Lore Olympus (book) by Rachel Smythe
Bibliographic Information
Title: Lore Olympus, Volume One
Author: Rachel Smythe
Publisher: Del Rey, an imprint of Random House
Copyright Date: November 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0593160299
Page Count: 384
Genre/Format
Fiction, Romance/Graphic Novel
Reading Level/Interest Level
Adult-crossover/ 14+
Awards
The webcomic “Lore Olympus” has won three Eisner Awards(2022-2024), three Harvey Awards for Digital Book of the Year (2021-2023), and Ringo Awards for Best Webcomic in 2022 and 2023 (Burdette, 2024).
Summary
Persephone, goddess of spring, has vowed to train as a virgin if her mother, Demeter will allow her to live in Olympus instead of the mortal realm. Smythe attends a party with her roommate, Artemis, and finds herself in Hade’s house in the underworld the following day. They have a connection, but Persephone is worried about his reputation. After returning home, she experiences shopping and her roommate, Artemis’ friendships. This volume collects episodes 1-25 of the WEBTOON.
About the Author
Rachel Smythe
Rachel Smythe is the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of the #1 WEBTOON, Lore Olympus. She has won multiple Eisner Awards, Harvey Awards, Ringo Awards, a Hugo Award nomination, a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Graphic Novel, and an ALA Alex Award. She currently lives in New Zealand (Smythe, n.d.).
Critical Evaluation
I will start with the good - I loved this story once I caught on. I am not super familiar with Greek mythology, and I am not adept at reading graphic novels, so I had to really slow down and pay attention to everything to understand what was going one. Smythe gives each character one color, so that helped me keep track of different personalities, because there were a lot of personalities introduced in Volume One. The graphics felt contemporary, and the colors made the story fun and young. I loved the expressions on the characters faces, and I loved that you had to really slow down and pay attention to the graphics, because the text wasn’t enough to fully grasp the story.
The god who sexually assaulted Persephone left me feeling icky. I understand from further reading outside of Volume One that it was part of a sequence of events that hasn’t all been shown yet, but it definitely caught me off-guard. Additionally, I would have loved to see more connection between Hades and Persephone outside of the fact that they are both physically attracted to each other. Teens who like morally gray characters and a slow-burn romance should enjoy this series.
Creative Use for a Library Program
Host a comic making program that to encourage teens to create a storyboard and create their own WEBTOON.
Speed-Round Talk
Persephone, Goddess of Spring, leaves the mortal realm after pledging to her mother she will train as a sacred virgin. After moving to Olympus, the playground to other Gods and Goddesses, she attends a party with her roommate, Artemis, and learns that Gods aren’t always what they seem. Will she discover who she is and find love?
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation
This book has a sexual assault and some other sexual innuendo. The protagonist is confused about the sexual assault and themes of affirmative consent and the complications of aquaintance rape emerge (Matthews 2022). This allows readers to judge the event for what it is and form their own ideas about these subjects.
Reason for Inclusion
This book is an adult crossover book that garners interest for teens and young adults. The bright watercolor graphics bring Greek Mythology to the 21st century in such a fun way. The story is a coming-of-age story for Persephone, the protagonist that I think many teens will enjoy.
References
Burdette, C. (2024, July 28). WEBTOON’s Lore Olympus wins third consecutive award for best webcomic at 2024 Eisners. COMICWATCH. Retrieved November 15, 2024 from https://comic-watch.com/news/webtoons-lore-olympus-wins-third-consecutive-award-for-best-webcomic-at-2024-eisners
Fuentes, T. (2024, July 19). Exclusive: Rachel Smythe reveals two new projects and what’s next after the end of ‘Lore Olympus.’ Cosmopolitan. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/books/a61630979/rachel-smythe-inklore-announcement-exclusive/
Matthews, C. (2022, September 20). Consent, rape culture, and reproductive justice in Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus. ChLA International Committee. Retrieved November 15, 2024 from https://childlitassn.wixsite.com/intlcommittee/single-post/consent-rape-culture-and-reproductive-justice-in-rachel-smythes-lore-olympus
Smythe, R. (n.d.). About. Rachel Smythe. Retrieved November 18, 2024 from https://rachelsmythe.com/about/
Smythe, R. (n.d.). About. Rachel Smythe [photograph]. Retrieved November 18, 2024 from https://rachelsmythe.com/about/
Smythe, R. (2021, November 2). Lore olympus. Del Rey.
WEBTOON [@Webtoon]. (2020, January 8). Greek mythology dog GIF by WEBTOON [GIF]. Giphy. https://giphy.com/gifs/Webtoon-KDznTbT6Ew8BkPq1sl
*Book Cover Image and Page Images are property of Del Rey; taken from Amazon.