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Muse Squad #2
Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth: The Middle Grade Fantasy Sequel About a Cuban American Girl, Greek Muses, and Fate for Kids
The finale of an action-packed middle grade fantasy duology about a young Cuban American girl who discovers that she’s one of the nine muses of Greek mythology. Perfect for fans of The Serpent’s Secret , the Aru Shah series, and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Callie Martinez-Silva is finally getting the hang of this whole goddess within thing. Six months after learning she was one of the nine muses of ancient myth, she and the other junior muses are ready for new adventures. Except first Callie has to go to New York City for the summer to visit her dad, stepmom, and new baby brother. Then the muses get startling an unprecedented tenth muse has been awakened somewhere in Queens, putting Callie in the perfect position to help find her. And she’ll have help—thanks to a runaway mold problem in London, Muse Headquarters is moving to the New York Hall of Science. But balancing missions and family-mandated arts camp proves difficult for Callie, especially once mysterious messages from spiders (yikes!) begin to weave a tale of ancient injustice involving Callie’s campmate Ari. Now Callie and her friends have to make a follow orders and find the tenth muse or trust that sometimes fate has other plans.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published July 6, 2021
6 people are currently reading
1415 people want to read
About the author
Chantel Acevedo
16 books242 followersCalled "a master storyteller" by Kirkus Reviews, Chantel Acevedo is the author of Love and Ghost Letters, A Falling Star, The Distant Marvels, which was a finalist for the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and most recently, The Living Infinite, hailed by Booklist as a "vivid and enthralling tale of love and redemption." Her essays have appeared in Vogue and Real Simple, among others. THE MUSE SQUAD: THE CASSANDRA CURSE, is a new middle grade series forthcoming from Balzer + Bray. She is a Professor of English at the University of Miami, where she directs in the MFA program.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 8, 2021
It's been six months since Callie and the Muse squad (aka the other three muses that are kids) defeated Ms. Rinse and the sirens that literally were trying to end their lives. Callie is officially a big sister and set to spend her summer in Queens with her Papi, her stepmom Laura, and her baby brother Rafelito. Callie finds out that the new headquarters for the muses is only a few blocks away at the New York Hall of Science. What Callie doesn't expect is being forced to attend a summer school program for the arts. Now she must find a way to balance the new secret mission the muses have with the arts program that her family is forcing her to do.
This was such a fantastic follow up to Muse Squad: The Cassandra Curse. I already loved Callie and her girl gang of pre-teen muses, but what I enjoyed most about this book is Callie's inner examination of what she is good at versus her ability to influence and create heroes that are meant to have their stories told. The other girls in the muse squad have their own interests such as gymnastics and science, but Callie is constantly questioning where she belongs and what she's meant to do.
Okay, let's to get the whole story line surrounding Ari. Let's just say, I wasn't ready for all of the spiders. As someone who is arachnophobic, those scenes were a bit much for my to take in. Anyways, I really enjoyed Ari as a character, but she serves as the antithesis to the muse squad. Where they are still figuring out this whole saving the world thing, Ari is confident, independent, and gifted with her abilities. I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling and thought it was such a creative spin especially for younger readers.
The pacing of the story was engaging from start to finish. There's moments of intensity when the muse squad it trying to save the world, which is balanced out with Callie adjusting to having two families as well as what her future holds. Some of the best moments were the ones between her and her family.
Overall, this is such a fantastic series that breathes life into Greek mythology that not only offers young, BIPOC readers the opportunity to see themselves represented on page but also to get swept up in an epic quest!
Thank you Paola for the blog tour invite. Thank you to Balzer + Bray for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
This was such a fantastic follow up to Muse Squad: The Cassandra Curse. I already loved Callie and her girl gang of pre-teen muses, but what I enjoyed most about this book is Callie's inner examination of what she is good at versus her ability to influence and create heroes that are meant to have their stories told. The other girls in the muse squad have their own interests such as gymnastics and science, but Callie is constantly questioning where she belongs and what she's meant to do.
Okay, let's to get the whole story line surrounding Ari. Let's just say, I wasn't ready for all of the spiders. As someone who is arachnophobic, those scenes were a bit much for my to take in. Anyways, I really enjoyed Ari as a character, but she serves as the antithesis to the muse squad. Where they are still figuring out this whole saving the world thing, Ari is confident, independent, and gifted with her abilities. I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling and thought it was such a creative spin especially for younger readers.
The pacing of the story was engaging from start to finish. There's moments of intensity when the muse squad it trying to save the world, which is balanced out with Callie adjusting to having two families as well as what her future holds. Some of the best moments were the ones between her and her family.
Overall, this is such a fantastic series that breathes life into Greek mythology that not only offers young, BIPOC readers the opportunity to see themselves represented on page but also to get swept up in an epic quest!
Thank you Paola for the blog tour invite. Thank you to Balzer + Bray for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
July 9, 2021
☁ FINAL THOUGHTS & RECOMMENDATIONS ☁
☁ THE CRITERIA ☁
🌼 Synopsis:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Main Character:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Character Development:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Thrill: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌼 Unputdownability: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
🌼 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
☁FINAL VERDICT: 4.36/5 ☁
Much thanks to Paola and Chantel for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and the opinions are fully my own. Also, all quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.
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August 5, 2021
I think this was a fantastic ending, to the book and the series. Read my full review on my blog.
November 12, 2022
I’m being generous; I kinda skimmed the second half but enough to get the gist of the story. Obviously I liked book 1 better but this is a cute duology and I like how it ended up.
July 19, 2021
What an amazing conclusion! I really wish there was more to come, but it looks like this is a duology. We get a change of scenery, & go from Miami to New York! I felt like I saw every nook & cranny of the city, & the surrounding cities! Such great atmospheric writing. Even more mythology twists & turns were apart of this one, & I thoroughly enjoyed it, & loved the authors take on many of the great myths/goddesses. This has great messages on what’s right & wrong, & what it means to do the right thing. Also, deals with grief & letting yourself feel it, & letting yourself cry. Also, the power of friendship & family. So much adventure in here, & I loved every minute. I didn’t want what happened at the end to happen, but I see why it did have to happen, & it was a beautiful conclusion. Highly recommend these books! Another beautiful cover by Jonathan Stroh too!💜
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July 11, 2021“Ari wanted justice, not a favor. She wanted help, not a rescue. Tia Annie had told me that Ari was a hero whose story needed to be told. Not a hero who needed to be saved.”
—Callie, Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth by Chantel Acevedo
The Mystery of the Tenth is the second & final book of the middle grade fantasy series Muse Squad. This adventure-filled, action-packed duology follows the story of a young Cuban-American girl named Callie as she finds out that she’s one of the nine (9) Muses of Greek Mythology. In both books, the junior Muses—Callie, Thalia, Nia & Mela—will be off to fun quests & missions!
If you don’t know yet, I’m a sucker for *literally* ANYTHING middle grade. I started a MG book club last year because of my love for it. So when I was invited to join this tour, I immediately said yes and I have no regrets!
Quite frankly, the first book was a good introduction to the setting and the characters, but I loved the sequel so much more. I enjoyed reading from Callie’s perspective and how perfect her tone was as a middle grade character. It has the balance of a child’s innocence and depth (most especially in the conclusion part). I also liked the quest, its purpose, and all the twists and turns of this sequel. Most importantly, I loved how the author explored on important topics such as standing up to unfair treatment from people in power, understanding the value of consent, and identifying & setting up your priorities.
In conclusion, this was such a nice experience and I recommend this to middle grade lovers out there—most especially if you like quest stories and Greek Mythology!
Note: The review of this e-ARC is part of the #MuseSquadTour hosted by Paola. However, my thoughts & opinions weren’t affected by this.
—Callie, Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth by Chantel Acevedo
The Mystery of the Tenth is the second & final book of the middle grade fantasy series Muse Squad. This adventure-filled, action-packed duology follows the story of a young Cuban-American girl named Callie as she finds out that she’s one of the nine (9) Muses of Greek Mythology. In both books, the junior Muses—Callie, Thalia, Nia & Mela—will be off to fun quests & missions!
If you don’t know yet, I’m a sucker for *literally* ANYTHING middle grade. I started a MG book club last year because of my love for it. So when I was invited to join this tour, I immediately said yes and I have no regrets!
Quite frankly, the first book was a good introduction to the setting and the characters, but I loved the sequel so much more. I enjoyed reading from Callie’s perspective and how perfect her tone was as a middle grade character. It has the balance of a child’s innocence and depth (most especially in the conclusion part). I also liked the quest, its purpose, and all the twists and turns of this sequel. Most importantly, I loved how the author explored on important topics such as standing up to unfair treatment from people in power, understanding the value of consent, and identifying & setting up your priorities.
In conclusion, this was such a nice experience and I recommend this to middle grade lovers out there—most especially if you like quest stories and Greek Mythology!
Note: The review of this e-ARC is part of the #MuseSquadTour hosted by Paola. However, my thoughts & opinions weren’t affected by this.
February 24, 2022
(+) The themes in this book worked much better than the ones in its predecessor.
(+) Callie's final choices were really great, making for a strong ending. Again, much better and rewarding than its predecessor.
(+) No one mentioned Callie's weight this time. (Which is weird considering how much it was emphasized before.)
(+) Diverse cast
(-) The main plot is little more than a giant fetch quest.
(-) The goth girl on the cover (name withheld to prevent spoilers) was given much more time than the other three Muse Squad members. This also, unfortunately, meant that the other three girls in the squad suffered greatly. None of them had any character development or legitimate exploration.
(-) There were many obstacles, but no tension. The Muse Squad overcame everything so quickly and easily that it barely mattered. (I would've rather had more purposeful dialogue between the Muse Squad and goth girl as they journeyed around NYC.)
(-) Inconsistencies with Callie's knowledge of mythology. (She doesn't know who Dionysus is, but knows that Venus is the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite? What?)
(-) Acevedo uses "Hercules" instead of "Heracles," and there are some inaccuracies in the simplifying of the myths. (No, Hera was not the one who kept sending the labors to Heracles.)
(-) So few new named characters were introduced, making the titular mystery not difficult to solve. But, I am fully aware that I am not the target audience for this book, and younger readers might find the reveal to be better than I do.
(-) In the end, Callie is simply not a very compelling heroine. Her choices throughout the book give her agency. But if you asked me to describe her personality, I wouldn't be able to say much.
Overall, the Muse Squad duology is a fun, diverse, and female centric set of books for young readers. While heavily flawed, both books have positive messages at their core. Would not reread them, but would recommend.
(+) Callie's final choices were really great, making for a strong ending. Again, much better and rewarding than its predecessor.
(+) No one mentioned Callie's weight this time. (Which is weird considering how much it was emphasized before.)
(+) Diverse cast
(-) The main plot is little more than a giant fetch quest.
(-) The goth girl on the cover (name withheld to prevent spoilers) was given much more time than the other three Muse Squad members. This also, unfortunately, meant that the other three girls in the squad suffered greatly. None of them had any character development or legitimate exploration.
(-) There were many obstacles, but no tension. The Muse Squad overcame everything so quickly and easily that it barely mattered. (I would've rather had more purposeful dialogue between the Muse Squad and goth girl as they journeyed around NYC.)
(-) Inconsistencies with Callie's knowledge of mythology. (She doesn't know who Dionysus is, but knows that Venus is the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite? What?)
(-) Acevedo uses "Hercules" instead of "Heracles," and there are some inaccuracies in the simplifying of the myths. (No, Hera was not the one who kept sending the labors to Heracles.)
(-) So few new named characters were introduced, making the titular mystery not difficult to solve. But, I am fully aware that I am not the target audience for this book, and younger readers might find the reveal to be better than I do.
(-) In the end, Callie is simply not a very compelling heroine. Her choices throughout the book give her agency. But if you asked me to describe her personality, I wouldn't be able to say much.
Overall, the Muse Squad duology is a fun, diverse, and female centric set of books for young readers. While heavily flawed, both books have positive messages at their core. Would not reread them, but would recommend.
July 10, 2021
**Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for the purpose of a blog tour which does not influence my review**
Chantel Acevedo delivers a heartfelt sequel with Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth, the final book in her middle grade duology inspired by Greek mythology. Callie Martinez-Silva’s life changed when she discovered she is one of the nine muses, tasked with inspiring humankind. While visiting her father over the summer in NYC, Callie finds herself caught between her responsibilities as a muse and helping a new friend. Like its characters, this sequel feels a little more grown up. Callie struggles with being a good leader and whether it’s ethical to use her gift on people without their consent. Callie and her friends face even more difficult challenges in this sequel as their journey pits them against dangerous mythical creatures and cunning gods. If that wasn’t enough, Callie must adjust to being a big sister for the first time and finding where she belongs in her father’s new family. Being a muse has never been more complicated, especially when it starts affecting her relationships. Callie has to figure out how to balance and navigate two very different parts of her life. Callie also finds herself clashing with her dad more and more. Growing up to her means being given more freedom, but to her father it also means being true to your word and understanding how your actions impact those around you, lessons Callie still needs to learn. Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth captures the perils of growing up, including making difficult decisions, but also the undeniable joys of finding friends who truly understand you and discovering who you want to be.
Chantel Acevedo delivers a heartfelt sequel with Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth, the final book in her middle grade duology inspired by Greek mythology. Callie Martinez-Silva’s life changed when she discovered she is one of the nine muses, tasked with inspiring humankind. While visiting her father over the summer in NYC, Callie finds herself caught between her responsibilities as a muse and helping a new friend. Like its characters, this sequel feels a little more grown up. Callie struggles with being a good leader and whether it’s ethical to use her gift on people without their consent. Callie and her friends face even more difficult challenges in this sequel as their journey pits them against dangerous mythical creatures and cunning gods. If that wasn’t enough, Callie must adjust to being a big sister for the first time and finding where she belongs in her father’s new family. Being a muse has never been more complicated, especially when it starts affecting her relationships. Callie has to figure out how to balance and navigate two very different parts of her life. Callie also finds herself clashing with her dad more and more. Growing up to her means being given more freedom, but to her father it also means being true to your word and understanding how your actions impact those around you, lessons Callie still needs to learn. Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth captures the perils of growing up, including making difficult decisions, but also the undeniable joys of finding friends who truly understand you and discovering who you want to be.
July 7, 2021
Thank you to the author for providing me an eARC in exchange of my honest opinion.
Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth was a spectacular end to this magical duology. We jump back to action with the young muses Callie, Nia, Thalia and Mela on another adventure that takes us to NYC. Now that I already knew the muses, it was easier to go back into the routine with them, and I was very excited to see them back in action. Their friendship was one of my favorite things of this book, and seeing it develop from the first book to this was great. As for the story, it was really good, filled with tension, funny moments and valuable lessons. The muses and their new friend Ari have to go through a series of adventures straight out of an epic poem, and it was interesting seeing how all of these myths and legends from Greek history get transported to a modern setting. The book had a great pace, which kept you hooked and wanting to continue the story to see what happened next. I also enjoyed all of the Spanish sprinkled around. Even though the ending shocked me a little, I was happy with the resolution and that Callie was able to grow more as a character. I did shed a few tears, to be sincere.
Definitely pick up this book if you love seeing Greek myths reimagined, good friendship dynamics, important topics about family and their complexity and girls being powerful and saving the day.
Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth was a spectacular end to this magical duology. We jump back to action with the young muses Callie, Nia, Thalia and Mela on another adventure that takes us to NYC. Now that I already knew the muses, it was easier to go back into the routine with them, and I was very excited to see them back in action. Their friendship was one of my favorite things of this book, and seeing it develop from the first book to this was great. As for the story, it was really good, filled with tension, funny moments and valuable lessons. The muses and their new friend Ari have to go through a series of adventures straight out of an epic poem, and it was interesting seeing how all of these myths and legends from Greek history get transported to a modern setting. The book had a great pace, which kept you hooked and wanting to continue the story to see what happened next. I also enjoyed all of the Spanish sprinkled around. Even though the ending shocked me a little, I was happy with the resolution and that Callie was able to grow more as a character. I did shed a few tears, to be sincere.
Definitely pick up this book if you love seeing Greek myths reimagined, good friendship dynamics, important topics about family and their complexity and girls being powerful and saving the day.
August 25, 2021
The second book of this duology wraps the story well. Callie and her squad are given a mission to find the tenth Muse after the notifying clock tells the team she is out there. Coincidentally, this person is in New York City where Callie will be spending the summer with her father, stepmother and baby brother. Readers see the emotions this brings out and these relationships weave through the other storylines. Early in the story, Callie meets Ari, an interesting young woman with secrets of her own. Now the Muse Squad must solve two missions and keep their decision to help Ari a secret from the other Muses. Acevedo brings readers along on the adventures as they face monsters and dangers to complete Athena's quest to recover Arachne's tapestry. The team succeeds in locating the pieces and the rematch takes place. They also find the tenth Muse who has been right there all along at the summer arts camp. Callie makes a difficult decision in the final chapters after her own role is revealed, and, in the end, there are only nine Muses to move forward with their roles.
October 1, 2023
This feels very "Girl Percy Jackson", though I didn't read the first book, so I may have missed a few things. I probably would have liked reading the books together, in order, but book 2 was all I could find, so.
Other than the similarities to Percy Jackson, the story feels a bit cookie-cutter in a way. I suppose I have simply read SO MANY BOOKS recently, and there are only so many believable twists that result in good books. I do think this one is decent, and definitely a recommend for Percy Jackson fans (especially ones who want to read about girls).
Other than the similarities to Percy Jackson, the story feels a bit cookie-cutter in a way. I suppose I have simply read SO MANY BOOKS recently, and there are only so many believable twists that result in good books. I do think this one is decent, and definitely a recommend for Percy Jackson fans (especially ones who want to read about girls).
July 4, 2021
Hi everyone, how is your day at the moment of you reading this? I hope you are doing fine. I am here because we are going to talk about the end of this duology.
As always I will try to spol the lest I can so, this events followed what happened to the first book, in this book we get to meet Callie's dad and his family, and we get to see how is the life of a kid with separated parents.
As I noted the previous one served us for open the conversations with certain topics, this does it too:
it could serve for us to talk with kids over: their identity and how is okay not to have an idea of what to do specially at a short age, it can help people to be more open with their parents specially over their feelings.
As a middle grey book, I recommend this book. I did enjoyed and I connected with Callie specially with her personal struggle
As always I will try to spol the lest I can so, this events followed what happened to the first book, in this book we get to meet Callie's dad and his family, and we get to see how is the life of a kid with separated parents.
As I noted the previous one served us for open the conversations with certain topics, this does it too:
it could serve for us to talk with kids over: their identity and how is okay not to have an idea of what to do specially at a short age, it can help people to be more open with their parents specially over their feelings.
As a middle grey book, I recommend this book. I did enjoyed and I connected with Callie specially with her personal struggle
September 28, 2021
Peeps, I’ve been OBSESSING over Muse Squad. Do you have an upper elementary or middle school kid? Do yourself a favor an get both books NOW. They are a bit about friendship, a bit about adjusting to life changes, and a lot about adventure and finding one’s inner strength!
In the second book, Callie and the squad are 12 and though they feel more confident with their muse magic, they still have a lot to learn about goddesses (and the grudges they can hold).
While our protagonist is busy going on a quest, she also finds herself navigating the newness of living part time with her dad and his new family in a different city.
The Mystery of the Tenth is a terrific book that teaches about the unavoidable surprises that life has for us.
I can’t get enough of Callie and the Muse Squad!
In the second book, Callie and the squad are 12 and though they feel more confident with their muse magic, they still have a lot to learn about goddesses (and the grudges they can hold).
While our protagonist is busy going on a quest, she also finds herself navigating the newness of living part time with her dad and his new family in a different city.
The Mystery of the Tenth is a terrific book that teaches about the unavoidable surprises that life has for us.
I can’t get enough of Callie and the Muse Squad!
December 26, 2021
Truly a wonderful novel. I wish there were more in the series. I think this series would be a wonderful precursor for kids who like Percy Jackson. It talks a lot about emotions and grief and making mistakes.
March 1, 2022
The fun continues with Cali and the other junior muses. This time they need to find a 10th muse in Brooklyn while helping their friend Ari go up against Athena again in a weaving battle. Makes me want to dig into Greek mythology all over again!
June 18, 2022
Not too bad. Fair read alike suggestion for the Lightning Thief/Rick Riordan fans
December 23, 2022
It was a really fun and fast read and I liked the way it ended the duology!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews