"I
really loved Pandora Gets Jealous because
it was funny. At 250 pages long, it took me a
while to read it, but I enjoyed it anyway. I think
the story will make children think before they
disobey their parents or others people's rules,
which is the moral of this story. Carolyn Hennesy
is the type of author I like. She writes long
books, but makes it funny so kids aren't bored by
how long it is. There is a glossary in the back
which helps with all of the names and words
children may not know. I think that children and
adults would both like this book. This would make
a great gift." - S. Spangler, age 9, Storknet.com
"fast-moving, page-turning" -- curledup.com
“Light without being trite, this witty
introduction to Olympus and the Greek gods will keep
modern goddesses ages 9 to 12 hooked.” —St. Louis
Post Dispatch
"Written in a sassy, witty and conversational
tone, Pandora Gets Jealous is an
adventure-quest story about giving in to peer
pressure, the true meaning of friendship and taking
responsibility for one’s actions." —kidsread.com
“Completely hooks you in and doesn't let you go
until the end, a must-read for Greek mythology
lovers." —bookdivas.com
Kicking off with Pandora Gets Jealous, Hennesy's
Pandora series is a fun mix of history, mythology,
and tween angst, told with good humor and light
adventure. It's a delightful read, deserving of
attention —The Trades (Online)
“This debut joins recent titles, such as Rick
Riordan’s The Lightning Thief and Clea Hantman’s
Heaven Sent, that spin classical Greek mythology
into irreverent adventure stories. Pandora, or
Pandy, knows she is taking a great risk when she
brings her father’s special box to school for a
show-and tell project. Given to him by Zeus, the box
contains seven kinds of misery and evil capable of
destroying civilization, but Pandy’s desire to
impress her snotty classmates and imperious teachers
overrides caution. So begins this retelling of the
Pandora myth, in which Pandy is given a chance to
repair the damage she has caused by setting out on a
quest, arranged by the gods and goddesses, to
recapture the box’s unleashed contents. The story
includes many elements straight from a contemporary
kids’ world, including some archetypal mean girls,
and a glossary will help readers keep track of the
Mount Olympus cast. The first title in the Mythic
Misadventures series, this imaginative novel will
capture fans of light, action-filled, girl-powered
adventures.” —Booklist
"In the first episode in a chick-lit hero-tale
series dubbed “Mythic Misadventures,” 13-year-old
Pandora Atheneus Andromaeche Helena—Pandy, for
short—“borrows” the fateful box from her father
Prometheus for a school project, then is charged by
Zeus to recapture the seven escaped evils—or else.
Assisted (ably or otherwise) by her trusty dog Dido,
two friends (one with, literally, two left feet) and
several sympathetic Greek gods, she starts off by
going after Jealousy, which has taken up residence
in nearby Delphi. Flavoring her ancient-world
setting with such modern tropes as school cliques,
incipient zits and parenting issues, Hennesy also
populates it with a mix of mortals, immortals,
demigods and monsters at least loosely based on
those from myth (an annotated cast list is
appended). The result is a tale that starts out
light but takes on more serious notes as Pandy sees
the widespread catastrophe she’s caused and
courageously shoulders the responsibility for making
things right again. Deed done at last, Pandy and
sidekicks head off to Alexandria to tackle Vanity.
It won’t be hard to sell this to Rick Riordan fans,
though it reads a little younger. "—Kirkus Reviews
“Harry Potter meets Edith Hamilton in this cheeky
rendition of Pandora's famous faux pas, first in the
Mythic Adventures series. Prometheus's daughter,
Pandora, sneaks the notorious box of evils out of
hiding rather than bring her father's boring old
eagle-eaten liver to a student competition at the
Athena Maiden Middle School, where she accidentally
opens it and releases the plagues of humanity.
Sentenced by Zeus to retrieve them, Pandora is aided
by secret gifts from some gods and goddesses who, as
Hermes tells her, remember their own youthful
mistakes: “A little petty thievery, a few unrequited
loves, people mistakenly transformed into animals or
trees or hideous monsters. Things we're not proud
of, all right?” Pandy, accompanied by two stricken
friends, finds her way to the Oracle at Delphi and
gets Jealousy back. Aspiring Hellenists will
appreciate Hennesy's informed liberties with her
topic, and novices will be not only fine but
possibly inspired to go further. Debut novelist
Hennesy's Hollywood comedian background shows in her
witty juxtapositions of modern popular culture and
classical Greek legend: her work is rife with mythic
creatures (dryads, satyrs, gorgons), magic (a
talking diary, winged flying shoes, shape-shifting)
and lively dialogue (“ 'Hey, sorry about the light,'
Hermes said. 'Standard procedure. Zeus wants
everyone to be terribly afraid when I appear whether
it's good news or bad; but that kind of thinking is
sooooo Bronze Age, right?' ”). Accurate where it
counts, this loosely interpreted myth rarely misses
a comic twist.”—PW, starred review
"Hennesy ably creates tension through
unpredictable pacing, the inclusion of unexpected
villains, and the satisfyingly over-the-top
interventions of the gods. In an increasingly
rich field of mythology-based fiction for upper
elementary and middle school students, Pandora's
attempts to save herself, her family, and the world
represent a worthy addition." —BCCB