PANDORA GETS JEALOUS
by Carolyn Hennessy
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Hardcover: 9781599901961
Paperback: 9781599902913
Ages 10-14
288 pages

Pandora Atheneus Andromaeche Helena (or Pandy, for short) is the daughter of the beautiful but self-absorbed Sybilline, and Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from Mount Olympus and was punished by Zeus for the theft.

The book’s Prologue reports that Prometheus was eventually released from his punishment, got married and started a family. But as a reminder of his wrongdoing, Zeus entrusted him with a small wooden box. If the seal of the box is ever broken, great evil and deadly plagues will be set free. To make sure that this never happens, Prometheus hides the box in his house, where he believes it will never be found. From the time his daughter is very young, Prometheus warns her of the evil that will be unleashed and the danger to their family if, even accidentally, the seal is broken.

At home, Pandora and her younger brother Xander, who is half-boy and half-peacock, are doted over by their father while their mother is off being an aide to Zeus. They are also cared for by Sabine, the lost Fate. Sabine, who wasn’t very good at “fating,” has been sent to earth by Zeus to help Prometheus look after his children, especially the very curious and lively Pandora.

Thirteen-year-old Pandora is a student at the Athena Maiden Middle School, where her best friends are Alcie, a distant niece of Medusa, and Iole, who is slight, smart and pure-of-heart. Her biggest enemies at school are the pretty and popular, but very mean-spirited, Helen and Hippa; they flaunt how they always get invited to the best parties, and call Pandora and her friends “losers.”

Pandora’s teacher, the old and cranky Master Epeus, gives lots of homework and especially likes to give Pandora a hard time. One day Master Epeus assigns the class their annual project on “The Enduring Presence of Gods in Their Daily Lives.” As an “incentive” to do well on the project, each week any student who doesn’t do a good job will be required to clean his toenails at the end of each day. Pandora definitely doesn’t want to be stuck with that disgusting assignment.

At home, when Pandora accidentally discovers the wooden box hidden in her parents’ room, she quickly decides what her “God Project” will focus on. She keeps it a secret, even from her best friends. On the morning of her presentation, she very carefully packs up the box and sneaks it out of the house. Her presentation is definitely impressive, but afterwards Helen and Hippa don’t believe what Pandora has said about the box and want to see it up close.

Helen and Hippa promise to invite Pandora to a party if she lets them hold the box for a minute. Pandora hesitates, but after they assure her that they will be very careful --- and include Alcie and Iole in their invitation to the party --- she relents. Immediately after giving in to their demands, she regrets her decision. But it’s too late. The girls have broken the seal, and evil and plagues descend upon the earth.

Soon afterwards, Pandora and her family are summoned to Mount Olympus, where Zeus threatens to destroy them and all of humankind unless Pandora undoes the damage she has caused. Zeus forbids her family, especially her father, from helping her in this quest. Hera, Zeus’s petty and jealous wife, uncharacteristically offers assistance by giving Pandora a map of where the evils can be located. But first she must decipher the key to reading the map. Is Pandora ready for the challenge? Without her father by her side, who will help her on this journey? And who is working behind the scenes to try to make sure she will fail?

Written in a sassy, witty and conversational tone, PANDORA GETS JEALOUS is an adventure-quest story about giving in to peer pressure, the true meaning of friendship and taking responsibility for one’s actions. To help keep track of the many characters mentioned here, a glossary in the back of the book offers brief explanations of the gods, goddesses and important sites in ancient Greece.

    --- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt (dvolkenannt@charter.net, www.saturdaywriters.org)

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