Audrey recommends: Amber and Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz
Genre: Historical fiction novel in verse
Reading level: YA
Summary: In Ancient Greece, a stable-boy-turned-philosophy-student and a devotee to the wild goddess Artemis cross paths in the most unexpected way.
Audrey says: “Hermes here. The Greek god — No. Don’t put down the book — I’m talking to you. If the lines look like poetry, relax. This book is shorter than it looks.”
This book is truly a work of art. This hybrid novel combines poetry, prose, and artwork to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The book freely traverses between history and fantasy: we hear from real ancient philosopher Socrates, but also from the perspective of various gods of the Greek pantheon. The living world and the ghostly afterlife are treated with equal weight. Hermes quotes contemporary literary criticism. We read modern museum labels of historical artifacts, and then read Schlitz’s imagined provenance and what their significance might have been. This is genuinely the most unique book I’ve ever read.
“This is their story. When it’s over, if you like, you can tell me what it means.”
