The version of Medusa’s story she deserves!

A quick retelling, wish the NetGalley version included the illustrations because I feel like it would have added another gorgeous layer to this, but enjoyed it all the same!

I loved Medusa by Jessie Burton! The writing was beautiful. It is a tall order to retell a story known across the world and still create something fresh and new. The writing took a simple backdrop and snapshot in time of Medusa story (her meeting of Persus) and crafts a lyrical and emotinal story.

Here were some of my favorite quotes:
 "And   here   was   another   truth:   I   was   lonely   and   I   was   angry,   and   rage   and   loneliness   can   end   up   tasting   the   same."

"‘It’ s   inexplicable,’   I   said.  ‘ To   whom   the   gods   are   fair   and   foul.’"

"‘ Well,   I   think   it’ s   easier   being   told   you’ re   a   handsome   boy   than   it   is   to   be   told   you’ re   a   beautiful   girl.   When   beauty’ s   assigned   you   as   a   girl,   it   somehow   becomes   the   essence   of   your   being.   It   takes   over   everything   else   you   might   be.   When   you’ re   a   boy,   it   never   dominates   who   you   can   be..... Perseus,   when   you’ re   a   girl,   people   think your   beauty   is   their   possession.   As   if   it’ s   there   for   their   pleasure,   as   if   they’ ve   got   something   invested   in   it.   They   think   you   owe   them   for   their   admiration. " 

"Sometimes,   not   even   folding   your   self   into   the   smallest,   littlest   shape   is   enough.   So   you   might   as   well   stay   the   size   you’ re   supposed   to   be.’"

"You   could   take   away   my   arms   and   legs,   my   body   and   my   breasts;   you   could   cut   off   my   head   and   still   not   end   my   myth.   You   will   not   find   my   answer   in   the   puzzle of   a   stony   foot,   you   will   not   find   me   in   my   snakes.   You   will   not   find   me   in   my   deeds,   nor   in   poems   written   by   long- dead   men.   But   you   will   find   me   when   you   need   me,   when   the   wind   hears   a   woman’ s   cry   and   fills   my   sails   forward."

This was a quick and touching retelling of Medusa and Perseus. It read like it was from the eyes of a much younger and innocent Medusa than we are used to seeing. Gave a whole different outlook on how we view Medusa and her story. This book was heartbreaking at times and really made you feel her loneliness in life.

This was so beautifully written.
It was the story Medusa deserved.💚

I absolutely loved this retelling and reimagining of one of Greek Mythology’s most well known stories. I do believe that even if you are not familiar with greek mythology or not a huge fan of it, I do think this book will change your mind with the captivating story.

"Medusa" is a breathtaking and audacious reinvention of a timeless myth that left me utterly captivated. The author's skillful storytelling breathes new life into the tragic figure of Medusa, a woman exiled and cursed by the powerful Gods. Through exquisite prose, we are transported to her secluded island, where her loneliness and pain are palpable. When Perseus enters her world, the story takes an electrifying turn, blending desire, love, and betrayal in a way that is both mesmerizing and heart-wrenching. For fans of "Circe" and "Ariadne," this novel is an absolute must-read, offering a fresh and unforgettable perspective on a heroine history had cast in stone. "Medusa" is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the resilience of the human spirit, making it a true literary masterpiece.

f you love feminist retellings of myths, I think you’re going to really enjoy this book.

Medusa is a take on the classic myth, but with a few twists on the tale. First, the story is told from the perspective of Medusa herself. Reading from the point of view of a character typically villainized in mythology retellings was a truly awesome and unique experience. Second, as a feminist retelling, you’ll find more modern themes interwoven with the storyline. Burton does so masterfully with beautiful and purposeful writing throughout the book.

Although I loved so much of this retelling, including it’s concept, the brevity of the story made it lack any real punch for me. I would’ve loved a much deeper and detailed dive into Medusa’s story, which is what I was hoping for. The writing present certainly wasn’t lacking in anything; there was just too little of it! I wish Medusa was just about 100 pages or so longer. I think this would’ve cemented in those themes and messages Burton worked so hard to include in the first place.

Overall, I gave Medusa a 3 star rating. If you are like me and love a good mythology retelling, I definitely recommend adding this one to your list. Just be warned, you will leave craving even more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for this ARC!

Loved this retelling. I work with children in a counseling setting and honestly, when reading this I thought of how well it explains trauma and how we people work through it. The story of Medusa is a cruel and harsh one, but the way it is presented in this story is easier to digest and tells it in a way that someone younger could read this. The discussion questions at the end really make one think about who they are and that at times we have our two selves that are fighting internally. Sometimes our trauma can make us feel ugly but in this story, Medusa in the end accepts who she is and what happened, without forgetting her past all while learning more about herself and pushing herself to not let go of what she wants most

This was a great twist on the Medusa myth. I enjoyed the discussion questions at the end also! I made me think more about some of the topics in the book. If you like Medusa retellings, I recommend starting this book today!

A beautifully written, quick retelling of Medusa's story. This was my first time reading a mythological retelling, and it will definitely be my first of many. I read this book before knowing a lot of Medusa's lore. I did some research after finishing and it just made me enjoy this book more. There was so much attention to detail with Medusa's and Perseus' stories, and I loved the twist in events at the end when Perseus attempted to behead Medusa 😉 I love that this retelling empowered Medusa and that she learned to embrace who she was, even though at first she was devastated by her curse. If you enjoy retellings of any sort, you'll definitely want to read this!

"She was a woman who'd done nothing wrong except exist." (16%)

I enjoyed the dialogue between Medusa and Perseus, and even with their inevitable end, I felt sadness when it came.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the ARC.

This felt way too juvenile for me. It felt like I was reading a really bad teen romance that was never due to stop and I honestly have given up trying to finish it. I actually had to go back to the tags on this and the Goodreads page to understand what the heck was going on. Netgalley says it's adult romance, Goodreads says it's YA. Either way, not for me!

Such a shame as Medusa has always been such an interesting character for me.

I am always searching for a new Medusa re-telling. She is always depicted in these horrific ways – a true monster, the Gorgon. The myth of Medusa ignores that none of this is her fault. She does nothing wrong, and she is punished by the gods anyway. To me, she has always been a misunderstood victim.

What makes this re-telling so great is that it delves into so many elements covering Medusa’s story. She’s no longer the monster so many feel they know. Instead, it shows her before Poseidon and Athena: how she was a sailor with her two sisters as divers. It offers a strong sisterhood between Stheno, Euyale, and Medusa. Written in first person, I truly got a feel for Medusa’s perspective, and reading her thought processes made it so much more personal and intimate.

So far, this has been the best Medusa retelling I’ve read, and I highly recommend it to those wanting a fresh take on her myth. There’s a new trend of feminist mythological re-tellings, and Burton’s rendition is another fabulous addition to the stack. It’s so beautifully written with lyrical and flowery prose. It’s also so easy to read in one sitting, but I know it will stay with me. I do hope she plans to write more of them in the future. I’d pick them up in a heartbeat.

Give me a Greek mythology retelling, and I'll bite. "Medusa" is a reinterpretation of the eponymous Gorgon, infamous for her head of snakes that would turn a man to stone with just one look. Told from Medusa's first person perspective, we get to see the beginnings of her story - from being raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple, to the curse bestowed upon her and her sisters, and her years in exile leading up to meeting Perseus when he accidentally stumbles on their deserted island.

I've probably been spoiled by the plethora of recent novels that follow a similar vein (including "Stone Blind" and "The Shadow of Perseus") that overlap with much of what's in Burton's novel, but I appreciated the focus she placed on the sisterhood between Medusa and Stheno and Euryale, and how fiercely protective of their youngest sister they were. She also devoted a great deal of time to building up the initial friendship and relationship between Perseus and Medusa, even though the two didn't meet face to face. Burton not only calls out how unfairly and poorly Medusa was treated, burdened with an initial appearance that drew envy and then punished for a wayward God's actions, but Perseus's own situation, casted out by his own grandfather and growing up unable to protect his mother Danae.

The ending in this novel doesn't follow the historical trajectory of Medusa and Perseus's stories however, which I both understood and found frustrating, and the novel as a whole felt too short - there wasn't sufficient time to develop the complexities and depth of these characters and didn't have sufficient plot to tie in the final outcome.

This poetic retelling was deliciously written. It was too short though, I wanted more!

This book is so far outside my normal genre choices, but I absolutely loved it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fantastic retelling of the myth of Medusa. I have often felt bad for Medusa and thought their was more to her story than what we are told, and Ms. Burton tells that untold tale beautifully and so masterfully that it was difficult to put down! I loved this 100 times more than Circe, and consider this to be above the level of Madeline Miller, so if you liked her books, you will definitely enjoy this one!

"You should be careful who tells your story." If Jessie Burton is telling my story, I'm in great hands! Burton writes with a poetic and magical tone. Any one of us would be lucky to have her tell our story! This was a beautiful, quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed!

4.5 Stars. I’m a huge fan of Greek Mythology retellings from the female perspective and this book did not disappoint! Was a quick and easy read, with so many fantastic quotes, and a justified ending that I absolutely adored. Medusa will always be my favourite.

I had very high expectations for this book, and they weren't met. There's modern language and themes juxtaposed with the Medusa myth, and it came off as stilted to me. I appreciated the plot twists that brought new life to the myth, but unfortunately, this Medusa retelling didn't do it for me.

As another review I saw said, this is the story that Medusa deserved. I’ve been waiting for a story that does Medusa justice and this was just what I was looking for. The element of star crossed almost lovers was so well done and I loved that Medusa was not a villain at all. In modern depictions, she is always portrayed in a negative light but her story is actually quite sad.

My only criticism of this book is that I wish it had been longer. I loved Medusa’s voice and really just wanted more of that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I started to read this, I somehow did not realize that I had started this before. This is a republication of an already released book, the earlier release being a more obviously geared towards a younger audience. This republish with a different cover I feel seeks to rebrand the book to have more mass/adult appeal even tho in actuality it is still a children’s book.

This wasn’t bad by any means, as a much younger girl I would have loved this. The writing was solid & the illustrations are beautiful, for a YA book about Medusa I think it’s a fun reading experience. It’s just that I don’t think it makes clear that one is picking up a YA book with this cover.

This was still a fun read, just not what I was expecting. 2.5 stars rounded up.