Medea the Enchantress

Goddess Girls #23

by Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Princess Medea and a boy named Jason go on a quest for the Golden Fleece in this twenty-third Goddess Girls adventure!

Jason and Princess Medea are on a quest for the golden fleece, a symbol of kingship, that’s hanging from a limb of the great oak tree. But a huge sleeping serpent guards the fleece—and is the one (scary!) barrier for Jason and Medea. With the help of a special sleeping potion Medea creates, can Medea and Jason work their magic and take what is rightfully theirs?

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Fiction, Greek Mythology, Retellings

110 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2017

About the author

NY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!

Reviews

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➳ 4 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

i’ve been giving this series three stars because i enjoy them but like mostly for nostalgia ya know? but i really loved the mythology in this one so I’m giving it four stars. this series is so cute and i loved it as a kid and am having fun continuing the series now, plus they’re so quick and easy so it helps my reading goal 🤭🩷🫶


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[Birdie]

a fun installment. i really also liked the message this had about self-worth and leaving toxic friendships.

[Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish this one, but I think i'll be leaving goddess girls books in 2017.

[Dena McMurdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and fun reimagining of the tale of Jason and the golden fleece.

This is the twenty-third book in the Goddess Girls series! Wow! That's a lot of books. My kids just "discovered" this series recently and have been consumed with reading them.

In this installment, Medea and her frenemy Glauce get permission to go to Mount Olympus Academy. But after a class assignment goes wrong, Medea and Glauce find themselves stuck aboard the Argos in the middle of the ocean.

With first crushes, rivalries, and a plot to steal the Golden Fleece, this retelling of the Ancient Greek story is a fun, swashbuckling adventure.

One of the things I liked about this book was the relationship between Medea and Glauce. (Spoiler alert!) I liked that Medea finally realized she could walk away from a toxic friendship. It's a lesson that we don't see that often in kid's books, but is extremely important. I'm really glad that authors addressed this issue. Kids, girls especially, need to know that it's best to end a friendship when it's harmful. (End of spoiler.)

Beyond the friendship issues, this was a fun adventure. It's spot on for kids in the 8-12 age range, especially on the lower end of that age bracket. It's also good for older kids that read below age-level but still want high-interest stories to read.

Content: Clean.

Source: Thank you to Joan Holub, the author, for sending me a copy of this book!

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but not one of my favorites.

[Verena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nice book about family, friendship and first crushes! Even Apollonius would like the messages! But it should not be called a Goddess Girls book! It' s the same universe, but more a spin-off or a special, because we don't get much from MOA and our beloved goddess girls. There were a lot of brilliant ideas, but I have the feeling that all possibilities for MOA were wasted. The original Argonautika has actually some interaction. And the Enchantment Academy was not so special that it could replace MOA. An enchantment club at MOA wouldn't make any difference, as there is Ms. Hecate who could manage it, too. Usually I like some good school ideas like in Echo the Copycat, but here it was a bit boring (at least compared to Hogwarts.)
And a character called Glauke annoyed me. She doesn't appear in the Argonautika, but is part of the Jason& Medea myths. Such a "frenemy" is interesting and you get sympathetic with Medea. However, Glauke "outshone" Medea completely. So there wasn't place enough for Medea's being on her own and the interaction with Jason, the Argonauts and the goddess girls.
I think the problem is that there are a lot of ideas, places and characters, and the book is fast-paced! The description was 272 pages, but it's only 256 pages.
It's a great book, but not a great Goddess Girl book. It was nostalgic, with some memories of well-known characters. It could be an end and lead to a new series. But it doesn't and I hope that Eos the Lighthearted will be a true Goddess girl book. And the final book someday must end in a different way.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to be dismissive or disparaging with books written to please pre-teen girls, and I admit that I find the silliness and "cutsieness" difficult to stomach at times. But, credit where credit is due: through all the silly ditziness and cutesy catchphrasing, this book manages to deliver a pretty powerful message on how to deal with catty and power-grabbing tendencies that girls often face in "friends" without being preachy about it. The authors also throw in a side struggle as Medea tries to show her growing independence to her overprotective father. The way the authors portray their heroines as imperfect and sometimes afraid, but ultimately brave enough to do tough things like tell the truth make up for the dumbing down of Greek mythology, methinks. I could still see myself recommending these books to girls aged 9-13 without self-deprecation. ;)

[Kara Demetropoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The adventures of the Goddess Girls continue, with a bit of a different approach. This edition takes place off-campus, when two students at Enchantment Academy take a visit to our familiar campus at Mount Olympus. Medea and Glauce, the two apprentice enchantresses, are a pair of rival frenemies that find themselves unexpectedly aboard the Argo, aiding Jason and the Argonauts in his famous quest to recover the Golden Fleece from none other than Medea's own father, King Aeetes. Another whimsical retelling of a classic Greek myth ensues, and another epic tale is punctuated with teen girl melodrama. This is a unique and light way to introduce middle-age readers to classic mythology, and I enjoy reading them myself.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but not one of my favorites. 12 year old Medea and her frenemy Glauce head to MOA to help Her Aunt Circe substitute teach Herology class. Circe had a vision that Medea would lose her heart to a boy who would steal her father’s Golden Fleece but, in the manner of most prophecy, by trying to prevent it they only end up helping it all come to pass. Most of the story isn’t spent up at MOA but is instead on the boat the Argo with Jason and the Argonauts on an adventure to get the fleece.

It is really nice to see Medea find a nice non confrontational way to handle her frenemy.

[Narariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considering the original myth, this may have been a tricky story to adapt, but there are definite elements of the myth in it. It was interesting to catch a glimpse of another academy besides Mount Olympus Academy. A good story overall, though I found Medea less of a strong character than I would have expected (perhaps due to her age.) Jason's jerk tendencies (from the original myth) came through fairly well.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story! This is part of a middle-grade series based on mythology characters. Here, Medea is asked by her Aunt Circe to help with a new Hero-ology class project. But things do not go as planned when Medea is accidently whisked aboard the Argo with Jason and his crew. Madea's magic, however, may or may not be within her control, especially with her frenemy Glauce constantly reminding her of previous mistakes. Can Medea help Jason or is Glauce right that Medea cannot control her magic?

[Karen Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too linear and heteronormative for my taste. Medea's journey is frustrating at times and the side characters were bland paper cut outs with no personality or memorable traits of their own. The book suffered from too much telling instead of showing. I really want to give away my copy soon because I already know the best books of the series are:

-Athena The Brain
-Athena The Wise
-Medusa The Mean
-Artemis the Loyal
-Pallas The Pal

I also just couldn't stand that magical game board anymore. Just my luck to get three stories in a row STILL talking about that nonsensical game board with the Trojan War being treated as a class assignment.

[Kongkwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun to read, and tells you how to overcome your fears. It also shows you that you don't have to do what people always tell you to do. And it also teaches that you can break free, and BE FREE. Let your true self show.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

my favorite book

This is a very good book and good for educational fun. This is also a fantastic reading activity. I really love it so much fun to read. I hope you have a good time reading it.

[Sascha Broich · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice interpretation of Medea.
The only complaint is about the tomato, which wasn't known in Non-America until 2000 years later.

[Michelle Tempted By Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no previous knowledge of a Medea so this character was all new to me. I love the story of Jason and the Argonauts so another win. This series never disappoints.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very fun and exciting especially the adventure but I was sad that Medea did not stand up to Glauce and her lies and fake and made up stories.

[Taylor Manookian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love goddessgirl books and I usually rate them 5 stars but this one had glauce in it and she was annoying. Also it wasn’t even based in MOA for most of it so I missed all the normal characters :(

[Lira]

#binge-ing

[QSTCMomma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a decently good series. Most have a good message and helps open dialogue with my preteen about relationships and responsibilities. This particular book was boring and a bit too overt.

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this one was better than others.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still cute, but the absence of the regular characters weakened it a bit.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) One observation I had about this book is it really demonstrates how someone can walk aways from a toxic friendship. Normally in children's books we don't see these topics brought up.
2) One connection I made while reading this story is it is very similar to the tale Jason and the Golden Fleece.
3) One question I have is will this author make a series about the boy Gods.
4) One surprise I had is there is a ton of books in the Goddess Girls series. There is currently 29 books in the series.
5) I think this book is a good read for little girls. I actually knew about this series because this is my cousins favorite book series to read at the moment.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this installment of the Goddess Girls series, Medea has to learn to stand up for herself against her “frenemy” Glauce and her father, the King of Colchis. Glauce was incredibly annoying, making her an easy villain to not like. Plus, the tale features the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, but with none of the chopping up of brothers or killing of sons. Definitely an improvement for the faint of heart.