Aphrodite the Fair

Goddess Girls #15

by Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams

Aphrodite has her hands full with Eris, who loves to stir up mischief, in this Goddess Girls adventure.

Eris is a goddess girl who has a penchant for causing trouble. So when her brother, Ares, is celebrating his thirteenth birthday, she can’t let the occasion go by without a little mischief. After all, she is the goddess of discord and strife! Aphrodite is determined to make sure Ares gets the attention he deserves, but can she handle what Eris has planned?

Genres: Mythology, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Greek Mythology, Childrens, Fiction, Retellings

272 pages, Hardcover

First published December 2, 2014

About the author

NY Times bestselling children's book author:
GODDESS GIRLS series + HEROES IN TRAINING series (w Suzanne Williams); THIS LITTLE TRAILBLAZER a Girl Power Primer; ZERO THE HERO; I AM THE SHARK. Lucky to be doing what I love!

Reviews

[✧ hayley (the sugar bowl) ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

➳ 4 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

this book was so much fun! i missed aphrodite as a main character and i enjoyed spending time with her and ares this book—who’s relationship i am living for currently even though the writing is so simple.

anyway, this book was cute just like the rest of them and i liked seeing a new character introduced even if she did cause some trouble. this one just felt like a cute sleepover for some reason and i loved it.

it was a quick and easy read as these books always are and i had fun. this book served its purpose, and i can’t wait to read the rest 🎀🩰


୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆

[~Bellegirl91~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was actually adorable and a cute version of the Golden Apple story where Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite appear to Paris in the Illiad and tell him to give the golden apple to the fairest. And of course he picks Aphrodite since she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world and we know the rest.

Anyway, for a little kids version of this story and with it being incorporated with Ares' sister who's the goddess of discord and chaos (something like that) was a nice touch. Overall, great story and twist on the golden apple story mainly having my be between Athena and Aphrodite which you'll just have to read to find out how this one went down. Cute, fun, and great moral of a story.

Also, it took me a bit longer to actually get through this cause I kept getting distracted by other books and kinda forgot about it and couldn't find it for a bit even though it was a library book 😬🙈 I'm just glad to be able to finish it at least 😅

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this book is a bit too easy for my reading level (tee hee hee), I still love the mythology and charming characters.

[Tiffany Spencer]

Aphrodite the Fair
Chapter 1: Happy Birthday Ares
Aphrodite throws Ares a surprise birthday party. The decorations are war-themed (shields, helmets, toy swords). It all turns out well! Ares is appreciative of all the effort Aphrodite put into the party, but can’t tell her so (because of his image). He receives many presents (battle gear, scrollbooks, snacks, and gag gifts). Aphrodites gift to him is a pair of winged sandals from “Mighty Fighty”. He loves them!

Aphrodite makes Ares a chocolate cake with blue icing and thirteen candles. Ares has finished blowing out the candles when the door slams open, and a girl in a purple citon enters the room. She has purple-streaked hair and shimmering skin. The girl calls out “Happy Birthday little brother!” Aphrodite is shocked. Ares never told her he had a sister.

Chapter 2: Eris
Ares is horrified! His wish was definitely not for her to show up. It was to win the Temple Games. We find out that Ares has kept his sister a secret from everyone at MOA (even Aphrodite). When at home, he tries to stay out of her way. Eris tries to pet Adonis (the kitten), but it hisses, scratches Ares (who's holding her), and takes off. Reluctantly, he introduces her to everyone. Eris takes the cake Aphrodite gives Ares, and she has to give him another piece. Eris then makes an offensive statement to Aphrodite about being the goddess who came from sea foam and not having real parents. Aphrodite tries to play off her hurt.

Eris tells Persephone she’s the oldest. She finds out that siblings Apollo and Artemis go to MOA and calls Ares out for telling her that only one child per family can enroll. She realizes he was trying to keep her from going to MOA. Pandora questions Eris’s bag, but she says that what’s in it is important and secret. Apollo asks why he told Eris this lie. He confesses that he didn’t want her to follow him to MOA. Ares confides to Apollo that Eris locked him outside in his underwear, cut his hair, and pelted him with apples when they were children. Apollo is shocked.

Zeus and Hera make an appearance. Zeus gives Ares a book on winning war games. We find out Hera invited Eris after meeting her in the marketplace, thinking her invitation had been lost. She says that she was shopping for a present for Ares, but he knows it’s a lie. She’s never given him a present.

Chapter 3: Party Games
Zeus has to leave because Ms. Hydra tells him that the semester grades are ready. Eris says they should play a party game and suggests “Two Truths and a Lie.” The boys choose a different game, “Pin the Tail on the Trojan,” and leave the girls to play Eris’s game. Hera picks up Eris’s bag, and a trophy topped with a golden apple falls out. Athena says it’s the most beautiful trophy she’s ever seen. Aphrodite doesn’t see the big deal until she touches it and becomes instantly enamored.

Aphrodite holds the trophy and thinks it's meant for her. She has to have it! They play two rounds of the game. Athena wins one. Aphrodite wins the other. The party winds down, but Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena have become obsessed with the game and winning the trophy. Zeus comes back in his pjs. Eris gets him to let her stay until dinner tomorrow. She tries to stay longer, but Zeus shuts it down quickly. Aphrodite and Artemis continue to stare at the bag. Pandora asks why the trophy is so important. Aphrodite can’t answer that. She just knows she has to have it!

Chapter 4: An Accident
After the party, Ares notices Eris is pleased with herself for convincing Zeus to let her stay an extra day. Aphrodite invites Eris to sleep over. Ares doesn’t like it. Aphrodite brushes it off and tells him he just doesn’t want Eris to tell him his secrets. He’s already seeing the effects of his sister whose the goddess of strife and discord. Athena is shooting Aphrodite dark looks, and Aphrodite is being rude to him. Eris says it would be great if she could go to school there. On the way, the girls get into a discussion about clothes and it looks like Aphrodite has forgiven Eris for her comment.

Eris admits to Ares that she got kicked out of Corinthian Middle School for building a snowman on the school roof, and then it collapsed. She claims it wasn’t her fault. Ares now realizes she’s trying to get Zeus to let her enroll.

Even tho she’s not supposed to go into the dorm room, she says she wants to see Ares room and barges in. This mortifies Ares. She notices the armor she helped Ares build-a good memory from their childhood. Eris warns Ares that if she interfers with her getting into MOA she’ll reveal his most humiliating childhood secrets.

Chapter 5: Team Work
The next morning, Eris helps herself to everything. She tries on all Aphrodite’s clothes and tosses them on the bed, uses her magic makeup brush, and is wearing her newest pink chiton. She announces that she’s going to Zeu’s office to see if she can get him to let her enroll. Aphrodite wishes her luck.

At lunch, Zeus makes an announcement that the semester grades were “less than stellar”. Because of this, there will be a two-week academic competition. The leaders of the two teams will be Athena and Aphrodite. Eris announces that the winner will receive “a special prize” (clearly meaning the trophy). Eric plays both hands. She tells Athena with her intelligence, she’s sure to win. She tells Aphrodite that because she starts trends, if she makes studying a trend everyone will follow her. The teams are “randomly” picked. Ares is on Athena’s team and her crush Hercules is on Aphrodite’s team.

Zeus says he’s letting Eric help with the competition since she’s on spring break. So, she’ll be staying. Eris says she’ll alternate between staying in Aphrodite’s and Athena’s rooms.

Chapter 6: Obsessed
Aphrodite becomes obsessed. She lectures Poseidon and chases down Hercules and Pandora. Hercules asks Ares what’s up with the trophy Eris carries around. He sees Eris on the track and confronts her about if the trophy is enchanted. She tries to dodge him, but he’s able to grab the trophy. But he feels nothing unusual about it.

The strife at the school grows. Apollo gives Poseidon incorrect notes on purpose. Poseidon retaliates by drenching him with his trident. Ares worries that if Eris stays things will only get worse.

Chapter 7: Liars and Cheats
Aphrodite holds a pep rally three days before the end of the competition. Her team responds enthusiastically and now motivated heads off to study. Two boys on Athena’s team (Makhai and Kydoimos) brag about the A pluses they got on their quiz scores. Aphrodite’s team suspects they cheated. They almost get into it with a centaur that likes Aphrodite but she tells them no fighting.

Aphrodite and Ares talk while she works on her Beauty-ology project. Aphrodite tells him that some of her team thinks some of Athena’s team cheated. Ares says it's possible. He then tells Aphrodite Eris is physically growing stronger. He then tells her what he suspects-that Eris is the cause of all the arguments at MOA. Aphrodite finally realizes that this just might be true. Ares mentions how he thinks the trophy is enchanted, but that he’s held it and felt nothing. Aphrodite agrees that this could be true, but she still wants to win the trophy (she’s thinking). She also wants her team to win.

Chapter 8: Poor Sports
Ares goes to a special practice for the Temple Games. Tension is high. Eros elbows Makhai, and accusations of cheating turn into shouting. The Coach demands to know what’s going on and then gives them a lecture on sportsmanship. It doesn’t do any good. Atlas “accidentally” throws a discus that nearly hits Hercules. Hercules says Ares might be right about the trophy being enchanted. Ares confesses that his sister gets stronger by causing conflit.

Hercules wonders if Zeus can see how bad things have gotten. Ares says Zeus has tunnel vision and only cares about grades. Ares notices Aphrodite and Athena practicing cheers break into a fight. He wants to intervene, but Hercules says it will only make things worse. On the way back to his dorm, Ares hears Eris’s words and realizes the trophy doesn’t have an effect on boys.

Chapter 9: Meow
Aphrodite comes back to her room after cheer practice. She and Athena had a pointless argument over a cheer. She tries to spend some time with Adonis, but Eris returns. Adonis immediately tries to hide. Eris admits she has a bad effect on animals … and people. Aphrodite notices Eric has a letter, but when she tries to find out if it's from an admirer, she snaps at her. She then starts to polish the trophy lovingly. As soon as she hands it to Aphrodite, the desire returns. Eric also looks taller and stronger.

Ares tells Aphrodite the next day his suspicions of the trophy being enchanted to girls. Aphrodite starts to defend it but realizes she was about to call the trophy enchanted herself. They come to the conclusion that the obsession has to be refreshed with a touch. Ares tells Aphrodite he suspects that Eris wants to punish him for being allowed to stay at MOA and Zeus by targeting Athena. Targeting her and Athena she’s getting two for the price of one.

Then a food fight breaks out. Aphrodite tells Athena about the trophy, and Athena now has to admit she’s been obsessed too. Aphrodite and Athena make up. But then, Aphrodite, Ares, Athena, and Hercules are called to Zeus’s office. Eris told Mr. Cyclops they started the food fight. Aphrodite is hurt and furious when she thinks about how nice she’s been to Eris. Ares promises he’s explain everything to Zeus and try to stop the contest.

Chapter 10: A Few Complaints
Zeus shows them the contest results on a bar graph. Athena’s team is slightly ahead. Aphrodite’s team isn’t that far behind. Both teams have shown significant improvement than they would have before Eris. Their grades have risen 50 percent thanks to the contest. Now Zeus has a chance to qualify for becoming Principal of the Year in Geek Principal Quarterly. Zeus says because of this the contest will continue two more months and Eris will likely be permitted to enroll there permanently. Ares explodes that he can’t do that. She has to go. They all start to tell Zeus about the chaas Eris has been causing. Aphrodite and Athena tell him about the trophy and its enchantment.

Zeus admits that Hera has been asking him to invite Eris to dinner and tell her to bring her black bag, but he hasn’t because he’s feared it will start a fight between him and Hera. Despite this, Zeus says he promised Eris she could stay if the grades rose 20 percent. Zeus then puts the task on Ares to get Eris to declae a winner and go to school elsewhere.

Chapter 11: Up A Tree
They find Eris in the olive grove reading the mysterious letter. Ares tells Eris Zeus has ended the contest. Eris is shocked -and shrinks-. Aphrodite and Athena start to fight over who won the trophy.. She pulls out the trophy, and Hercules and Ares have to pull the girls back from touching it. The wind scatters Eris’s score sheets.

Adonis panics and Artemis’s dogs chase him up an olive tree. The group goes to find ladders and winged students. Eris gets Adonis to climb down the tree by staying above her. Everyone calls Eris a hero. Even Adonis doesn’t hiss at her. Eris says without the sheets she can’t confirm a winner. Athena says she got the highest scores. Aphrodite says the trophy says it's meant for “the fairest”. Athena says this could mean fair as in judgment, Then the tension breaks and they link arms.

Ares gets the idea to flip a coin to declare the winner. Prince Paris is on one side and Troy is on the other. Aphrodite calls heads. Athena calls tails.

Chapter 12: Paris Decides
The winner is Aphrodite. She and Athena talk it over and decide to let Eris keep the trophy. After all, she did raise the grades and save Adonis. Eris decides to go home because she misses her friends. The principal has let her come back because she’s secretly been helping repair the roof. Zeus agrees to post a sign that the contest ended in a tie.


My Thoughts:
I really did feel for Ares. All I’ll say is I knoooow what its like to have a sister that’s about strife and discord. DO I? So, I could easily relate! Because I haven’t read a lot of the original mythology stores where these originated it’s always interesting to find out how these were inspired. Just from reading reviews I found out this one comes from a story called “The Golden Apple”. I’ll definitely have to after reading these read more mythology.

Rating: 6

[Cathyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of evil and good. It all started during Are's birthday party when her sister, Eris, goddess of strife and discord, who comes along to start some trouble for MOA. Eris has a golden apple trophy that both Aphrodite and Athena can't resist. They want it for their own. Soon, a competition starts for the highest academic grades, which leads to food fights, arguments, and even cheating! Who will win, Aphrodite or Athena? Who would finally get the golden trophy? Ares tries to warn Aphrodite that his sister is going to make everything troubling without giving away anything about his childhood, in case of embarrassment. Finally, Ares talks some sense into Aphrodite. Aphrodite and Athena start to understand that the golden trophy is enchanted by touch, but probably not for boys. Athena and Aphrodite start to understand that nothing, I mean nothing, could stop them from being friends, and their friendship is even stronger than that golden trophy. The competition ends with Eris getting the golden trophy. She admits that she prefers going back to Earth. Aphrodite thinks it's because Eris has a secret admirer. Pretty much, life turns happily ever after.

[Ashley-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, maybe it was just my copy, but there were a lot of mistakes in this book. Not just little grammar issues, but even Aphrodite's two truths and a lie didn't make sense, and the ending was kind of off as well. I wonder if, because the authors are attempting to churn out so many books to keep up with the demand, the quality is slipping a little? I hope not, but this was the first time I found myself disappointed in a GG book.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book because it has true friendship at the end

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aphrodite is only fair in one sense in this novel. This Goddess Girl book tries to adapt the myth of the Apple of Discord, even though the Judgement of Paris caused the Trojan war, which already happened in the series timeline. It doesn’t work very well. Eris is portrayed more like she was in the original myth, which doesn’t work in a middle school AU. I would actually prefer her being a mischievous prankster than a genuinely villainous juvenile delinquent with bad scene hair. This is a lesser Goddess Girl book than some others.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Goddess Girls novel has me feeling a bit torn. I understand the value in teaching kids the importance of empathizing and forgiving others, but I personally think that Eris got off way too easily. The story was entertaining, but I don’t think that it would be such a bad idea to teach kids to stand up for themselves rather than forgiving and forgetting.

[Amina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how out of the blue Ares sister just showed up and i get shes all mischevous and stuff but i felt kind of bad for her i mean no one liked her and the cats reaction broke my heart. Oh and the secret crush that was kind of unexpected but overall i really liked this book it was intresting to see all the diffrent points of views.

[Sting Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book enough to read it in two sittings! A really good series for 8-12 year olds.

[Birdie]

After reading Pheme's book I just can't look at the main squad (Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, and Persephone) the same. This was a quick read but Aphrodite isn't my favourite protagonist so far.

[Lilliana Schmidt]

I like it but it is not quite as good as the other books.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

as a younger brother with a ''problematic/weird'' eldest brother i could feel it. i literally suffered all the book like Ares did

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are so cute.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goddess Girls is back! After what I felt was a slight lapse in the previous book in this series (Iris the Colorful), this one certainly rekindled the fire! In my opinion, it may be one of the best plots so far; it just felt like exactly what Goddess Girls stories should be. It revolved around the main characters of the series, and their friendship, whilst also involving a broad range of the many other students at MOA and a little bit of romance mixed in here and there.

It was really interesting to be exploring the family of a side character (Ares) in this book, although at first I was sceptical about him having a point-of-view. It felt like a little bit of a cop-out way for the authors to more easily tell the story. Nevertheless, I later warmed to it and ended up enjoying Ares's POV chapters (although the 'Ares and Aphrodite' chapter at the end was sort of lame!). His perspective did mean we got to see more of the godboys, who never fail to make me laugh, and more of Ares as a person, which was nice. I do think his arrogance seemed rather toned down in this book though, to the point where he showed little at all, which didn't seem much like Ares to me.

The ending of this book actually took me by surprise, because I was expecting it to be a simple (and predictable) 'everyone made up and it was all okay' resolution, when actually it was more complex than that. The way that Paris's decision was done was so so clever and inventive! Just another reminder of how good Holub and Williams are at adapting the original myths.

This book was everything I had hoped it would be, and a very strong addition to this series. I love that even after fifteen books, the characters haven't lost their charm and still feel like the same people. I seriously cannot wait for the next one!

[Linda Jaejoong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ares Schwester Eris kommt zu Besuch und sie bringt eine Menge Zwietracht und Chaos mit sich. Ares hat Geburtstag und Aphrodite hat eine große Party für ihn organisiert, als plötzlich seine große Schwester auftaucht. Ab da geht es drunter und drüber in der Schule. Ein Wettkampf bricht aus und plötzlich stehen sich alle als Feinde gegenüber. Nun liegt es an Aphrodite, Athene, Persephone und Artemis wieder in Ordnung ins Chaos zu bringen.

Eigentlich mag ich Aphrodite nicht besonders, aber das Buch hat mir überraschender weise sehr gut gefallen. Die Handlung wird abwechselnd aus ihrer und Ares Sicht erzählt. Vorher war Ares ja nicht mehr als eine Nebenfigur und ich freue mich das wir nun auch endlich etwas mehr über ihn erfahren.

Aphrodite war nervig wie eh und je, deswegen war Ares Perspektive eine willkommene Abwechslung. Er ist sehr sympathisch und ein wenig aufbrausend. Ich finde die Beiden passen nicht zusammen. Er ist der Gott des Krieges und sie die Göttin der Liebe, die zwanzig tausendmal am Tag ihr Kleid wechselt.

Ares Schwester fand ich drollig. Sie hat eine leicht bösartige Seite, aber sie ist nun mal sie Göttin der Zwietracht und des Wettstreites, dafür kann sie nichts. Ich hätte gern ein paar mehr Szenen mit ihr und Ares gehabt, sie sind ja immerhin Geschwister und ich bin der Meinung das sie ihn sehr lieb hat, auch wenn sie das nicht immer zeigen kann.

Fazit: Das Buch war sehr spannend, voller Action und hat sich sehr flüssig lesen lassen. Ich und Aphrodite werden zwar keine Freunde mehr, aber sie ist nicht mehr ganz so nervig wie zu Beginn der Serie. Das Cover ist wieder mal super schick und spiegelt perfekt die Grundstimmung im Buch wieder. Der nächste Band kann kommen!!

[my name is nonya: none ya buissness · Rating 5 out of 5]

The name of the book is Goddess Girls: Aphrodite the Fair, it has 260 pages and is written by Holub and Suzanne Williams.
Aphrodite is throwing her crush Ares a party! But then his sister Eris shows up, no one knows but she is the goddess of strife and discord and used to beat up on Ares when they were growing up. Eris brings a trophy with her, that has an enchantment on it for any girl who touches it will want it at any cost. Eris comes up with a competition to help grades and cause trouble, there are two teams, each competes to see who can get the best grades throughout two weeks.
Eris makes Athena and Aphrodite (two bffs) the team leaders. She lets each of them hold the trophy so that way they each want it terribly, the competition causes fights and the more discord she causes the more powerful she is. Eventually the girls and Ares and Hercules realize the enchantment and talk to Zeus, in the end Eris goes home and everything goes back to normal.
I liked the book because it was very interesting to watch how two best friends almost become enemies over an enchanted trophy. I liked that the book makes Greek mythology into something kids can understand better. Athena and Aphrodite are my favorite, because they are best friends and even though the trophy made them turn against each other eventually their friendship overcame it.
I would definitely recommend the book to others because its a good read, its interesting, and it makes Greek mythology more fun to read.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book in this adorable series! We get to meet Eris: Ares' older and discord-causing sister. She has a trophy that both Aphrodite and Athena will do almost anything to win. But will their struggle for the prize destroy their friendship? And their relationships with their crushes?

This was fun and we even got to see a slightly soft side of Eris towards the end. There were even a few chapters from Ares' point of view and that rounded out the story nicely. A good addition to the series!

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a very good book and it had a very good message: never let anything get in-between friendships. Usually the goddess girl books only have the opinion of the goddess girls but this book had the opinions of the god boy Ares as well. This was one of my favourite goddess girl book and it was very enjoyable

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really sweet little book, and I loved the characters and events and dialogue and everything. Creative! I liked the introduction of Eris, and what they did to the original myth. There's always that theme of friendship and happiness running through this book, which is awesome.

[Narariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be neither really good nor really bad. It did have some enjoyable connections to the "Judgement of Paris" myth but I felt a bit like the story didn't use the characters to their full potential. There were some interesting twists but the ending was a bit predictable.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the dual chapters/voices of Aphrodite and Ares. That made this a quick and interesting read.

2015 PopSugar Reading Challenge - A book you can finish in a day

[Aiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love the whole series!! ares and aphrodite

[Shevaun Yip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was quite good since it relates to our daily lives and gives us some brief information about greek mythology.

[Kaytee · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was amazing and the book was really good and i like ares sister because i like how she causes trouble but in a good way not in a bad way but the book was fabulous. kaytee

[Kk]

How do you read this?

[Nishka K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been so long since I read this... eris is annoying

[Rachelle Macas]

it has a great story..