Fruit of the Dead is an excellent retelling. By making the Hades character a titan of industry, a lord of addictive pills, Lyon has created a fresh and vivid take on a classic story of Greek mythology. Cory is a perfect Persephone; beautiful, rebellious, and gullible. Emer is also a perfect Demeter; ferociously protective, a little bit wild, man-hating. Essentially, Lyon's vision of the modern underworld is as intoxicating as the fictional pharmaceutical at the center of this novel, Granadone.

Beyond the compelling interpretation of mythology, Fruit of the Dead is loaded with memorable and evocative environs. In particular, Rolo's compound as a setting is so meticulously described that every scene there has a cinematic quality. Perhaps it's because I recently watched Priscilla, but I think this book would translate so well as a Sofia Coppola film. Like in Coppola's films, the focus on girlhood and luxury is a nearly tangible aesthetic.

Thank you to NetGalley & Scribner for the ARC! This was unspeakably brilliant, from the lavish writing to the dueling narratives to the depth and complexity of each character. I'm so moved by this book in a way that feels singular to its existence.

The modern retelling of Persephone and Demeter it is, Fruit of the Dead tells the story of Corey, freshly eighteen and consequently averse to any future beyond being a camp counselor at River Rock, and her entrapment and isolation by a seedy, hedonistic CEO / parent to one of her campers. The story ventures between Corey's narrative during the ensnarement at the CEO's private island and her mother, Emer, who desperately tries to grasp at any remnant of communication with her long lost daughter.

In a way, it's all very Lady Bird — pink hair included. But Fruit of the Dead seems to touch on the more gruesome aspects of girlhood: the relegation to prey, the scope of other women's pity, the reluctance to face the music. For most of the book, Corey goes about her life on the private island as if she's Alice in Wonderland. She drinks what is poured, takes drugs that are given. Deprived of wifi and social connection, she's forced to root in the salted earth of the island. She's inevitably swallowed by the grandiose lifestyle and the repugnant man who pleads her to stay. It's agonizing to read, to relive, but Rachel Lyon succeeds in exhibiting this particular suffering without pantomiming its brutality or comprising the reality. In fact, these illustrations are fundamental to the core of this story, which lays within the adamantine link privy to mothers and their daughters.

Lyon writes this book with a gorgeous rhythm that could be misconstrued as waxing poetic, but make no mistake: the verbose imagery, unconventional dialogue, and varying structures grant this story a rare musicality that reverberates in its wake. The prose is beautiful and because of its vibrance, the sentiments being relayed from these words become cemented and thus unforgettable.

While it's not an entirely enjoyable piece of the story, I did also want to give acclaim to Lyon's descriptions of grooming throughout the book. Again, it's incredibly difficult to read, but in truth, I felt that she hit the nail on the head with Rolo's progressive unraveling. It's fair to say that from the jump Rolo's predatory nature is extremely evident — what, with all the private island seclusion and all you need is right here! rhetoric — even to Corey herself (not that she has any material agency in the face of some old billionaire), but his exploitative tactics were shown best in the minuscule details (e.g., with his claims that he and Corey are "from the same planet", torn from the same cloth and it's just you and me! narrative, etc).

Overall 5 stars to a truly stunning book

A modern retelling of Persephone and Demeter! Mother and daughter point of view. I enjoyed this book! I loved Rachel’s writing style. The cover immediately drew me in.

Make sure to familiarize yourself with the myth of Persephone before reading this to fully understand the relationships of the characters.

High school graduate Cory Ansel was not accepted by any of her college choices or even by any of her so-called “safety schools,” so she spends the summer working at River Rock camp, stuck with the little ones, the “sevens, eights, and nines.” As camp is winding down, one of Cory’s peers tells her that he intends to chat up Rolo Picazo, a “world mover” and the father of one of Cory’s charges, Spenser. Picazo has his eye on Cory and impulsively offers her the opportunity to spend several weeks on his private island. The tension immediately ratchets up. Is Picazo a harried father who sees a potential au pair to whom his sensitive son has bonded, a wise sage who can immediately sense Cory’s potential beneath here slacker exterior, or a creep preying on a beautiful, young woman?

Cory jumps at the chance to avoid her exacting single mother’s disapproval and sends her a text, dictated by Picazo, that says that she has landed a short-term executive internship with the CEO of a high-profile Fortune 500. As Cory embarks to Picazo’s private island (which caused me to flash on the private island of Jeffrey Epstein), a man Cory finds both alluring and revolting and who she thinks looks like a “Disney villain,” Cory ignores the warning signs that the “trip is feeling increasingly irrevocable.” Surrounded by luxury and plied with opiates manufactured by Picazo’s company, reckless and gullible Cory continues to tell herself she’s in charge. Her mother, Emer, who runs a failing agriculture NGO whose “magic rice” was intended to save small farms in rural China, senses otherwise. With her daughter seemingly vanished, Emer crosses land and sea to heed a cry for help she alone is convinced she hears.

Lyon has brilliantly retold the Demeter and Persephone legend in a modern setting. The novel explores agency, power, control, and corruption in modern society and the ferocity of a mother’s love. Thank you Scribner and Net Galley for an advanced copy of a novel that I simply could not put down it was so riveting.

I'm so thankful to Scribner Books, Rachel Lyon, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital and physical access to this one before it hits shelves on March 5, 2024. I really enjoyed being transported into this storyline and revolutionized by its prose.

I was drawn to this because I love mythology retellings and the cover is sick. Everything about this is pretty unexpected – which is an accomplishment in itself, it doesn't quite do what you expect. It sometimes reads like a poem, other times like a stream of consciousness. The pacing is strange, action happening quickly in short bursts before there's another lull. After I finished, I felt like I'd just woken up from a fever dream. The characters are weird and strange, like drawn caricatures.

What didn't work for me was the way I felt like this scratched the surface – the drug trade, the Sackler-esque nature of Rolo's career, the modified rice, Virgil's race and subsequent role. These were all things that felt shoved in there, but glossed over. Cory's chapters being in third person and Emer's in first was jarring, and I kept having to reorient myself. I'm not sure the purpose of that. I think there was supposed to be tension over whether Cory would stay or leave, but Rolo was portrayed so despicably and was so disgusting that there was never any question. I felt like this made some weird narrative choices when adapting the myth that tried to be edgy but just didn't work for me. There's also a lot of fast-paced dialogue which...is hard to read with the lack of punctuation. It looks like this is the author's usual style, but I was grasping for the purpose here, especially with the shift from third person to first.

But this was fast-paced and felt like walking through a weird funhouse. The mother/daughter relationship was shockingly honest and its portrayal was one of the highlights. I was invested in the story, even if I didn't really like any of the characters, and even when the pacing lulled, I don't think I was ever bored. I don't think this will be a book that will stick with me, but I'd try something else by this author.

when requesting this novel on netgalley, i instantly judged it by its cover. one of the most gorgeous covers I have ever seen, and after finishing the novel i see even more details in it that I missed on first glance.

in an effort to not spoil, this story was really well thought out with even the title being something incredibly imperative the entire story.

i feel like mythological retellings are easy to grasp peoples attention and have been doing a really good job within the reading community: i.e. The Song of Achilles, but this feels different? The original story is present but this novel in itself if you are not interested in greek mythology can stand up alone.

first, i would argue this is more focused on the story of Persephone x Demeter more than Hades x Persephone. the chapters split between the perspective of main character Cory (18yo) and her mother Emer. Cory who has strayed from the path that her mother with high expectations has always imagined for her, finds vulnerable and coerced by a seemingly unassuming man to care for his children. the complex mother daughter relationship was painful to read, in a way that you know as a reader that these are two women processing the same trauma. i loved the concept of the invisible string between mother and daughter and reminded me that my parents, our parents, every parent is living life for the first time too.

without going too much into this plot, he is by todays definition a monster, being what he refers to as the “scapegoat”, but realistically the business mogul behind the opioid epidemic. Rachel pulled this villain out of my brain. losing my father to a battle with addiction, there is no greater monster in my life than an overly prescribed pain medication. if you know me, you know i do not shut up about it because i feel that is hardly discussed, despite a lot of us being touched by it. the entire personification of with that said, Rachel somehow made me sympathize for him, at times he was just as directionless as Cory. the age different between Rolo and Cory made me cringe through out but the writing of the relationship between them is an amazing call back to Hades x Persephone.

this novel also touched on so many other topics that I feel so passionately about but are not discussed often: food scarcity/deserts, colonization, generational trauma, and so on.

i really did love this book, the four stars rating was towards the end there were some TW elements that i think could have been left out.

thank you so much netgalley and Scribner for the ARC!

Fruit of the Dead is a trendy reimaging of the story of Demeter, Persephone, and Hades. Set on a private island, Cory once a camp counselor, is hired as a nanny for a wealthy pharma king. She has a strained relationship with her mother, which grows as the summer continues. To think that this is a reimaging is a stretch. Some high-level themes from the original story are displayed, but that's about it. The style of the book is outrageous. The dual POVs are told from two different perspectives (one chapter in 1st person and the next in 3rd person. Sometimes both in one chapter!) The lack of quotation seemed unnecessary, especially in how it was formatted (maybe this will be better in the final publication vs the ARC). For such an overly wordy book, everything important felt surface level. Cory seemed to have two functioning brain cells, even before the drugs were introduced. Her mother still felt like a mystery at the end of the book. And our male main character was as gross as they come (not to mention a disturbing age gap). Also, please check your CW before reading. Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is probably my favorite Persephone retelling, and it's definitely because of the mother daughter focus in this book. I also loved the writing! It was chill yet ominous which was very fun and made it a fast read. I loved all the little nods at greek mythology too.
But as much as I loved how chill this story was, I think it was almost too steady and it felt like a twist or pace change or something was lacking. But what do I know, it could have just been me lol.
My absolute favorite thing about this was how every one was very flawed. This author did such a great job at writing nuanced characters!
Overall this was well worth the read, a fun time, with great writing. Can't wait to read more from this author!

I will be reviewing this in an upcoming reading wrap up, I will link once I upload.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to read this book early! I enjoy Greek mythology retellings and had yet to find a contemporary one that interested me.
Overall this was a solid book, maybe not for me. When I'm reading, I want to love the characters. While I think the characters here were well written and captivating I did not like them all that much. This book reads somewhere between prose and a fever dream, and I personally struggle with that writing style. I think it was quite a captivating style and matched the vibes of the story, but not my preferred reading experience.
I believe there are many people who will enjoy this book to its full potential, I just don't think I am one of them.

Thank you NetGallery for the ARC. The book is about a young woman trying to make her way in the world and separating herself from her single mother. After working at a summer camp, she is approached by a divorced father of a camper to become his children's nanny. The man is rich and offers her the finer things in life. This comes with a cost. She cannot disclose where she or who she is working for. Her mother launches into finding her daughter.
My takeaway is an older man using his wealth to influence a young naive woman. Him trying to regain his youth through her. Her mother worrying trying to regain a daughter gone missing. This can be to heavy for some people to read.

Well this was an ambitious undertaking and a strong reimagination of the myth of Persephone, Demeter and Hades. The devil is all in the details - coins are needed to travel via boat to Rolo’s house. Rolo has three dogs named Serita, Bertie and Ursula (get it, Ser/Ber/Us?) Emer, the mother, runs an agricultural nonprofit (RHEA Seeds). Cory was a realistic eighteen year old - aimless, unsure of herself and willing to be manipulated. I found myself so protective of her yet also unable to look away from the trainwreck that was becoming her life. If you are a fan of Greek myths, messy relationships or stories about addiction then this is for you!

In the depths of winter, I love a book set on an island. This is not quite the romantic island setting, but rather a story of drugs and money and a loss of innocence. The dual perspectives of Cory and her mother added depth, even though they both were not particularly likable. I did enjoy, but the stream-of-consciousness writing style is not my favorite and would probably warn friends to know that is what the style is before picking up.

This book was very interesting. I've never read a book of this genre so this was new to me. I really liked the authors writing but I will say I think the chapters were a bit too long. I found myself putting off reading this at times because I knew I wouldn't have time to read even one chapter in a sitting. If you can do that though, I think it could be worth the read. Make sure to check trigger warnings!!

3.5 stars. Thank you Scribner for my free ARC of Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon — available Mar 5!

Read this if you:
🏛️ love Greek mythology and unconventional retellings
🤬 need a book and a character to scream at
🏝️ think that living on a private luxury island is worth any sacrifice

Cory is eighteen and adrift. Her camp counselor gig is coming to an end, and she's dreading going home to her overbearing, high-achieving mother. So when a camp kid's magnetic father offers her an ambiguous alternative, she jumps on it. Cory quickly finds herself on a private island with no cell signal, nannying for this incredibly wealthy man and drowsing in the luxurious feeling provided by his high-end pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, her mother is frantic at the disappearance of her daughter.

You guys. This one is a gut punch, and it made me want to shake Cory at like a dozen points in the story. I love the multi-POV we get, switching between Cory and her mother Emer. I think this retelling of Persephone and Demeter is pretty freaking genius, it's ultra-contemporary but still with so many touches of the original gothic myth. It dragged for me a bit in the middle, but man is it worth your time if you're intrigued by a "new" version of a classic myth!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Don't worry if you don't remember or haven't read the myth of Persephone. In fact, not knowing that story might actually make this tale of Cory, her mother Emer, and Rolo more interesting because you won't be looking for the parallels. Cory and Emer, in alternating chapeters tell this story of a woman who realizes too late that she's lost her daughter. Cory is impressionable and naive about what's happening until she isn't. Rolo is just- awful. The writing seems to shift with the characters but it's often quite beautiful. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

not exactly what i thought it would be but still very good!!! the story was very engrossing and i read it in one sitting. however, sometimes the style of writing could be a little grating, but it’s probably just because i binged this novel.

Fruit of the Dead presented a unique reading experience for me. Initially, I encountered challenges with the writing style, given the absence of quotations and the abrupt switches in perspectives between chapters. However, as I acclimated to the unconventional style, I became thoroughly captivated by the narrative. It struck me as a skillfully crafted contemporary reinterpretation of a Greek mythology tale, seamlessly breathing life into the timeless messages embedded in Greek myths in a relatable and current manner.

hades being an opioid pharmaceutical CEO bro.... scary!

thanks to scriber and netgalley for the arc!

I really enjoyed this - I thought it was such a smart way of adapting a greek myth for modern day. It exceeded my expectations tenfold - I definitely thought it was going to be a very loose adaptation but I loved the attention to detail. The boat carrying them to this island, the three dogs, the demeter/farming NGO characterization. It was so well thought out.

The structure was fun too - the alternating chapters between mother and daughter was very effective and I loved seeing one conversation/incident from two POV's - it made each character so much more well rounded and layered.

Cory was a great protagonist - untethered at 18 with the paralyzing realization that her entire life is ahead of her. It made me grateful that I was no longer that age. Her recklessness and her avoidance with real life was both frustrating and relatable at once.

I definitely think some of the mom's chapters got a bit rushed - maybe I just found her a really compelling character, but I didn't want time to jump so much as she makes a transformation in her search of her daughter.

All in all, a wonderful modern adaptation of the hades/persephone/demeter story. It doesn't lean too heavily on violence and shock, it has a great dual-POV story where you feel really deeply for the mother/daughter relationship, and it perfectly captured the overwhelming openness of being 18.

Fruit of the Dead was such an amazing read. Extremely well written, excellent pacing and details. Cory is a camp counselor who just graduated high school without any big plans for college or a big job. She lives with her single mother who has great expectations for her and micro manages her quite a lot. At the camp, she meets the dad of one of the kids under her care and he offers a job offer too good to be true. She accepts on the spot and barely tells her mom, so obviously she freaks out when she tries to reach her daughter and she doesn't respond. This story is narrated on both Cory and her mom's POV. The vibes were extremely creepy but sexy at the same time. You really want to root for Cory but she's just stupid sometimes, and you can't really blame her since she's a teenager. This book is supposed to be a retelling of the myth of Persephone and Demeter, which I've never heard of before but definitely will check out to look for similarities.

I enjoyed this very much, it's very worth the read.

Thank you netgalley and the publishers for the eARC.