Lore: Tales of Myth and Legend Retold
Authors: Brinda Berry, Cate Dean, Jayne A. Knolls, Karen Y. Bynum, Laura Diamond, Theresa DaLayne
(Anthology)
Publication date: March 2014
Genres: Young Adult
Synopsis:
A collection of six folklore retellings that will twist your mind and claim your heart.
SHIMMER: A heartbroken boy rescues a mermaid… but is it too late to save her?
BETWEEN is about a girl, a genie, and a ton of bad decisions.
SUNSET MOON: Eloise doesn’t believe in Native American magic–until the dreamcatcher spiders spin her down an unknown path.
THE MAKER: An incapacitated young man bent on revenge builds a creature to do it for him.
A BEAUTIFUL MOURNING: The story of a Maya goddess torn between duty and love, and the ultimate sacrifice she must make to achieve true happiness.
THE BARRICADES: When a human girl risks everything to save the life of an Eternal prince, will their feelings for each other change the world they know, or tear it apart?
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In Summer by Brinda Berry, we have this lovely romantic tale of 2 young, heartbroken teens who befriend one another one summer. When she reveals her secret, the boy recoils for a bit in shock, further hurting the girl. They reconcile, but then she disappears. It was a sweet story if a tad frustrating.
In Between by Karen Bynum, we have a twist on the genie tale, a sad but poignant story. We have two teenage girls; one who is unrepentant about her sexuality, another who is constantly looking for approval from her mother regarding looks, social status, etc. Those are constantly placed higher than her emotional well-being and health. I didn't really care for the characters in this story, but the emotion is undeniable.
Sunset Moon by Laura Diamond is based off a Blackfeet Indian myth. I really wanted this story to be longer. Eloise, the main character, is a totally stupid twit who is putting up this fake attitude of indifference. She's in an abusive relationship, just like her mother was years ago. Her mother is a drunk and doesn't mother Eloise at all. Micah is a useless piece of trash as is Jimmy and here is Eloise taking the fall for two losers. She gets the choice: jail or group home. Her lawyer chose group home for her and she's shipped off to Montana to her uncle's house. There she recognizes little symbols from her grandmother who always tried to give her a piece of Blackfeet history/mythology with every present, every lesson. As Eloise begins her group home work of sitting with an elderly patient, she learns that her weird dream with the spiders cocooning her is actually a legend, a living legend. Again, this is one story I would LOVE to read more of and see the story fleshed out in more detail with what happens with Eloise, her mother, her loser of a boyfriend, etc. Sure, I disliked Eloise, but that intensity of dislike shows how well written she is!
The Maker by Jayne A Knolls is a golem story. Brett is a spoiled rich kid with a beautiful girlfriend. They get into a car accident one night, Cassandra walks away, and she doesn't even call 911 until much later an anonymously. Brett had brain damage and, had she called immediately, it may not have been as severe, but because she walked away like she did, Brett can now barely walk, can no longer read which was one of his prime passions, and has a pretty grim looking future. He comes from a very old family who guard a secret power. Brett decides to use this power to take revenge. There is one discrepancy in this story that bugged me, although it's small and easily ignored. The ending of this story is sad.
A Beautiful Mourning by Theresa DaLayne is the story of a Mayan goddess and her lover. She is the goddess of flowers, her lover is the Sun. This has the elements of true myths -- romance, denial, heartache, friendship, with a ending that is not a happily ever after as there are still problems, but as happy as you can get. Very romantic story that shows that gods are just as susceptible to mistakes as humans.
The Barricade by Cate Dean was by far my favorite story in this anthology. However, it left me wanting MORE. Ms Dean takes the Fae mythology and plunks them on a different planet. Here, humans and the fae fled the earth to start anew, to work together, and the Fae eventually took over desiring to be worshipped, shoving the humans out into desolation after they helped build a beautiful city. A human girl and a fae noble boy are about to turn the opinions of the world. Great story, but what killed me is that...it ended just as it was beginning. I must look for Cate Dean's books and see if there are any in this storyline coming up!
All in all, this was an enjoyable anthology of six stories taking a twist on myths and legends. Again, I say that anthologies are not for me. What I do like about anthologies is that they can be read in bits and pieces and are perfect to squeeze in when you're sitting in waiting room, or a lunch break, etc. If you like myths, legends, and retellings, I'd recommend you give this one a whirl. You may not be familiar with some of the originals (I wasn't for the Mayan one or the Blackfeet one), but that doesn't detract from the enjoyable factor in my opinion!
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