Reviews

Song of the Red Cloak by Chantel Acevedo

mehopf's review against another edition

5.0

I am a new graduate student and GTA and I found myself staying up late to read this book. I lost sleep, but I found myself reenergized, rather than tired, because Chantel Acevedo creates a beautiful, vivid, action packed world. It's not only a great story, but it's beautifully written. Oh, and to echo the other reviews, educational! I grew up fascinated with the Greeks and with mythology, and this book did not disappoint (as some do). The history is woven in so seamlessly that it wasn't until I put it down that I realized how much I'd learned. I immediately called my teacher friends and they are reading it in hopes of teaching it. It's an excellent book and I'd highly recommend it.

xenxenwithlove's review against another edition

5.0

Acevado wrote a Greek myth as engaging and mystical as the ones we study today. Her characters were kind, brave, sometimes cruel, and unpredictable. They spanned every bit of human nature. The plot's every moment was thrilling. Her world building was skillful; I felt like I was there, but never felt like I was being buried in words or facts. The context of her tale was built subtly and felt very natural.

There isn't a person on this earth I wouldn't recommend this book to. She hit everything a good story is made of and surpassed it.

suzettra's review against another edition

4.0

Full disclosure time: I know the author from a summer Fulbright seminar for teachers and I've kind of been in awe of her writing for awhile now. However, we don't always have the same taste in books (case in point, The Magicians). So when I read on Chantel's blog that she was self-publishing a YA book about Spartan Boys with Swords, I was underwhelmed. There are several things about this book that suggest it would not be for me: while I like YA fiction, I tend to prefer dystopias to magical tales, and while I like historical fiction, I tend to prefer crazy English royals or despotic Italian Popes to anything having to do with ancient Greece. And while I know that YA fiction is experiencing a renaissance of female protagonists (what with Belle and Katniss), I'm old enough to remember a time when it wasn't that way.

All of that to say--I'm so glad I bought and read this book! I bought the book on a Wednesday when I was coming down with a cold and have been very glad of the company of Galen, Nikolas, Zoi, and Korinna this weekend. The pace of the story was break neck, the history effortlessly woven into the narration, the characters complex, surprising, and lovable and while Galen is definitely a sword swinging boys' boy, he keeps company with some pretty kick-ass girls. All the while I was reading this book, I was thinking of my high school students who learn all about ancient Sparta in their history class and how much they would love reading this novel.

So go! Buy the book--it's only $4.99 in ebook form--and you can thank me later.