Bull

Starred review from April 24, 2017
Using the cadences and unfiltered directness of rap, Elliott (Nobody’s Perfect) tells the Greek myth of the Minotaur in the seven distinct voices of Poseidon, King Minos, Queen Pasiphae, her half-man/half-bull son Asterion, his sister Ariadne, Daedalus, and—in a minor but critical role—Theseus, prince of Athens and, possibly, Poseidon’s son. The story unfolds in interior monologues, each in a different poetic form, which the author deconstructs in one of two closing notes. All are heard by Poseidon, who comments and adds background: “And rather than be called a slut/ She said I was the father of her mutt./ (You humans tend to be less catty/ When an immortal is the daddy).” Everybody knows how this myth ends, yet Asterion’s final words still resonate: “Hell is the freezing/ scorn for who you are/ that transforms a faultless boy/ to Minotaur.” Elliott contemporizes the ancient story of blackmail, betrayal, and revenge with humor, poignancy, and profanity. Hamilton comparisons are unavoidable, yet the personalities and voices Elliott brings to these mythical characters make this powerful and engrossing book a genre of its own. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary.

Starred review from December 15, 2016
A saucy, brash retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur. In a series of dramatic monologues with no settings, Elliott updates the voices of Poseidon, Minos, Daedalus, Pasiphae, Asterion, and Ariadne, each in its own poetic form. Poseidon dominates in word count and attitude: if "[y]ou think a god should be more refined? / ... / Never / Bawdy / Raunchy / Racy / Rude? / News Flash: / You don't want a god. / You want a prude." Angry at king Minos, he considers direct revenge ("Boils! / Scabs! / Gills! / A snout! / [Turn] his / Ding-dong / Inside / Out!") but instead gives Queen Pasiphae "a thing / For the white bull's thang." Asterion the Minotaur is born. He grows to age 17, bleakly miserable, tortured by Minos, finally imprisoned in the iconic maze; even his sister Ariadne can't break him out, and eventually he falls to Theseus. Poseidon considers Minos "a dick! / But also so much fun to hate"; some readers will think exactly that about Poseidon too, while others will resent just how much fun Poseidon is to hate, given his misogynistic women-are-crazy/women-are-whores snark about Pasiphae, whose woes he literally created himself. Elliott's absolutely magnetic rhythms will wake up any high school class, and the book could also work as a play. Irresistible, slick, and sharp (no bull!)--with plenty of bull to dissect. (cast of characters, author's notes) (Verse fiction. 14 & up)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-In this retelling of the Greek myth of the Minotaur, the familiar characters illustrate their viewpoints in verse. The story begins with Poseidon as the powerful mastermind behind the famous events that are prompted by King Minos's hubris: Minos's wife is impregnated by a bull and gives birth to Asterion, half-man/half-bull. Once Asterion reaches the age of 17, the narrative shifts to present tense, when King Minos orders that a labyrinth be built to imprison Asterion. Asterion's 15-year-old sister, Ariadne, attempts to rescue him, but instead she succumbs to attractive Theseus, who has been sent to kill the Minotaur. Elliott's contemporary take on the classic myth incorporates modern slang, profanity, and a bawdy sense of humor into an accessible, highly entertaining, and original novel. The characters are given a sense of humanity not found in the original tales; the young adults, for example, are afforded impetuousness, ignorance, easy trust, arrogance, and quick infatuation, all of which make them easily identifiable and relatable to a current teen audience. The use of varied poetic forms and negative space on the page conveys urgent emotions, including instability and madness, anger and self-righteousness.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* This striking reexamination of the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur maintains the bones of the original story: Minos, King of Crete, angers sea god Poseidon, who exacts his revenge not on the king but on the king's wife. Queen Pasiphae, seduced by a bull, births Asterion, the famed future Minotaur, who is ultimately locked in a labyrinth and killed by hero Theseus. Elliott focuses this novel in verse on Asterion and the women in his family, painting them in a particularly sympathetic light. Rotating first-person narrations appear in a variety of poetic forms. Poseidon takes on the role of irreverent, anachronistic narrator, as he raps the story ( Life's not for wimps. / Sometimes gods are gods / And sometimes they're pimps ); Pasiphae grows increasingly nonsensical; Asterion speaks in childlike rhymes; Daedalus, labyrinth builder, is ever the architect with rigid, four-line stanzas; and princess Ariadne's flowery language is imbued with a clever slant rhyme that belies her coquettish facade. When Theseus the hero finally struts onto the page, it's with significant frat-bro swagger ( Ariadne! What a rack! / I knew I'd get her in the sack / As for her bro? / He won't outlive me. / No sweat. / In time they all forgive me ). Effective both for classrooms and pleasure reading, this modernization brings new relevancy to an old story. It's a conceit that easily could have floundered; in Elliott's capable hands, it soars.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

Starred review from March 1, 2017
There's little grand or heroic in Elliott's clever verse version of the classical story of the Minotaur: its title, Bull, is topically and colloquially apt. The story unrolls in the voices of seven characters, each with his or her own poetic form (an appended author's note details them), but it's the god Poseidon who determines the toneas instigator, manipulator, and despiser of humankind. His raunchy, derisive take on humans ( Man! / That guy's a dick! he says of Minos) is a spreading stain that permeates even the innocence of Asterion the bull-headed boy, maternal Pasiphae (who take[s] refuge in madness ), and valiant Ariadne. The sympathetic heart of Elliott's story is Asterion/the Minotaur: Elliott presents him as a physically deformed youth, suffering cruelly from his hateful father's abuse. But Poseidon's voice comments on all, and Elliott characterizes him as despicable, misogynistic, and sexually prurient. Raplike wordplay, rhymes with coercive predictability, unpleasant intensityit's horribly effective, culminating in the god's conclusion: the things you mortals do: / Ridicule. / Follow orders. / Stay passive. / Betray. / What a pity! / It could have gone another way. Such is the matter of the Greek myths. deirdre f. baker

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)