Freya and the Magic Jewel

March 1, 2018

Gr 4-6-Freya, Norse goddess of love and beauty (here portrayed as a tween "girlgoddess"), has been summoned to Asgard Academy by Odin. Freya isn't nearly as excited as her twin brother, Frey; this was her year to be class president of Vanaheim Junior High and captain the ice-skating team. She loses her magic prophecy stone and now must contend with rude classmates and crushes. Despite the popularity of myth-based fiction, readers are likely to be disappointed to find a rather shallow main character who manages to solve every problem thrown her way with minimal effort. The plot moves swiftly, but the writing is bland (even with an abundance of exclamation points) and the dialogue stilted. While this may appeal to lovers of the "Goddess Girls" series, it lacks excitement and depth, perpetuating tired stereotypes about the way tween girls behave. VERDICT Purchase where "Goddess Girls" flies off the shelves, but skip otherwise.-Kelsey Johnson-Kaiser, St. Paul Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2018
Norse mythology is rewoven into a boarding school story starring the Vanir "girlgoddess of love and beauty," Freya.Freya's unhappy about transferring away from her school and friends in Vanaheim to Odin's new Asgard Academy, to which he's summoning chosen students from all nine worlds on Yggdrasil. Freya's special magic involves prophecies given by Brising, her jewel--which she drops and loses during the arrival chaos. She's also uncomfortable because Vanaheim and Asgard were recently at war, a war supposedly caused by her missing nanny, Gullveig, and which has left Asgard's wall destroyed. There is a lot going on. Prankster Loki exploits Mason, a fellow student who has a crush on Freya, by peer-pressuring Freya into a bet: If scrawny Mason rebuilds the wall in three days without help, Freya will give Mason her heart, the sun, and the moon. But Mason has some tricks up his sleeves. When not in class or sneaking off to recover Brising from dwarves, Freya's overcoming suspicions and making friends with kids from other worlds, especially her Aesir roommates, and she learns that her true gift is friendship. (In one puntastic storyline the girls brainstorm a name for their group before landing on the series title, Thunder Girls.) Peacemaking is important, both between Gullveig and Odin and between Freya and Mason. The book assumes a white default.A frothy, occasionally scattered series starter to introduce the wide, entertaining mythological world. (authors' note, further reading) (Fantasy. 8-12)

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