - Adventure & Survival, Teen Fiction - Choices & Transitions, Teen Fiction - Girls & Young Women, Teen Fiction - Fantasy

Radiant Darkness

Name: Radiant Darkness
Author: Emily Whitman
ISBN: 9780061724497

by Emily Whitman

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Overview

He smiles. "Hello."

It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes.

I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin.

Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world. But her mother's a goddess, as overprotective as she is powerful. Paradise has become a trap. Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives. A stranger who promises something more—something dangerous and exciting—something that spurs Persephone to make a daring choice. A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself.

In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who—and what—she really is.

Synopsis

He smiles. "Hello."

It's a deep voice. I can feel it reverberate in my chest and echo all the way down to my toes.

I know I should leave, but I don't want to. I want to keep my senses like this forever. I'm all eye, all ear, all skin.

In a land where a singing river can make you forget your very name, Persephone is forced to discover who—and what—she really is.

The Barnes & Noble Review

As a young teen, I was convinced that I had been born to the wrong family -- surely I was a lost princess or, even better, a misplaced goddess. Alas, my divinity was never recognized by my parents. Authors of young adult fiction have tapped into deity envy, shaping ancient myth into stories of teens with problems of godly proportions. At best these novels don't merely reflect a young woman's wish for independence, but explore some of the troubling aspects of leaving the nest. Emily Whitman's Radiant Darkness is a fascinating, complex version of Persephone, the goddess Demeter's daughter, who is courted by Hades, Lord of the Dead, and ends up underground for half the year. Whitman turns the story into a struggle between parental control and young desire. When Persephone frets that her overprotective mother is "never going to let me grow up. Another thousand years will go by, and I'll still be sitting here with my doll," Whitman has captured the laments of a thousand (mortal) Persephones, hankering after red lipstick and the bad boy down the block. The pleasure of this book springs partly from hearing snide teen talk with a mythological bent, and partly from the way in which Persephone runs into Hades' arms -- and learns to regret it. She discovers how much her mother adores her only when she sees how Demeter grieves, a despair that sends the human world into winter. Radiant Darkness offers a terrific story of a girl on the edge of womanhood, caught between a mother who offers no reverence and a boy who offers worship. --Eloisa James

About the Author, Emily Whitman

Emily Whitman's first novel, Radiant Darkness, was praised for its "originality and flair" by BCCB and was a #1 IndieBound Pick. The author lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

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Editorials

Eloisa James

"A terrific story of a girl on the edge of womanhood, caught between a mother who offers no reverence and a boy who offers worship."

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

“Whitman makes Hades and Persephone (Hadephone? Persades?) a glam celebrity couple that everyone will want to read about.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Whitman makes Hades and Persephone (Hadephone? Persades?) a glam celebrity couple that everyone will want to read about."

ALA Booklist

"A steamy coming-of-age novel laced with feminist sensibilities."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Whitman makes Hades and Persephone (Hadephone? Persades?) a glam celebrity couple that everyone will want to read about.”

Publishers Weekly

In Whitman's debut, a retelling of the Persephone myth, Persephone feels trapped by her overbearing mother, Demeter ("Mrs. Even-the-grain-greets-me-with-lowered-head"), who wants to keep Persephone a child forever, confined in a "world devoid of men." When Hades lands his chariot in her valley, Persephone is immediately attracted to him and after a brief courtship, she chooses to be his bride and queen of the underworld. Persephone is a relatable character-her first appearance as queen has her tripping in front of the entire court. Though Hades calls her powerful and she does have an impressive ability to grow plants, Persephone's relationship with him is very much that of the child bride, with Hades protecting her from knowing of the damage her mother is inflicting on earth and his allowing her to make policy changes in the underworld, rather than her doing so of her own accord. Her attempt to stop her mother's destruction has Persephone relying on those more powerful than her, in this case Zeus. Persephone's narration entertains, but overall the story does not give readers an especially strong heroine or the resonance of the original myth. Ages 14-up. (May)

Children's Literature - Jean Boreen

This is the mythical story of Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, and how she came to be Hades' bride. In this retelling of the myth, teen-aged Persephone desperately wants something to happen in her life, but her mother, who hates men and the thought of her daughter leaving her to live a separate life, refuses to allow her any real freedom. While Demeter is gone to a festival in her honor, Persephone wanders into a meadow and meets Hades, who soon professes his love and a willingness to "spring" Persephone from her gilded cage. Persephone agrees and, without another thought to her mother, leaves for the kingdom of death. While in the Underworld, Persephone meets a recently deceased mortal woman named Melita who helps Persephone tend her garden; Melita tells Persephone her story—one of love, marriage, and motherhood—and awakens in Persephone a new understanding and maturity that eventually leads her to realize that her mother is wreaking havoc on earth to convince Zeus to force Hades to give Persephone back. Persephone's voice is solid throughout the story, and her conflicts with her mother and later her husband are very typical of teens struggling to secure an identity against the powerful personalities in their lives. Persephone's naivete about her choices and her relationships lasts a bit too long, and her newfound maturity happens too quickly, but for girls interested in Greek mythology, this book will certainly please. Reviewer: Jean Boreen, Ph.D.

VOYA - Serena Liu

Whitman introduces a unique new world; her descriptions of Demeter's vale and the Underworld abound with exquisite details that bring her world alive while anchoring it in the canon of ancient myth and culture. Whitman's plot and characterizations, however, do not meet the same standard. Most characters lack depth and complexity, and the plot remains simple, with only a few shallow conflicts presented with more pomp than their circumstances merit. Reviewer: Serena Liu, Teen Reviewer

VOYA - Rebecca Moore

In the classic Greek myth of Persephone, Underworld god Hades abducts Persephone against her will. In Whitman's retelling, Demeter's daughter leaps at the chance to escape an overbearing, controlling mother who refuses to let her grow up. Life in the sunlit Underworld is more complicated than Persephone anticipated, however, and she has trouble adjusting to being a queen. She much prefers to work in her garden and talk to the mortal dead, for whom she feels an un-goddess-like sympathy. Through them, she learns of the drought and famine her mother is visiting on the earth, which Persephone realizes is a result of her own disappearance. But having forsaken earth, is there anything she can now do to save it? Whitman offers an interesting take on the myth and has a talent for lyrical descriptions that bring her worlds to life. Unfortunately the story often seems merely a vehicle for those descriptions, and what could have been an intriguing and complex tale is instead emotionally and morally simplistic. The characters are the main problem. Persephone is whiny and melodramatic, and explains—in great and unsubtle detail—every feeling and every event. Hades is almost a cipher, and their relationship is at once incomprehensible (where is their connection?) and somewhat creepy, as Persephone seems so adolescent. The absence of any sense of sexuality is also confusing, considering Persephone's reasons for leaving. With the current wealth of mythical retellings available, this version would not be a first choice. Reviewer: Rebecca Moore

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Whitman has cleverly fit an ancient story into a trendy modern formula—a beautiful, innocent, privileged girl (Persephone) meets a powerful, wealthy bad boy (Hades). In this retelling of the myth, Persephone falls head over heels for Hades and willingly leaves her overbearing mother to become queen of the underworld. Teens will likely relate to Persephone, who cannot stand the thought of spending eternity in the prison she feels her mother has constructed for her, and her transformation from girlish dreaminess to strong, thoughtful woman will resonate with them. Though the author perhaps tries a bit too hard to use metaphor and symbolism ensconced in flowery language, there is an interesting story here; the hints at Persephone's lusty relationship with Hades, combined with the contemporary tone of her first-person narrative, will capture some readers. An endnote gives an overview of the original tale, which may lead to exploration of this and other Greek myths. Purchase where alternative chick-lit is popular.—Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada

Kirkus Reviews

A spunky Persephone retells her story lustfully enough to satisfy fans of Libba Bray and Stephenie Meyer. Persephone willingly leaves her vale with handsome Hades to find a surprisingly mundane Underworld-all it needs are a few feminine touches, like message boards and daily orientations for new arrivals. Unfortunately, she forgot to leave a note for her mother. This unremarkable retelling lays just enough groundwork for the sex, which is not actually depicted beyond "hot and hungry" kisses, unless you count the seduction ("I reach out to a stalk leaning toward me and run a finger across its bulging bud; it's so ripe, the bud splits at my touch...I hold it out to him") or the equally sublimated two-page pomegranate scene, in which its red juice splatters all over her chiton. This is no progressive Persephone-she falls for the first male she ever lays eyes on. But first-time author Whitman has a way with words, and readers will enjoy this-just as long as they don't think too hard about it. (Fantasy. YA)