A review by feralpoodles
Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon

dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Incredible book. This book already had an advantage over me because 1. I love modernized folk/fairy tale retellings 2. I love Greek mythology 3. I love books that touch on motherhood/womanhood/mother daughter bonds, which is everything this book is, and it definitely lived up to my expectations. Excellent reinterpretation of the myth, really well done. I love romantic Persephone retellings where Hades is a misunderstood bad boy of course, but there are so many that it was refreshing to read a take on the myth that was closer to the original in that it really focused on the complicated but strong relationship between mother and daughter and on the fact that Persephone is a innocent teenager that’s being taken advantage of.
The pomegranate seeds being painkillers and her addiction to them being the reason she is cursed to return is such a perfect choice.
I picked up on so many clever little references and nuances with just my semi-cursory knowledge of the original myth, so I’m sure there was even more that I didn’t get. Also worked really well on its own as a story. Super dark and gut wrenching, lot of heavy emotions and hard to deal with shit, but really well done. Characters felt really realistic and nuanced. Cory especially was a super accurate portrayal of a naive teenage girl with the kind of feelings and problems that would understandably get her into that kind of situation, even if it was infuriating at times. I absolutely loved the mom too, I loved her story and her perspective was a perfect contrast to Cory’s teenage view of things. Beautifully written, the style really complements the story. Minor thing but I love when books have dialogue without quotation marks and the author does this masterfully. Hard to read (emotionally, narrative-wise it’s extremely engaging and hard to put down), but well worth it 
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