Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Lurid, violent, imaginative tale told by mythical sorceress.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
CIRCE, daughter of the sun god Helios, is born into a toxic world of recent cosmic upheaval -- one of her uncles, Kronos, has devoured all his children until their desperate mother spirits baby Zeus to safety, Zeus returns to force Kronos to vomit his devoured children, and they all join Zeus to become gods of Olympus. Feuding, scheming, treachery, and murder ensue, the gods mess with humans for sport, and soon to unfold, the tales of the Minotaur, the Golden Fleece, the Odyssey, and more. Circe, a lot more innocent than her family members and often called ugly and stupid, falls in love with a mortal who's an undeserving jerk even before she uses magic to make him a god, and transforms her rival for his affections into a legendary monster. Exiled to a remote island for her bold rule-breaking by a father who happily reduces people to ash, she delves into the world of herbs, potions, and magic, and finds her power.
"For a hundred generations, I had walked the world drowsy and dull, idle and at my ease. I left no prints, I did no deeds. Even those who had loved me a little did not care to stay. Then I learned that I could bend the world to my will, as a bow is bent for an arrow. I would have done that toil a thousand times to keep such power in my hands. I thought: this is how Zeus felt when he first lifted the thunderbolt."
Is It Any Good?
Madeline Miller's best-selling tale revisits the dark, lurid doings of Greek gods in the wake of a cosmic battle, as seen through the eyes of the lecherous, murderous sun god's unloved daughter. In this imaginative, vivid retelling, Circe struggles amid the carnage to navigate her treacherous world, and over many centuries delves into magic, turns her rival into the monster Scylla, and takes as lovers lost sailors Daedalus and Odysseus, whose deeds are often seen here more for their harm than their glory. The discovery that honest, decent people exist points to new and unimagined possibilities, but like the narrator, the reader may often feel helplessly overwhelmed by evil forces along the way to the glimmers of hope.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stories like Circe that are based on characters in classical mythology -- and how each version of the tale reflects its author's time, place, and agenda. Over the centuries, murderous Medea has been spun as everything from a monster to a feminist icon; how do you think this version of Circe's story compares with others you know -- and what messages might that imply?
Why do you think some cultures see gods as showing the best qualities of humans, and others see them gleefully outdoing the worst of human deeds? How would it change your life if you believed one or the other?
Using magic to control other people -- good? evil? it depends?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic )
- Character Strengths : Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
- Publication date : April 10, 2018
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 18 - 18
- Number of pages : 400
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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