By Erin E. Moulton
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Pages: 304
Lexile: HL700L
Age Range: 12 Years
ABOUT
Courage is tested, myths come to life, and long-held secrets are revealed.
Lilith Bennette runs at midnight. She scales walls in the dark and climbs without a harness. She hopes that if she follows exactly in the steps of her strong air force pilot mother, she’ll somehow figure out the mystery of her mother’s death—and the reason why her necklace of Greek symbols has been missing ever since.
So when Lil is invited to Crete for a Future Leaders International conference, the same conference her mom attended years ago, she jumps at the chance to find some answers. But things in Melios Manor are not what they seem. Lil finds herself ensnared in an adventure of mythological proportions that leads her and her friends through the very labyrinth in which the real Minotaur was imprisoned. And they’re not in there alone. What secrets does the labyrinth hold, and will they help Lil find the truth about her mother?
This book is perfect for older fans of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus—and anyone who wants to find out the true story behind the magic of the Greek gods.
REVIEWS
“Secret societies, Greek mythology, and a group of strong female characters are all wrapped up in a mystery which will hit the mark with readers who have finished Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” series.”
—School Library Journal
“Greek mythology provides the frame for this exciting amalgam of action, friendship, and girl-detective fiction.”
—Booklist
“Set in present-day Crete, this action-heavy and occasionally convoluted novel is steeped in Greek mythology. Sixteen-year-old Lilith “Lil” Bennette leaves Vermont for the Future Leaders International conference at the Melios Manor, with the private aim of learning more about her mother, who also attended the conference and allegedly committed suicide. Lil’s curiosity spikes when she notices the symbol of a Minoan labrys (a double-headed axe) on walls throughout the manor: it’s just like the one from her mother’s missing necklace. Teaming up with three other witty, capable girls from different countries, Lil finds the entrance to a hidden labyrinth beneath the manor; there, she uncovers the truth about her role in an ancient order that exists to protect the labyrinth from a cultlike group of Zeus worshippers, the Zephylites, led by a deranged professor. Moulton (Chasing the Milky Way) offers moody descriptions and lively banter, but the motivations behind the Zephylite society, as well as Lil’s role in protecting the labyrinth, remain confusing despite lengthy passages of exposition.”
Ages 12–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Aug.)
—Publishers Weekly
