What do you think?
Rate this book
Odd Gods #1
Odd Gods: A Hilarious Middle Grade Fantasy About Greek Gods at Mount Olympus Middle School for Kids
Diary of Wimpy Kid meets Percy Jackson in Odd Gods, a new three-book, highly illustrated, paper-over-board middle grade series about the most unlikely, unusual Gods ever to grace the halls of Mount Olympus Middle School.
Oddonis may be the son of Zeus, but he’s a little bit . . . odd for a God. He’s so odd, in fact, he’s not sure if he has any powers at all. And if that isn’t bad enough, his twin brother, Adonis, is everything Oddonis isn’t. He’s the most popular, most athletic, and most otherworldly-handsome God of them all. Even if Oddonis is just starting Mount Olympus Middle, his future isn’t looking bright, not after he makes the last-minute decision to run against Adonis to be class president. Losing to his own brother by a landslide is not how Oddonis wants to start sixth grade. So with the help of his friends Mathena (Goddess of math and, yes, poultry), Germes (God of all things sniffling and snotty), Gaseous (enough said?) and Puneous (the smallest God of them all), Oddonis hatches a plan to win the race, prove that the Odds are just as good as the Gods, and maybe, just maybe, find out what his true powers really are.
Read the hilarious new adventures of Oddonis and his friends from debut children’s authors David Slavin and Daniel Weitzman, filled with dozens of black-and-white illustrations by award-winning artist Adam Lane.
Oddonis may be the son of Zeus, but he’s a little bit . . . odd for a God. He’s so odd, in fact, he’s not sure if he has any powers at all. And if that isn’t bad enough, his twin brother, Adonis, is everything Oddonis isn’t. He’s the most popular, most athletic, and most otherworldly-handsome God of them all. Even if Oddonis is just starting Mount Olympus Middle, his future isn’t looking bright, not after he makes the last-minute decision to run against Adonis to be class president. Losing to his own brother by a landslide is not how Oddonis wants to start sixth grade. So with the help of his friends Mathena (Goddess of math and, yes, poultry), Germes (God of all things sniffling and snotty), Gaseous (enough said?) and Puneous (the smallest God of them all), Oddonis hatches a plan to win the race, prove that the Odds are just as good as the Gods, and maybe, just maybe, find out what his true powers really are.
Read the hilarious new adventures of Oddonis and his friends from debut children’s authors David Slavin and Daniel Weitzman, filled with dozens of black-and-white illustrations by award-winning artist Adam Lane.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 14, 2019
30 people are currently reading
2034 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
February 23, 2020
'Odd Gods' bekt toch net wat lekkerder dan 'Gekke Goden', maar deze net verschenen tegenhanger van 'Julius Zebra' over de Griekse mythologie is prima te pruimen. Lollig (een drie-kontige hond genaamd Trianus sums it up pretty good) en niet per se ontzettend leerzaam.
Kakdonis is als mislukte broer van Adonis gedoemd te falen, maar pikt de plagerijen en onderdrukking niet langer: hij stelt zich verkiesbaar als klassenvertegenwoordiger. Met strijdwagens aangedreven door scheten en support van een wiskunde-nerd en de tiny Ieniemieniemus als gevolg.
Je moet ervan houden, maar leuk voor 8/9+ lezers die nog te jong zijn voor de 'Chaotische Goden' van Billy Bones - dat overigens een stuk verfijnder in zijn humor is.
#OddGods #vertaling #ManonSikkel #GekkeGoden #Grieksemythologie @luitingh @vibkids #Kak #debroervan #Adonis
Kakdonis is als mislukte broer van Adonis gedoemd te falen, maar pikt de plagerijen en onderdrukking niet langer: hij stelt zich verkiesbaar als klassenvertegenwoordiger. Met strijdwagens aangedreven door scheten en support van een wiskunde-nerd en de tiny Ieniemieniemus als gevolg.
Je moet ervan houden, maar leuk voor 8/9+ lezers die nog te jong zijn voor de 'Chaotische Goden' van Billy Bones - dat overigens een stuk verfijnder in zijn humor is.
#OddGods #vertaling #ManonSikkel #GekkeGoden #Grieksemythologie @luitingh @vibkids #Kak #debroervan #Adonis
April 8, 2022
Amazing! This book shows you that even if your strange, you should still be loved.
March 27, 2020
Over de Griekse Goden weet ik best veel, maar van Kakdonis had ik nog nooit gehoord. Ik wist niet goed wat ik van dit boek moest verwachten, maar ik heb er hardop om zitten lachen. Wat een grappig boek!
Kakdonis is een beetje een mislukkeling, maar hij bedoelt het allemaal goed. Zijn vrienden zijn stuk voor stuk ook hilarisch. Gassus laat de hele dag scheten, bedoeld en onbedoeld. Bacterius is de meeste tijd in de vuilnisbak te vinden op zoek naar eten en Insomnia is de beste in wiskunde, maar is ook de godin van de kippen. Ieniemieniemus is zoals zijn naam al doet vermoeden heel klein. Alles wat hij zegt in het boek, is ook in kleinere letters gezet, erg leuk detail!
Het zal voor kinderen herkenbaar zijn hoe Kakdonis zich voelt op een nieuwe school. Je hebt populaire kinderen, maar ook de minder populaire. In dit boek de goden en de niet goden genoemd. Het boek staat vol met leuke woordgrapjes en verwijzingen naar onze wereld. Kinderen met een grote woordenschat zullen misschien meer grapjes begrijpen, maar gelukkig blijven er genoeg grappen over. Het eerste moment dat ik hardop moest lachen, was toen ze vertelden hoe de gymmeester heet.
“Onze gymleraar, meester Glutus Maximus, blaast op zijn fluitje en zet dat we in een cirkel moeten gaan staan.” p. 99
Gekke Goden van de Olympus is dus een grappig boek vol met herkenbare situaties. Ook kun je leren dat je met doorzettingsvermogen heel ver kunt komen. Op de rug staat een 1 dus ik verwacht dat er meer boeken zullen verschijnen met Kakdonis. Ik verheug me er al op!
Kakdonis is een beetje een mislukkeling, maar hij bedoelt het allemaal goed. Zijn vrienden zijn stuk voor stuk ook hilarisch. Gassus laat de hele dag scheten, bedoeld en onbedoeld. Bacterius is de meeste tijd in de vuilnisbak te vinden op zoek naar eten en Insomnia is de beste in wiskunde, maar is ook de godin van de kippen. Ieniemieniemus is zoals zijn naam al doet vermoeden heel klein. Alles wat hij zegt in het boek, is ook in kleinere letters gezet, erg leuk detail!
Het zal voor kinderen herkenbaar zijn hoe Kakdonis zich voelt op een nieuwe school. Je hebt populaire kinderen, maar ook de minder populaire. In dit boek de goden en de niet goden genoemd. Het boek staat vol met leuke woordgrapjes en verwijzingen naar onze wereld. Kinderen met een grote woordenschat zullen misschien meer grapjes begrijpen, maar gelukkig blijven er genoeg grappen over. Het eerste moment dat ik hardop moest lachen, was toen ze vertelden hoe de gymmeester heet.
“Onze gymleraar, meester Glutus Maximus, blaast op zijn fluitje en zet dat we in een cirkel moeten gaan staan.” p. 99
Gekke Goden van de Olympus is dus een grappig boek vol met herkenbare situaties. Ook kun je leren dat je met doorzettingsvermogen heel ver kunt komen. Op de rug staat een 1 dus ik verwacht dat er meer boeken zullen verschijnen met Kakdonis. Ik verheug me er al op!
May 29, 2019
3.5 stars. This is laid out like a Jedi Academy book with text and illustrations. It's a solid middle school/sibling rivalry story set in a twisted version of Greek mythology. I heard a book seller describe this as Percy Jackson meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Percy Jackson fans might be disappointed in this one - it's a silly take on mythology. But Wimpy Kid fans (or Jedi Academy or Timmy Failure, etc.) might enjoy this. The wrap up at the end with the election was good.
June 17, 2019
Review originally posted on my blog,
Nine Pages
.
I am going to start out by saying that this book I read because work “required” it rather than because it is anything that I would have chosen. The necessity of my reading it (to be able to feel adequately prepared to lead a discussion using this book and three others as launch points) has colored my reading, and despite the event going fairly well overall, I can’t un-color my opinion.
I read an ARC of this book over two days. The ARC was missing a few illustrations, and several of the illustrations I think were unfinished, still having a more sketchy quality than others in the book.
David Slavin and Daniel Weitzman’s Odd Gods, illustrated by Adam J. B. Lane, is a middle school of cliques and stereotypes, “bathroom humor,” bad puns, and representations of mythological characters that are largely unsupported by ancient canon. Adonis and Oddonis are twin boys born to Zeus and Freya. Let’s start there. Zeus isn’t one to create a stable household. Would he have bedded a Norse goddess? Almost certainly if opportunity presented itself. Would he have stayed with her? Almost certainly not. Hera is completely absent from Slavin’s mythos here. If she hadn’t been, Freya would have been roasted, starting a war between the Vanir and the Greek gods. If Odd’s mother had been Hera and not Freya, he probably would have been cast off of Mount Olympus like her other imperfect son by Zeus. The Greek Adonis is mortal, not a god, or at least he began that way, and his death gave rise to the anemone and a festival commemorating his death. DON’T look for this to help you ace your mythology test, because it won’t. Go back to Riordan for that.
Here Adonis is a god, the Greek ideal in contrast to his odd twin brother. The gods are the cool kids of the school who bully and cheat their way to the best of everything that the middle school has to offer. The odds are the rejects of the school. It’s a tired trope that I’ve seen better done. In this school they seem to be split near 50/50, though we only get a few main characters from each pack: Adonis, Poseidon, Heracles, and Aphrodite vs. Odd, Mathena, Germes, Puneous, and Gaseous. (Note that that’s only two girls in a horde or boys too. I think this might pass a Bechdel test if I am correctly remembering the math teacher to be a woman, but the only interaction that I concretely remember is between any two women in the whole story is Aphrodite bullying Mathena, so if it passes, it doesn’t pass well.)
Math is singled out in this novel as a particularly abhorrent subject, and Mathena is the only god relegated to Odd’s group of outcasts.
That is laudable, a good lesson: ask for help and work hard, and you might be rewarded.
Odd and the “odd gods” come to grips with their oddness by accepting and acknowledging their quirks and that the things that make them unusual make them individual. The gods acknowledge odd quirks in themselves too (particularly fears and superstitions), and tout themselves as individual too because of them.
Personally, I’m ready to set aside this idea that this is middle school: everyone breaks off into their stereotyped roles, hangs out together in packs of like-stereotyped individuals, and the “cooler” kids bully the individualists, the “kids like me” (I think it rare that anyone sees themselves as a Heather, Plastic, or a jock from such films and books). I think it’s time we start modeling what middle school could be instead of telling kids that this is what middle school was like for me, and this is what it will be like for you. It won’t improve until we tell them that they don’t have to accept what they see. And though many of these films and books resolve by some re-balancing of power, whether the cool kids are knocked off the pedestal or the outcasts gain some power, the model, the beginning framework is still the same. High School Musical actually resolved this well, better I think than did Odd Gods, with the breaking up of the caste system, the rejection of the “status quo,” the release of everyone to explore their own interests. I think High School Musical surpasses Odd Gods in part because the kids are given some more control over the things that make them individual, where Odd Gods' quirks are inherent and innate.
In the tradition of epilogues destroying a decent ending (I’m looking at you, Rowling),
Overall, there was too much that I personally didn’t like about this book for me to rate it well. My bar for books based on mythology is set awfully high, and this book took a limbo approach to this high jump competition while relying on tired tropes and negative representations of school atmosphere.
But it was all right. The lessons of inclusivity and acceptance and equality and standing up for oneself and one’s friends, of hard work and of not being afraid to ask for help, and the forgiveness of friends were good.
I am going to start out by saying that this book I read because work “required” it rather than because it is anything that I would have chosen. The necessity of my reading it (to be able to feel adequately prepared to lead a discussion using this book and three others as launch points) has colored my reading, and despite the event going fairly well overall, I can’t un-color my opinion.
I read an ARC of this book over two days. The ARC was missing a few illustrations, and several of the illustrations I think were unfinished, still having a more sketchy quality than others in the book.
David Slavin and Daniel Weitzman’s Odd Gods, illustrated by Adam J. B. Lane, is a middle school of cliques and stereotypes, “bathroom humor,” bad puns, and representations of mythological characters that are largely unsupported by ancient canon. Adonis and Oddonis are twin boys born to Zeus and Freya. Let’s start there. Zeus isn’t one to create a stable household. Would he have bedded a Norse goddess? Almost certainly if opportunity presented itself. Would he have stayed with her? Almost certainly not. Hera is completely absent from Slavin’s mythos here. If she hadn’t been, Freya would have been roasted, starting a war between the Vanir and the Greek gods. If Odd’s mother had been Hera and not Freya, he probably would have been cast off of Mount Olympus like her other imperfect son by Zeus. The Greek Adonis is mortal, not a god, or at least he began that way, and his death gave rise to the anemone and a festival commemorating his death. DON’T look for this to help you ace your mythology test, because it won’t. Go back to Riordan for that.
Here Adonis is a god, the Greek ideal in contrast to his odd twin brother. The gods are the cool kids of the school who bully and cheat their way to the best of everything that the middle school has to offer. The odds are the rejects of the school. It’s a tired trope that I’ve seen better done. In this school they seem to be split near 50/50, though we only get a few main characters from each pack: Adonis, Poseidon, Heracles, and Aphrodite vs. Odd, Mathena, Germes, Puneous, and Gaseous. (Note that that’s only two girls in a horde or boys too. I think this might pass a Bechdel test if I am correctly remembering the math teacher to be a woman, but the only interaction that I concretely remember is between any two women in the whole story is Aphrodite bullying Mathena, so if it passes, it doesn’t pass well.)
Math is singled out in this novel as a particularly abhorrent subject, and Mathena is the only god relegated to Odd’s group of outcasts.
That is laudable, a good lesson: ask for help and work hard, and you might be rewarded.
Odd and the “odd gods” come to grips with their oddness by accepting and acknowledging their quirks and that the things that make them unusual make them individual. The gods acknowledge odd quirks in themselves too (particularly fears and superstitions), and tout themselves as individual too because of them.
Personally, I’m ready to set aside this idea that this is middle school: everyone breaks off into their stereotyped roles, hangs out together in packs of like-stereotyped individuals, and the “cooler” kids bully the individualists, the “kids like me” (I think it rare that anyone sees themselves as a Heather, Plastic, or a jock from such films and books). I think it’s time we start modeling what middle school could be instead of telling kids that this is what middle school was like for me, and this is what it will be like for you. It won’t improve until we tell them that they don’t have to accept what they see. And though many of these films and books resolve by some re-balancing of power, whether the cool kids are knocked off the pedestal or the outcasts gain some power, the model, the beginning framework is still the same. High School Musical actually resolved this well, better I think than did Odd Gods, with the breaking up of the caste system, the rejection of the “status quo,” the release of everyone to explore their own interests. I think High School Musical surpasses Odd Gods in part because the kids are given some more control over the things that make them individual, where Odd Gods' quirks are inherent and innate.
In the tradition of epilogues destroying a decent ending (I’m looking at you, Rowling),
Overall, there was too much that I personally didn’t like about this book for me to rate it well. My bar for books based on mythology is set awfully high, and this book took a limbo approach to this high jump competition while relying on tired tropes and negative representations of school atmosphere.
But it was all right. The lessons of inclusivity and acceptance and equality and standing up for oneself and one’s friends, of hard work and of not being afraid to ask for help, and the forgiveness of friends were good.
June 7, 2021
This book was good! I liked the plot and everything. The only thing that I disliked was that the Greek Myth facts were wrong. Either way, I loved the art, the book, the plot, everything! Very entertaining! I hope to get the second book!
March 17, 2020
Come see a twin brother discover his own strength and his own friends despite being not as fabulous as his twin brother.
I read this book in Dutch (where it is called Gekke Goden van Olympus) but I want to write my review in English.
We all know that one person in your life who does so much better than you, often that is a friend, but in Oddonis case that is his twinbrother, Adonis. Yep, Adonis, that Adonis. You can imagine that he is charismatic, gorgeous (well, I guess), fabulous. And also a dick, but that is something he only truly shows at school/away from his parents. Even Zeus, their father, loves his fabulous son more than his odd son. So throughout the book we see Oddonis try to find his way in life, to make something out of it despite living in the shadow of his brother. I felt so sorry for Oddonis that he had to go through all the things he went through. No one deserves that. That is why I was rooting like mad for Oddonis to find his place and to make something out of these lemons life is giving him. I wanted to see him gain more confidence and find his powers. I loved how fast he found friends and how they all helped him out when he decided to go up against his brother in the elections for student president.
Throughout the book we see many references to the world/greek mythology, we read about Freya and her love for strange food, we see Olympus, we read about gods (and that there is a big discrimination going on with gods vs those without powers), we see various famous gods/goddesses walking around or be talked about. I really had so much as I love Greek Mythology.
Plus, there is tons of humour and puns to make the book a hilarious and fun trip.
Translation-wise: While I did love how the story flowed and how the humour was kept (which believe me isn't easy given how often the humour and jokes get lost in translation) I am a bit sad that they destroyed Mathena's name and changed it to Insomnia... I mean if you are going to keep the other names themed to the book's theme than you can also keep the name. The other 3 friends have mostly kept their name or very close to it (like I just love how Puneous became Ieniemieniemus).
The art was quite fun and fitting with the silly and weird story!
All in all, I do hope for more of these books as I definitely want to see what is next for Oddonis. I would recommend this book to all who are in the mood for a silly book and love Greek Mythology.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I read this book in Dutch (where it is called Gekke Goden van Olympus) but I want to write my review in English.
We all know that one person in your life who does so much better than you, often that is a friend, but in Oddonis case that is his twinbrother, Adonis. Yep, Adonis, that Adonis. You can imagine that he is charismatic, gorgeous (well, I guess), fabulous. And also a dick, but that is something he only truly shows at school/away from his parents. Even Zeus, their father, loves his fabulous son more than his odd son. So throughout the book we see Oddonis try to find his way in life, to make something out of it despite living in the shadow of his brother. I felt so sorry for Oddonis that he had to go through all the things he went through. No one deserves that. That is why I was rooting like mad for Oddonis to find his place and to make something out of these lemons life is giving him. I wanted to see him gain more confidence and find his powers. I loved how fast he found friends and how they all helped him out when he decided to go up against his brother in the elections for student president.
Throughout the book we see many references to the world/greek mythology, we read about Freya and her love for strange food, we see Olympus, we read about gods (and that there is a big discrimination going on with gods vs those without powers), we see various famous gods/goddesses walking around or be talked about. I really had so much as I love Greek Mythology.
Plus, there is tons of humour and puns to make the book a hilarious and fun trip.
Translation-wise: While I did love how the story flowed and how the humour was kept (which believe me isn't easy given how often the humour and jokes get lost in translation) I am a bit sad that they destroyed Mathena's name and changed it to Insomnia... I mean if you are going to keep the other names themed to the book's theme than you can also keep the name. The other 3 friends have mostly kept their name or very close to it (like I just love how Puneous became Ieniemieniemus).
The art was quite fun and fitting with the silly and weird story!
All in all, I do hope for more of these books as I definitely want to see what is next for Oddonis. I would recommend this book to all who are in the mood for a silly book and love Greek Mythology.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
February 16, 2021
Not a book I would’ve picked up but after reading the synopsis of the book I gave it a try because I love 1. Love anything to do with gods whether it’s Greek, Roman, Egyptian.... etc. and 2. It just looked so darn cute.
So there’s this boy named oddonis who is well odd and a bit strange. His parents are Zeus the almighty god and his mother is Freya a Nordic goddess. She gave birth to two boys as you know oddonis and Adonis. This is his first year in middle school and he meets his new friends( who are also odd) who help him run for class president. His opponent is his mean brother Adonis.
I did thoroughly enjoy this book, even though it is one of those middle school books. It was a fast read, for being middle grade it was very easy to follow. I also loved the pictures, and I want to continue with the series.
So there’s this boy named oddonis who is well odd and a bit strange. His parents are Zeus the almighty god and his mother is Freya a Nordic goddess. She gave birth to two boys as you know oddonis and Adonis. This is his first year in middle school and he meets his new friends( who are also odd) who help him run for class president. His opponent is his mean brother Adonis.
I did thoroughly enjoy this book, even though it is one of those middle school books. It was a fast read, for being middle grade it was very easy to follow. I also loved the pictures, and I want to continue with the series.
March 26, 2021
Adam Lane (who illustrated the books) is a childhood friend, so I bought this series for my daughter who loved them! She reads them (late!) into the night and can’t help giggling to herself and retelling the story in the morning, laughing. Good to introduce mythology too.
April 22, 2019
Funny cute middle grade book.
Had me laughing like crazy even though it was for kids.
Had me laughing like crazy even though it was for kids.
November 6, 2018
"Revenge of the Nerds", Middle Grade Greek Style
In the original "Revenge of the Nerds" the oddball underdogs had to prevail over the "Greek" fraternities and sororities. In this version we cut out the middleman, and everyone is Greek right from the outset. Kidding aside, this is a charming and very funny school daze, family, friendship, self-discovery comedy with a surplus of clever and witty wordplay.
We start with two twin boys. The premise is that one of the boys, Adonis, is a perfect young god. The twin, our hero, is Oddonis, a good-hearted but sort of schlubby regular kid. The two are starting middle school, and Oddonis hopes that, with the influx of lots of kids from other elementary schools, he'll be able to turn over a new leaf. Turns out that the God versus non-God social structure persists, and may be even worse than in elementary school. What will become of Oddonis?
You can see it coming, but that's not a fault. Oddonis has his pal Gaseous, (who farts when nervous). He meets tiny mini-God Puneous. There's slobby Germes. And there's a new gal pal - Mathena, the Goddess of Math and Poultry. Together, through means of a school election, they resolve to stand up to the snotty perfect Gods and level the playing field for the non Gods.
Here's the thing. Oddonis is a engagingly deadpan narrator with an easygoing charm. His best bud Gaseous is a dependable wingman. Easily agitated Puneous is a hoot, and unflappable Mathena is the understated brains in the group. The plot unfolds smoothly, with interesting twists and turns. Along the way Oddonis and Adonis have to come to grips with being brothers. Their Dad, Zeus, has to figure out how to be fair to both. The nerd non-Gods have to have their moment. And the friends have to work together and stay friends in the face of various challenges.
This is all upbeat and lighthearted. It's also funny, on a lot of levels. There is wordplay with every name. (Instead of having a three headed dog, like Cerberus, Oddonis has a dog with three butts. He's named "Trianus". I'm sorry, but the middle grader in me thinks that's funny.) There are funny school life throw-away lines on every page. (School food, teachers, morning assembly, gym class, and so on.) There is clever banter among the friends, and everything from fart jokes to slightly edgy observations. Even the illustrations are amusing and good-natured, add energy to the pages, and nicely illustrate the action.
The upshot is that this looked like a clever tale right at the outset. But the more I read the more I came to admire and appreciate what a witty and well balanced story was being told. This was a very happy find.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
In the original "Revenge of the Nerds" the oddball underdogs had to prevail over the "Greek" fraternities and sororities. In this version we cut out the middleman, and everyone is Greek right from the outset. Kidding aside, this is a charming and very funny school daze, family, friendship, self-discovery comedy with a surplus of clever and witty wordplay.
We start with two twin boys. The premise is that one of the boys, Adonis, is a perfect young god. The twin, our hero, is Oddonis, a good-hearted but sort of schlubby regular kid. The two are starting middle school, and Oddonis hopes that, with the influx of lots of kids from other elementary schools, he'll be able to turn over a new leaf. Turns out that the God versus non-God social structure persists, and may be even worse than in elementary school. What will become of Oddonis?
You can see it coming, but that's not a fault. Oddonis has his pal Gaseous, (who farts when nervous). He meets tiny mini-God Puneous. There's slobby Germes. And there's a new gal pal - Mathena, the Goddess of Math and Poultry. Together, through means of a school election, they resolve to stand up to the snotty perfect Gods and level the playing field for the non Gods.
Here's the thing. Oddonis is a engagingly deadpan narrator with an easygoing charm. His best bud Gaseous is a dependable wingman. Easily agitated Puneous is a hoot, and unflappable Mathena is the understated brains in the group. The plot unfolds smoothly, with interesting twists and turns. Along the way Oddonis and Adonis have to come to grips with being brothers. Their Dad, Zeus, has to figure out how to be fair to both. The nerd non-Gods have to have their moment. And the friends have to work together and stay friends in the face of various challenges.
This is all upbeat and lighthearted. It's also funny, on a lot of levels. There is wordplay with every name. (Instead of having a three headed dog, like Cerberus, Oddonis has a dog with three butts. He's named "Trianus". I'm sorry, but the middle grader in me thinks that's funny.) There are funny school life throw-away lines on every page. (School food, teachers, morning assembly, gym class, and so on.) There is clever banter among the friends, and everything from fart jokes to slightly edgy observations. Even the illustrations are amusing and good-natured, add energy to the pages, and nicely illustrate the action.
The upshot is that this looked like a clever tale right at the outset. But the more I read the more I came to admire and appreciate what a witty and well balanced story was being told. This was a very happy find.
(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
December 6, 2021
This is a pretty cute middle grade novel about Oddonis, twin brother to Greek god Adonis, and his venture into middle school.
February 28, 2020
What if Adonis had a twin brother?
July 27, 2019
I think the subtitle says it all: "Misfit Myths From Mount Olympus Middle School." Poor Oddinis is Zeus's son, but his father only has eyes for Oddinis' twin, Adonis who is everything you would expect in a god, with an ego to match. Now both are in middle school and it's clear that the teen gods get all the good stuff, while the misfits get nothing. When Adonis runs for class president Oddinis decides to run against him. Who will win? This is clearly aimed at a boy audience, with plenty of rude humor. It hits the high-interest, low-vocabulary crowd and has plenty of black and white illustrations (which may actually turn off a middle school reader). In fact, it really seems aimed at 3rd to 5th graders. Frankly, I think Holub's "Heroes in Training" and "Goddess Girls" series are better, but readers who like those will doubtless also enjoy this, which seems to be the first in a proposed series.
December 9, 2019
Oddonis is the younger brother of Adonis and they are both starting middle school. Adonis is a god. Oddonis is not. Now it is time to pick a class president and Oddonis has decided to make it a race for Adonis. Can he and his crew win?
This story is fun! I love Oddonis and his crew. They are a sorry bunch and yet I wanted them to win. I loved how Mathena (top in math) finally gets through to Oddonis about math and how they use it to campaign. Oddonis' speech was from the heart. The drawings help during the speech. At least explain the non-gods reaction. I enjoyed the election but I will not ruin it by revealing the results. Read the book.
I look forward to further adventures with Oddonis and his motley crew.
This story is fun! I love Oddonis and his crew. They are a sorry bunch and yet I wanted them to win. I loved how Mathena (top in math) finally gets through to Oddonis about math and how they use it to campaign. Oddonis' speech was from the heart. The drawings help during the speech. At least explain the non-gods reaction. I enjoyed the election but I will not ruin it by revealing the results. Read the book.
I look forward to further adventures with Oddonis and his motley crew.
April 11, 2019
This is a funny book with a great message about embracing who you are in order to find your strengths. There are a lot of gross out and fart jokes so be prepared for that type of humor but there are also jokes about the gods and middle school in general. My one complaint is there isn't much explanation of who the gods are, their powers, and stories so this is definitely a book for readers who are already familiar with mythology. I think its a great book for kids who may be nervous about going to middle school or fitting in who love mythology and fart jokes.
April 18, 2020
**Goodreads giveaway recipient**
I often read children’s, middle grade, YA books to see what is out there for my own kids to read.
While this book is quirky and clever in some respects, and I appreciate the friendship and group effort themes, it also has way too much....gross (for lack of a better word). Often the kind of bathroom humor young boys think is hilarious, but not necessarily the kind of jokes that would bring “acceptable literature for my children” to mind.
So—not terrible, but not great...meh.
I often read children’s, middle grade, YA books to see what is out there for my own kids to read.
While this book is quirky and clever in some respects, and I appreciate the friendship and group effort themes, it also has way too much....gross (for lack of a better word). Often the kind of bathroom humor young boys think is hilarious, but not necessarily the kind of jokes that would bring “acceptable literature for my children” to mind.
So—not terrible, but not great...meh.
September 17, 2020
I read this out loud to the boys (7 and 9). We enjoyed it and laughed together. It was a fun read aloud book, but I expect it would be a good book for reluctant readers as well. It's a chapter book with a lot of pictures to keep it friendly for kids who are intimidated by a full page of text. It's a fast paced story about perseverance and fitting in and, it has plenty of juvenile humor for the little boys. Kids with some familiarity with Greek Mythology will get the most out of the jokes, but foreknowledge isn't a requirement.
January 4, 2019
Oddonis, the twin of Adonis, is well, odd. Through the book the oddball kids become friends and the popular gods harass them. When Adonis decides to run for class president, no one wants to oppose him, until Oddonis does. Through the process Oddonis learns that Adonis MIGHT be a little jealous of him, how to become better at math (study), and what his "power" is. Zeus also learns about his sons and Oddonis understands him better.
May 18, 2019
The overall themes of the book are good, especially thinking about the age of the audience this is geared towards. But, for me, the constant adding ‘-onis,’ ‘-ena,’ ‘-eous,’ etc. to the end of English words to make ‘Greek’ sounding names got old and just playing too much on stereotypes. But, maybe it’ll get some kids interested in knowing more about Greek mythology some day?
However, even though this was not for me really, I can see many kids enjoying this book.
However, even though this was not for me really, I can see many kids enjoying this book.
April 20, 2020
This is a great little book. It is light years better than either captain underpants or the diary of wimpy kid. It's funny, it's boy-style funny, it will totally appeal to any adult who has paid attention to politics the last few years, it has a bit of an educational component, first it has a fluffed up and jumbled version of multiple presidential speeches, and there are of course the complex greek gods, but funny. Any boy will eat this book up in a matter of hours.
November 21, 2020
This is an interesting tale about two sons of Zeus. One of them is perfect in every way the other one is on. The two of them compete to become president of the school class. Miraculously the boat is evenly divided between them. The odd brother learns that his power is to help others be their own best. Apparently, that is an equal type of perfect.
January 11, 2021
Had a hard time deciding if it should be one star or two. The message is fine, I guess, but this is not my kind of book. Lots of illustrations and little-boy humour, and a very familiar-sounding story of underdogs who come out on top. I will be leaving the sequels in the library for the middle school boys to find.
January 4, 2022
Ik vind mythologie altijd een leuke insteek voor een boek en was benieuwd wat dit in een kinderboek zou brengen. Het idee voor het verhaal is leuk maar wel vrij eentonig. Aan 1 hoofdstuk heb je eigenlijk al genoeg om het boek te snappen. Er gebeurt te weinig in dit boek en het verrast niet. Op de laatste bladzijde zit er nog een leuk grapje. De tekeningen zijn leuk gedaan.
April 27, 2019
Great new book for middle grade kids, especially those who’ve read Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Such a fun read with a message- embrace who you are to find your power. Even has a bit of “Revenge of the Nerds” feel with the odd kids versus the “god” kids.
July 8, 2019
I enjoyed this book! I thought it was a perfect bridging book for kids going from beginning chapter books to the full on 9-12 section. It’s full of silliness and puns. I also really enjoyed the artwork. In my opinion it’ll make a great new series for reluctant readers.
November 30, 2019
A cute independent reader. I liked some of the twists, like having Freya with Zeus (although, I am curious where Hera was at and how she'd feel about that). And I thought there was a good message of being yourself, and how we're all a little odd.
February 25, 2020
Perfect for those who love Dog Man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Captain Underpants. A funny take on Mythology. It was kind of like a mix of Disney's Sky High with the three previously mentioned book and set in middle school.
June 16, 2020
Highly offensive art work on p.150. Adonis draws a picture of his brother, Oddonis being hung. This is highly inappropriate for children 8-12. If a child/teen drew a picture of murdering/hanging another classmate they would be expelled.
I will be contacting author and publisher.
I will be contacting author and publisher.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews