Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children's Books for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy!

I loved so many things about this book! First of all, the overall premise is great. Modern-day kids descended from the Greek gods and living extraordinary lives is nothing new, but this felt like a fresh take on an explored idea. Apple, Dorothy, and the rest of their community live on a hill with a silver ladder all the way up to Olympus. As near-Gods, they must make an annual climb to honor the Gods and ensure their immortality, but they live their lives on earth and learn about the human world without ever joining it themselves. Their lives seem peaceful and routine and altogether charming.

Everything changes when Penny (Dorothy’s mother) decides that she doesn’t want to make the annual pilgrimage to Olympus and instead wants to live her life as a human. Tragically, she loses her life a few months later after being struck by a speeding car. The rest of the book explores the grief of Dorothy as well as Apple and the changes that take place in their community as a result of this decision. Penny and Dorothy descend from Pandora, and much of their personalities and choices are viewed by the other near-Gods as less desirable and too curious because of their ancestor. The gods are unhappy with the way things have changed on Earth and give the near-Gods an ultimatum - join them on Olympus and live forever or stay on Earth and embrace immortality.

As Apple struggles to fulfill a promise to look after Dorothy, a true (although somewhat flawed) friendship begins to form between the two girls. These girls have very different ways of looking at the world, and Apple’s need for Dorothy to conform in her behavior and attitudes cause a lot of friction as well as some horrible choices that might strip each girl of the power to choose her own life.

The language in this book was absolutely beautiful, and I have so many highlights from my reading! I loved the story and actually related to both girls, even though they’re so different. At the crux of each character is a longing to be loved and seen for who they really are, and any reader, young or old, can connect with that. I love stories that emphasize friendship over romantic love, and the writing was absolutely delightful, even when covering difficult topics like grief and manipulation. Grades 4+

Modern retellings of Greek myths are trendy in the book world, but The Widely Unknown Myth of Dorothy and Apple by Corey Ann Haydu takes it a step further and creates a Greek myth set in the modern world.

A group of descendants of Greek gods live on a hill in the human world. They observe humans and try to live similarly to them, but they are immortal. Every winter solstice they climb a ladder into the clouds and visit Olympus to keep their near-god status.

The story of Dorothy and Apple starts when Dorothy's mom decides one year not to make the climb. That means she will become fully human. She thinks she will live a long, human life - but tragedy strikes shortly after her decision and death comes to the near-god community for the first time.

The gods give the near-gods an ultimatum to either become fully gods or fully humans. Dorothy and Apple have to make this decision while being influenced by their friendship, their parents and their loss.

The old myths inform the present decisions and the girls are taken on an emotional journey. They explore grief, depression, peer pressure, and generational trauma; as well as found family, friendship and hope.

For the characters being 12-years-old, the book is kind of strange. There are some pretty deep thoughts being explored and I feel it would have made more sense if Dorothy and Apple were nearing adulthood. However, this is billed as juvenile ficction. So I guess it's written to maybe help kids digest big life changes?

Some of the back-and-forth starts to feel repetitive about three-quarters in.

This would also be a heavy read for some people who are dealing with their own loss of a close family member. It sort of reads like you've lost someone to suicide are are deciding how to deal with your own depression and whether or not to move forward in your own life. So, major trigger warning.

Ultimately, it was a lovely little story of how to overcome when you feel like a shadow of yourself and how the people around you become part of that journey. I liked it as an adult, so hopefully it would be a fun modern myth for a younger audience.

Stars: 3/5

Busy Girls Rating: 4/5

Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the advance copy. The book is available on September 19, 2023.

I enjoyed this modern take on myths and gods. I know that students who are interested in mythology will devour this story! I loved the lesson about friendship. Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy.

This is an interesting middle-grade novel on grief and friendship. Dorothy and Apple's friendship progressed at a realistic pace, and the characters were well developed. They were also complicated and messy, which will make them more relatable to the target audience. The author does a nice job of showing the struggle we face to find yourself, especially while in middle school.

A beautiful moving middle grade story about half divine girls on the cusp of being a teenager dealing with grief and change and understanding their feelings and friendships and how they connect with the world around them. An absolutely lovely story.

Myths are supposed to explain why certain phenomena exist in nature. The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple & Dorothy tells the origin of one constellation. It was created by Apple and Dorothy to honor Dorothy’s mother. The myth relates why they and how they decided to create the constellation by using stars plucked from the water.
The story is also about enduring friendship and love. Apple’s and Dorothy’s mother’s were best friends and the two girls followed in their footsteps. The moral of the story is that friendships should be cherished.
I liked this book. It was an easy, enjoyable read. It brings mythology into our current lives as well.

I think I was assuming (quite incorrectly) that this was a YA novel. It's really more of a general fiction novel and, while ultimately has a hopeful resolution, the overall vibe is rather morose and depressing. Then again I chose to read it around the one year anniversary of my mother's death, so perhaps I'm taking the darker view.

4/5 stars

I found this book to be such a creative and poignant read. It didn't take long to read, since it's a middle grade book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it does an excellent job of tackling the hard subjects of grief and belonging, while also remaining interesting by setting it in a Greek mythological world. Middle school is so hard, and Haydu does a lovely job of expressing the struggle to find who you are amidst your peers and your family, and the battle of working through grief after the loss of a loved one.

Dorothy and Apple's friendship develops in a beautiful way throughout the book, and I didn't find the split narrative to be distracting reading it.

I recommend this read both for yourself and your young reader. I would have loved this book as a young teen, and it's always refreshing to read a book actually geared to middle grade readers.

3.5 out of 5 stars

The only way I can think to describe this book is hot and cold. When I first started it, I was really drawn in by the concept of modern day descendants of the gods of old who maintain their immortality by an annual pilgrimage to Olympus. However, the longer the story went on, the more I lost interest. The main protagonists, Dorothy a descendant of Pandora, and Apple a descendant of Hera (and maybe Zeus?), are both pretty one dimensional with Dorothy lacking a backbone and Apple having narcissistic tendencies. Their opposing personalities make their friendship feel unrealistic outside the frame of Apple's manipulations, albeit coming from a place of love but is very flat in terms of motivations. Additionally, these girls are supposed to be 12 years old, and yet I could never fully believe this age given the writing. Not to say that 12 year olds don't have complex emotions and reactions to trauma particularly in the character of Dorothy, but they read as a bit older.

Overall, its a decent read with an interesting concept, but the characters leave me wanting more.

The rest of this review is me sharing my thoughts on the "descendants of gods" system that just permeated my mind throughout the entire story. We are told that these near-gods decided to leave Olympus about 100 years ago and many identify as a descendant of a single god/muse/nymph such as Hera, Erebos, and Clio. However, the only known case of a near-god being born from a single parent is Apple, and even she refers primarily as being a descendent of Hera but also Zeus. Dorothy's parents are descendants of Orpheus and Pandora, but almost never references her Orphetic origins. Does this mean these descendants end up ultimately personifying one of their mythological ancestors? Also... Pandora was a human, so while she is important to myth, she is not a god.

It seems every work author Corey Ann Haydu creates is a win.

I am so in love with this book. The concept is amazing of these characters being descendants of the ancient gods but not quite gods yet, they have to choose their path and the author treats grief and the loss of a mother, a wife, and a friend through more than the pain of a single character. Always keeping the same quality and balance of writing the author delivers what other famous books and authors seem to do on roller coasters of plot twists. I felt an emptiness, a silence, a sense of being half awake, it is a cozy read for that but also very intimate. It's definitely a book to be experienced before discussing it with others who also have read it.

I loved the dual POV, how different Apple and Dorothy were, but both in pain, and how the author showed that grief and loss stay with us forever, not just in the first chapters. It shows us how to grieve someone in different ways also not making the experience just centered in the daughter.

It was filled with magical realism, surrealism sometimes, magic, so much mythology, ancient god's lore, allegory, and metaphors. It perfectly described emptiness and depression. As a whole, it was a tale of friendship and of not forcing others to be who they are not. A tale of growing with pain and knowing to let go.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this eARC.

WOW - This really surprised me! You don't have to be a mythology lover to enjoy this story. Apple and Dorothy are descendants of ancient Greek Gods and have been living as Earthbound Gods among humans for their entire lives, Each year they, along with all of their community climb the ladder to renew their bond to Olympus and their immortality by taking a bite of an apple. They then return to earth - but this last year Dorothy's mother does not climb the ladder and becomes mortal. Dorothy is a descendent of Pandora and with her mother's decision comes judgement and division. And then her mother dies in a terrible accident and is gone forever and the weight of those actions and Dorothy's grief for her mother is heavy. Apple and Dorothy are polar opposites - Apple hails from Hera and Zeus and is the most popular girl is school. Everyone follows her lead - and Dorothy is the girl they all avoid. But their mothers were best friends and Apple promised to take care of Dorothy and she is a girl of honor. The twist in their little community comes when a decree is sent from the Gods that everyone on The Hill must make a choice - stay on the earth and become mortal or climb the ladder for the final time and live among the gods forever. Can Dorothy leave the place where she holds her mother so dear and can Apple show her how important it is that she become immortal. Or will Dorothy follow her mother's lead and choose to stay on earth. What should she do?
This book is an excellent read-aloud for great conversations and engagement. There are several themes - true friendship, kindness, family and traditions, individuality and of course mortality. This is not like any other fantasy/sci fi I have read in the middle grade genre. Rather than just follow an adventure as a reader, I was analyzing and developing my own opinion - it was active reading!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children's Books for the advanced copy for my review. This book will publish in September so get it on your list for this Fall!

I read this book with my 11 year old daughter and this is her review. Thank you Net Galley & Harper Collins Children’s Books for the advanced copy of this book for us to share together.

4.5 stars. I loved this book. It was all about girl power mixed into Greek mythology. The book made me want to reflect on friendship, popularity, and thinking about other people. The author’s writing was so good and sometimes I felt like I was in the same room or right next to the character. Anyone who likes Greek mythology and strong girl characters would like this book.

What a spectacular story of friendship. Of finding your own voice, your own path, and yet letting it intertwine with others in a way that can be messy, and yet matters. Apple and Dorothy are near-gods, living in a little utopia on earth. Until they are forced, along with their whole community, to choose: either remain on earth as as a full human, or go up to Olympus and be a full god.

Apple and Dorothy discover that true friendship and love means loving our friends as they are, not as we want them to be.

If you enjoy Greek mythology, you will love the many references to Pandora, Zeus and Hera, and the other residents of Olympus!

I received a free ARC from #netgalley, but all enthusiastic opinions are my own!

i really really enjoyed this book a lot more than i thought i would! it was so fun and enjoyable to read. the author really hit the nail on the head with everything they talked about. it was so fascinating!!!

Thanks netgalley and haper collins for giving me an ARC of this book!

On a hidden hill live the near-gods-those desecended from a myriad of the gods messy trysts on earth. They live free from death and hardship on their hill for generations, until one among them makes a decision that brings the gods to issue an ultimatum- choose a human life on earth, or live as a god on olympus. Apple and dorothy, best friends descended from hera and pandora respectively, must make the hard choice- leave all they know, including one another, or live the sweet but short life of a human?

I am a ding dong who read the synopsis and saw the gorgeous cover but didnt really realize i made a middle grade books request- but no regerts because this was a great little book that i will be buying and giving out to kids for the foreseeable future. Theres so much it says about love and grief and humanity in a truly lovely and simple way.

This was a unique middle grade fantasy, taking lesser known myths and bringing them to life.

I enjoyed Dorothy's journey as she dealt with the loss of her mother and facing the reality of her life. This got a bit slow in the middle, but overall a good fantasy.

The friendship between Dorothy and Apple was a joy to read!

Being descendants of gods isn’t always easy depending on your heritage, and now Apple (Hera) and Dorothy (Pandora) must learn what it truly means to be half-way divine and partly human. This was a precious and wholesome middle grade story about two young near-god girls figuring out friendship and navigating grief. “The Widely Unknown Myth of Apple & Dorothy” is poignant and reflective, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Book for the opportunity to read rage and review this arc which is available Sept 19,2023.

Get this book for your middle grade daughters! Oh this book was the perfect read. It deals with Greek gods and fantasy but what really got me was dealing with grief. This is a Greek mythology book for kids/girls. No hyperactive boys trying to be heroes. It also has feminine friendships, the horrors of school life and popularity.

I truly enjoyed this story. My daughter is a book lover also & this will be purchased or checked out from our local library ASAP.
I received this eARC from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion. Thank you.

“But that’s the most human thing of all, I guess. The not knowing how it’s all going to be.”

Incredible writing. Another Haydu classic! I copied so many quotes from this into my notes! As always, this book has fantastic world building in the simple details, and that wonderful middle ground between fantastical and the everyday. It’s about grief, humanness, legacy, and friendship changes. The Greek gods serve as a metaphor for things like family history and legacy and high expectations, as well as stigmas we carry and can’t seem to escape. Like Haydu’s other books, there is a celebration of the magic in humanness, the magic in the everyday, and how necessary it is for us to have loss and pain because from it comes hope and beautiful things.

I still think Apple still gets off easy for what she did—she apologizes to Dorothy but Dorothy takes everything that happens a little too well. I think part of me hoped for Apple to have to stay human, and to be called out more directly on just how selfish her behavior is.

I don’t think this book went the way I expected but I really enjoyed it.