Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett

Title/Author: Dark of the Moon by Tracy Barrett
Publisher/Date published: Harcourt Children's Books, September 19th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "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 dare 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 tribute 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..."

So as you guys may know: I'm all about the mythology being in YA books and going WOOHOO over it. So you bet I was excited when I saw this retelling of the myth about the Minotaur!

And it's GOOD! Really. It's VERY good!

In this version of the story, the minotaur isn't a monster, but a physically dysformed boy who will always have the mind of a 4-year-old. And I was sad for this poor boy, while I cannot say he has never hurt a fly, he can't help it and I felt for him.

And then there's Ariadne, She-Who-Will-Be-Goddess. She is so brave, even when she finds herself facing rituals her mother never explained to her and doing this wrong will destroy her future and everyone she loves. I loved one part of the story, where it's shown how there are always two sides to a story: it talks about how a woman killed her children. One says she's insane, another says she did it out of love, becaus she knew they would be killed in a less kind way otherwise.

I didn't much care for Theseus, but the main focus is on Ariadne, so it didn't bother me. I absolutely loved all the rituals and the mystery of it all. I kept turning the pages to find out what it was exactly that went down during the ritual to actually become the Goddess, I did kind of guess it, but still, there was such suspense!

I loved how it all ended and I'm kind of glad this book is a stand-alone, because while I love series, this story is good as it is, being one book.
Oh, and this book made me glad to live in the 21st century, childbirth on ancient Krete is harsh.

My rating: 4,5 stars