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Who Let The Gods Out? by Maz Evans


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Elliot's mum is ill and his home is under threat, but a shooting star crashes to earth and changes his life forever. The star is Virgo - a young Zodiac goddess on a mission. But the pair accidentally release Thanatos, a wicked death daemon imprisoned beneath Stonehenge, and must then turn to the old Olympian gods for help. After centuries of cushy retirement on earth, are Zeus and his crew up to the task of saving the world - and solving Elliot's problems too?

 

I don't review many books at the moment, but when I heard about this one, I couldn't resist.. and I'm glad I didn't! I've always been a fan of the various myths and legends, and I love seeing the gods reimagined in a fun way. There is a lot of humour in this book, with everyone being brought up to date.. the gods are have been made more human and flawed, whilst retaining a real warmth. 

 

In the midst of the humour is the serious side of being a child carer.. Elliot has to look after his mum, taking on the worries of her health, every day life and their financial concerns, whilst also dealing with his school life.. it's an excellent way to highlight this issue.

 

This would make a great book for reading to children at bedtime, as it provides plenty of humour for adults too, as well as for older children (and even some adults!) to read by themselves. I'm looking forward to the next instalment. 

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I read this one a few weeks ago. :)  Here's my thoughts copied from my book blog:
 

This middle grade book was a cracking comical story of Ancient gods and humans, with a quest at the heart of it, but all in a modern day setting.  While it is quite a funny book with a great adventure, there are some heartbreaking moments of Elliot and his mum, and it's lovely to see a young boy as a carer at the heart of a story, showing how tough it is to try to keep up with school and have to do all the housework, shopping and cooking plus the emotional strain of having to be grown up before your time.

 
Like Michelle said above, it is good to see children carers highlighted but only in it being an aspect of their life, not as an "issue" book.  Similarly, I'd recommend A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, although not comical like this story, and you'll probably need a few tissues while reading.

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