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Joan Holub , Suzanne Williams

Clotho the Fate (Goddess Girls, 25)

YEAR: 2019

COUNTRY: United States of America

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Title of the work

Clotho the Fate (Goddess Girls, 25)

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2019

First Edition Details

Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, Goddess Girls: Clotho the Fate. New York: Aladdin Press, 2019, 272 pp.

ISBN

9781481470254 (eBook)

Genre

Bildungsromans (Coming-of-age fiction)
Mythological fiction
Novels
Romance fiction
School story*

Target Audience

Children (Older children, 8–12 yrs)

Cover

Missing cover

We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.


Author of the Entry:

Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@biu.ac.il 

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, Lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il 

Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com

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Title of the work

Clotho the Fate (Goddess Girls, 25)

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2019

First Edition Details

Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, Goddess Girls: Clotho the Fate. New York: Aladdin Press, 2019, 272 pp.

ISBN

9781481470254 (eBook)

Genre

Bildungsromans (Coming-of-age fiction)
Mythological fiction
Novels
Romance fiction
School story*

Target Audience

Children (Older children, 8–12 yrs)

Cover

Missing cover

We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.


Author of the Entry:

Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@biu.ac.il 

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, Lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il 

Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com

Photo courtesy of Joan Holub.

Joan Holub (Author)

Joan Holub is a prolific children's author from the USA. Graduated from college in Texas with a fine arts degree. Worked as an art director at Scholastic trade books in New York. She has written and/or illustrated over 150 children's books. She has developed a range of series for teenagers on mythological themes: Goddess Girls, set in Mount Olympus Academy, Grimmtastic Tales series, set in Grimm Academy, Thunder Girls, about Norse gods set in Asgard Academy, and Heroes in Training, in which the male Greek gods, as very young men, set out on a range of adventures. For pre-school children, Jan Holub has written on a range of topics including several works with religious and historical themes. These include: This Little President; This Little Trailblazer, Hooray for St. Patrick’s Day!, and Light the Candles: A Hanukkah Lift-the-Flap Book. Joan Holub trained in fine art and worked as an art director at a graphic design company before becoming a children's illustrator and then author.

 

Sources:

Official website (accessed: July 2, 2018).

Profile at the penguinrandomhouse.com (accessed: July 2, 2018).

Profile at the simonandschuster.com (accessed: July 2, 2018).



Bio prepared by Sonya Nevin, University of Roehampton, sonya.nevin@roehampton.ac.uk and Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com and Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com


Courtesy of the Author from her personal website.

Suzanne Williams (Author)

Suzanne Williams is an American prolific children's author and former elementary school librarian. She has written over 60 books for children.

She grew up in Oregon and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s in library science from the University of Oregon. She currently lives in Reno, Washington.


Source: 

Official website (accessed: May 29, 2018).

 


Bio prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com


Summary

Clotho, an eleven years old goddess girl, is one of the fates, who is responsible for spinning the Thread of Fate. Together with her sisters, 12 years old Lachesis and 13 years old Atropos, they predict the destiny of mortal new-borns. They work closely as a team each night and they travel from one place to another for their nightly routine, like nomads. While her sisters like this setting, Clotho secretly yearns for a permanent home and some companionship. According to Zeus’ rules, the sisters may not mingle with mortals. 

One day Clotho secretly goes to the Immortal Marketplace, where she stumble across Cassandra’s bakery and then visits Arachne the spider’s dilapidated craft shop. Arachne, who detests the immortals, especially Athena who had turned her into a spider, soon befriends Clotho. During her time in the market, Clotho finds herself involved in a new game shop, where interactive games involve mortal as well as immortal juveniles and she meets new friends like brave Atalanta and goddess girls Aphrodite, Athena, Persephone and Artemis as well as Ares, Poseidon and Apollo. The mortal Tantalus overhears her conversation with Arachne in which she explains a mistake she caused 12 years earlier, when she tangled the thread of Prince Meleager. Tantalus cunningly uses her secret the next day, during Zeus’ birthday party in order to show the gods that they are not perfect, that they can be tricked and make mistakes. His disruption ruins the party and Clotho has to confess to Zeus, as well as to her sisters, what she has been doing, and how she has been breaking Zeus’ rules. In the end, she is forgiven, Tantalus is punished, and the sisters find a permanent place in Arachne’s shop, much to Clotho’s delight.

Analysis

The Goddess Girls series examines juvenile life and themes of maturation. The gods and goddess described in it suffer the same feelings of loneliness and insecurities as their modern readers. In the present story, the emphasis is on the feeling of loneliness and the need for a home. Clotho loves her sisters and her job, yet she wishes to have one place to call home, her own place. This sentiment resonates with a need to belong, both to a certain place and to people. Clotho feels lonely and finds some comfort in her knitted finger-puppet animals. Not only she does not have a home (or a pet as she wishes), because of the need to keep her identity secret, she is not allowed to meet mortals or go to where all the other goddess girls hang out. The mortals are angry at the fates blaming them for destroying their lives and for their life decisions, although the Fates are not guilty at all. Clotho does not understand this resentment and wishes to explain the truth to the mortals. Furthermore, Clotho wishes to break Zeus’ rules a bit. As a typical teenager, she wishes for more excitement and adventure, while her sisters, who are also teenagers, gladly follow these rules which make them feel safe.

An unlikely friendship develops between the grumpy and aggrieved Arachne and Clotho. Arachne is angry at the immortals, accusing them of caring about nothing except punishing mortals. Clotho, who is immortal herself, tries to placate Arachne and in the end she understands that Arachne is lonely. Hence the two become friends and finally, Arachne suggests that the Fates continue to live in her house. Clotho even has her own pet, a stray kitten who enters the shop, thus strengthening her feeling of a safe and loving home. She welcomes the goddess girls and boys (including Athena) to her shop, since they liven up the place. While Arachne showed disrespect to an immortal and therefore was punished, Clotho pities her loneliness and eventually, Arachne’s feelings brighten.

The characters of Atalanta, Meleager and Tantalus are marginal in this tale. They all meet in an interactive game arena, where groups must face a mechanical Calydonian boar. While it is noted that Meleager’s mother tricked destiny (the myth of the burning log which is connected to his life span), the story is not developed and only serves to reflect Clotho’s mistake while spinning Meleager’s Thread of Fate. As noted the story is used by Tantalus to reprimand the gods.

Regarding Tantalus, he is quite harmless and far removed from his gruesome portrayal and cannibalistic actions in the myth. In our story, rather than his own son, he only bakes little finger puppets into a cake, from which Demeter eats. He tries to confront the gods and show that they can be tricked and in doing so reveals Clotho’s mistake with Meleager’s thread. 

When the party is over, Zeus explains to the Fates: “Do you know how close we came to real trouble just now? If mortals come to believe that immortals make mistakes just like they do, they’ll lose respect for us. That’s why I make rules, to avoid that kind of misunderstanding. Yet you broke them. Explain yourselves!” (p. 240). We understand that there is a very delicate balance and tenuous trust between the gods and humankind. The gods must appear flawless (even when they are clearly not), in order to receive the respect of humans. This approach echoes throughout the series, how important it is for humans to respect the gods or receive punishment. While this notion may be referring to ancient Greek religion, the authors deliberately chose in the series to make the gods conscious of their image and reputation. This is of course very different form how they were presented in the original ancient Greek myths. In this series Zeus is all powerful and while he does have some flaws, he is benevolent and caring nonetheless, for humankind as well as for the gods. The rules are not made up for nothing (perhaps a hint to the juvenile readers who disrespect rules?). While children and teenagers do not always understand or accept rules made by adults, they should understand that the rules are made for their protection (in a healthy family/society). Therefore rules and limitations are not always bad, since they also provide security for children as well as society in general.

In the end, the rules are bent, the Fates are allowed to meet mortals and advise them, and the importance of mutual understanding and communication surpasses the initial caution of separating the Fates from mortals. The message is that talking creates understanding and avoids misunderstandings, unlike Zeus’ initial thoughts and rules. Furthermore, humans are in charge of their own destiny and the choices they make are what ultimately decides their fates and not any divine intervention.


Addenda

The review refers to the Kindle edition.

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