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Joan Holub , Suzanne Williams

Cassandra the Lucky (Goddess Girls, 12)

YEAR: 2013

COUNTRY: United States of America

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Title of the work

Cassandra the Lucky (Goddess Girls, 12)

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

Worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2013

First Edition Details

Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, Cassandra the Lucky (Goddess Girls, 12). New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, Aladdin Press, 2013, 256 pp.

ISBN

9781442488175 (paperback) / 9781442488199 (ebook)

Genre

Alternative histories (Fiction)
Bildungsromans (Coming-of-age fiction)
Fiction
Humor
Mythological fiction
Novels
School story*

Target Audience

Children (Older children, 8–12 years)

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@gmail.com 

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

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

Susan Deacy, University of Roehampton, s.deacy@roehampton.ac.uk

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Title of the work

Cassandra the Lucky (Goddess Girls, 12)

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

Worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2013

First Edition Details

Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, Cassandra the Lucky (Goddess Girls, 12). New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, Aladdin Press, 2013, 256 pp.

ISBN

9781442488175 (paperback) / 9781442488199 (ebook)

Genre

Alternative histories (Fiction)
Bildungsromans (Coming-of-age fiction)
Fiction
Humor
Mythological fiction
Novels
School story*

Target Audience

Children (Older children, 8–12 years)

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@gmail.com 

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

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

Susan Deacy, University of Roehampton, s.deacy@roehampton.ac.uk

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

General summary for the series see under Athena the Brain.

Cassandra is the daughter of Trojan royalty Priam and Hecuba. Along with her twin brother Helenus, she has the gift of foreseeing the future, and sells the fortunes as fortune cookies. Yet there is a problem with Cassandra’s prophecies: “Prophecies no one ever believed, unfortunately, despite their truth. Instead she was widely considered to be a liar [...]” (pp. 49–50). This was the result of a curse Apollo put on her when they were both little. Cassandra decides to send fortunes to Mount Olympus Academy in order to cause trouble, because she is angry with them for causing the Trojan War. So the Gods and Goddesses come to the Immortal Marketplace to build a magical carousel that Cassandra has foreseen. Athena puts the Trojan horse as one of the animals and Cassandra becomes even more upset. It emerges however that in fact the Immortals had no idea what they had done to Cassandra and the effect some of their choices had had on her life. They explain this to Cassandra and thus peace is restored between them.

Analysis

Having a talent no one recognizes or being thought you are a liar even though you tell the truth are situations children are very familiar with. Cassandra feels less loved than her siblings and that her talents are not recognized by her surroundings. She feels completely unappreciated.

Cassandra resents the goddesses because of their meddling which caused the Trojan War. Since she is upset, she believes the others lead a better and easier life than her. Yet in the end she finds out she and Apollo have a lot in common and that the immortals are not so bad. The theme of the book is to give people a chance and not to prejudge them because in so doing you can miss out on friendship.

Interestingly, the Trojan War is quite obscure. Cassandra is still hurt by it; yet “Everyone else in Cassandra’s family seemed to have gotten past the events of the Trojan War and the part the immortals had played in them” (pp. 285–286). This destructive nature of the war is played down, since in previous books it was seen that it happened due to a mistake the goddess girls made in one of their classes. Odysseus’ fate is also determined through a series of games and classes at the academy.

The entire concept that mythological events happed due to class exercises is an interesting twist, which removes the gravitas and pathos from the mythological epics (the Iliad and the Odyssey) and gives a new angle to view them; they are not exactly child’s play, but they are not as serious either. Making Homer an insecure aspiring author is also a refreshing take on the epic poet which makes him more human and accessible to the readers.

This book taught another lesson, namely that one has to learn to forgive, and understand others. Through the events of the novel, Cassandra learns to look past her own animosity and to hear the other person's side of the story before becoming angry. Thus the reader is shown that she learns to forgive and move on with her life, earning her happy ending.


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