Lies We Sing to the Sea
-
-
4.2 • 10 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
An instant New York Times bestseller—and a legendary YA debut!
This dazzling sapphic fantasy inspired by Greek mythology will captivate fans of Circe and The Song of Achilles.
Each spring, Ithaca condemns twelve maidens to the noose. This is the price vengeful Poseidon demands for the lives of Queen Penelope’s twelve maids, hanged and cast into the depths centuries ago.
But when that fate comes for Leto, death is not what she thought it would be. Instead, she wakes on a mysterious island and meets a girl with green eyes and the power to command the sea. A girl named Melantho, who says one more death can stop a thousand.
The prince of Ithaca must die—or the tides of fate will drown them all.
Sarah Underwood weaves an epic tapestry of lies, love, and tragedy, perfect for fans of Madeline Miller, Alexandra Bracken, and Renée Ahdieh.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Underwood artfully ties Homeric tropes into the plot of this alluring, if unevenly paced, ancient Greek retelling. To avoid societal destruction, the citizens of a cursed Ithaca annually sacrifice 12 teenage girls to Poseidon. When 17-year-old orphan Leto is sentenced to death, unexplained happenings lead to her waking on the island of Pandou, where she meets Melantho, who had previously been sacrificed only to similarly awaken on the island, cursed to command the tides. To break the curse, Leto must kill teenage Prince Mathias of Ithaca, a descendant of Odysseus who is haunted by the annual tradition. As the three teens' lives intertwine, amorous feelings are forged amid harrowing action and vengeful pursuits. Leto, Mathias, and Melantho's sweeping alternating perspectives drive this urgent-feeling romantic adventure. Floral language, while occasionally dampening character development, excels at setting an absorbing scene. Exploring conflicts surrounding the mistreatment of women, power imbalances, and sexual violence, Underwood adroitly utilizes the inspiration material's foundation to deliver an expansive world plagued by monsters both mythical and mortal. All characters cue as white. Ages 14–up.
