Ariadne - Book Review

When I finished this book, I literally just lay there, hugging it. Ariadne was such a beautiful book. It's so poetic and whimsical yet so brutal. I guess that since it's based on a Greek myth I shouldn't be surprised by how sad, brutal and tragic it was. And it was also a feminist retelling, so of course that makes it even more brutal.
Right now I'm in that lovely state of mind that occurs right after I finish a book. I am literally clutching the book to my chest and wondering how I will ever recover from this book. I'm feeling lots of emotions right now... the symptoms will pass in a few days, I'm sure. But for now, I will just awkwardly do this book review while in Just-Finished-Good-Book-Shock. I don't know what to write ahhh.

Let me start out by saying that Ariadne was so much more than I originally thought she was. I had previously just associated her with Theseus and the Minotaur and the string thingy. I had no idea about her connections to Dionysus (although when I saw the grapes/grape vines on the cover I immediately knew he'd be in there somewhere) and a lot of other things. As with Circe, the last Greek mythology book retelling I read, there were heaps and heaps of connections to other stories in this book. There was even a whole reference to  King Midas, who I made a really embarrassing video about when I was 11 years old (I was Midas and my best friend was the "American Narrator"). 

Two days ago, I was on the bus on the way to a sports carnival (I did not want to go) and I was reading Ariadne. I was up to the part just before Part IV, which was very very sad. I read it, then just stared out the window for five minutes like a sad puppy. That was random.

I did enjoy the elements of sisterhood in this book. I liked how lots of the book was told through both Ariadne's and Phaedra's perspectives, so we knew what was going on for both of them. Though Phaedra was a bit... questionable at times, I really did like her as a character. And of course Ariadne was amazing.

So obviously Ariadne is a feminist retelling. At the start of the book the theme of women being punished for men's (and gods') actions was prevalent. It was explicitly stated. But what I really liked about this book was that the same theme was still relevant at the end of the book. But at the end of the book, it wasn't explicitly stated, you know? But it was a big realisation moment when I noticed, and I guess it was just another sign that Jennifer Saint did a very good job of writing this book.

I really liked the writing style in this book. It was very lyrical and poetic and suited the vibe of a Greek mythology retelling. I also feel like the style changed and matured along with the characters themselves. That may have been my imagination, but it was good.

So, yeah. What I've written here doesn't do Ariadne justice at all, but I don't know what else to write. This book would definitely have a place on my list of favourite books, if I actually had one. Luckily for me, last weekend I walked 20 minutes to a bookstore and spent nearly $100 on more Greek mythology retellings. 

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, 13+* ★★★★★

*This age recommendation is only my opinion. Some younger people might feel comfortable reading this book, and some older people might not. That's fine, either way. Warning for weird kissing stuff, sexual references, sexual assault, violence, gore, suicide and potentially upsetting themes.