Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett

Title: Dark of the Moon

Author: Tracy Barrett

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Source: From Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Ariadne is destined to become a goddess of the moon. She leads a lonely life, filled with hours of rigorous training by stern priestesses. Her former friends no longer dark to look at her, much less speak to her. All that she has left are her mother and her beloved, misshapen brother, Asterion, who must be held captive below the palace for his own safety.

So when a ship arrives one spring day, bearing a tribut of slaves from Athens, Ariadne sneaks out to meet it. These newcomers don't know the ways of Krete; perhaps they won't be afraid of a girl who will someday be a powerful goddess. And indeed she meets Theseus, the son of the king of Athens. Ariadne finds herself drawn to the newcomer, and soon they form a friendship--one that could perhaps become something more. 

Yet Theseus is doomed to die as an offering to the Minotaur, that monster beneath the palace--unless he can kill the beast first. And that "monster" is Ariadne's brother...

Books that are re-tellings are always a lot of fun but I don't read nearly as many of them as I would like to. Since I also really like Ancient history and mythology, Dark of the Moon was right up my alley. The premise sounded really interesting and the book turned out to be just as interesting as it sounded.

Since childhood, Ariadne has been preparing to become a goddess of the moon, just like all the women in her family before her. That means she has been alone for most of her life with only old priestesses, her mother and her brother Asterion for company. But that never stopped Ariadne from sneaking out of the palace when the ships bearing the tributes arrive to Krete. This year, Ariadne takes notice of Theseus, the king of Athens' son, among the tributes and can't seem to stop thinking about him. But Theseus has come to Knossos with a mission, one that involves Ariadne's beloved brother Asterion. But Ariadne hopes that maybe Theseus won't be intimidated by a goddess-to-be like everyone else on the island is. And maybe Theseus will change his mind about his plan to rid the island of its monster, the Minotaur. Except the monster may not be who everyone thinks he is.

Like I've already said, I love books that are re-tellings and this one was no different. Also the fact that I love Ancient myths and history probably helped a lot too. Dark of the Moon is a re-telling of the myth of the Minotaur on the Greek island of Krete. Except the way the story is told, you don't really find out who the monster at the center of the maze is until well into the story. Just that made me want to keep reading so I could find out who the Minotaur was. I also liked how the story was told from two points of view, one that was familiar with the traditions of Krete and one that was a complete stranger. I just thought it was really interesting to see the two completely different perspectives.

Ariadne was a really interesting character. Even though she was a fifteen-year-old teenage girl, she was pretty much as far away from the image you would have of that person. Granted it might be because the story takes place in Ancient Greece, but still. At times I felt sorry for her though because she really didn't have a normal life. But I really liked the way things turned out for her in the end. Theseus was a great balance to Ariadne. What I liked most about him was the completely different perspective he had on everything that was happening. What I also really liked about Theseus was how he questioned everything and definitely wasn't afraid to stand up for himself when the time came to do so. Both of these characters were also the narrators of the book and I really don't think there could have been anyone better to tell this story.

Overall, Dark of the Moon was a great read and one that was somewhat different from what I normally read, but in a really good way. I will definitely look out for more books by Tracy Barrett in the future.