What do you think?
Rate this book
Amber and Clay
The Newbery Medal–winning author of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! gives readers a virtuoso performance in verse in this profoundly original epic pitched just right for fans of poetry, history, mythology, and fantasy.
Welcome to ancient Greece as only genius storyteller Laura Amy Schlitz can conjure it. In a warlike land of wind and sunlight, “ringed by a restless sea,” live Rhaskos and Melisto, spiritual twins with little in common beyond the violent and mysterious forces that dictate their lives. A Thracian slave in a Greek household, Rhaskos is as common as clay, a stable boy worth less than a donkey, much less a horse. Wrenched from his mother at a tender age, he nurtures in secret, aided by Socrates, his passions for art and philosophy. Melisto is a spoiled aristocrat, a girl as precious as amber but willful and wild. She’ll marry and be tamed—the curse of all highborn girls—but risk her life for a season first to serve Artemis, goddess of the hunt.
Bound by destiny, Melisto and Rhaskos—Amber and Clay—never meet in the flesh. By the time they do, one of them is a ghost. But the thin line between life and death is just one boundary their unlikely friendship crosses. It takes an army of snarky gods and fearsome goddesses, slaves and masters, mothers and philosophers to help shape their story into a gorgeously distilled, symphonic tour de force.
Blending verse, prose, and illustrated archaeological “artifacts,” this is a tale that vividly transcends time, an indelible reminder of the power of language to illuminate the over- and underworlds of human history.
Welcome to ancient Greece as only genius storyteller Laura Amy Schlitz can conjure it. In a warlike land of wind and sunlight, “ringed by a restless sea,” live Rhaskos and Melisto, spiritual twins with little in common beyond the violent and mysterious forces that dictate their lives. A Thracian slave in a Greek household, Rhaskos is as common as clay, a stable boy worth less than a donkey, much less a horse. Wrenched from his mother at a tender age, he nurtures in secret, aided by Socrates, his passions for art and philosophy. Melisto is a spoiled aristocrat, a girl as precious as amber but willful and wild. She’ll marry and be tamed—the curse of all highborn girls—but risk her life for a season first to serve Artemis, goddess of the hunt.
Bound by destiny, Melisto and Rhaskos—Amber and Clay—never meet in the flesh. By the time they do, one of them is a ghost. But the thin line between life and death is just one boundary their unlikely friendship crosses. It takes an army of snarky gods and fearsome goddesses, slaves and masters, mothers and philosophers to help shape their story into a gorgeously distilled, symphonic tour de force.
Blending verse, prose, and illustrated archaeological “artifacts,” this is a tale that vividly transcends time, an indelible reminder of the power of language to illuminate the over- and underworlds of human history.
544 pages, Paperback
First published March 9, 2021
153 people are currently reading
5440 people want to read
About the author
Laura Amy Schlitz
20 books520 followersLaura Amy Schlitz is an American author of children's literature. She is a librarian and storyteller at The Park School in Brooklandville, Maryland.
She received the 2008 Newbery Medal for her children's book entitled Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village,[1] and the 2013 Newbery Honor for her children's book, Splendors and Glooms.[2] She also won the 2016 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, the 2016 National Jewish Book Award, and the Sydney Taylor Book Award for her young adult book, The Hired Girl. Her other published books are The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug For Troy (2006), A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama (2006), which won a Cybils Award that year, The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm (2007), The Night Fairy (2010).
Schlitz attended Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, and graduated in 1977.
She received the 2008 Newbery Medal for her children's book entitled Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village,[1] and the 2013 Newbery Honor for her children's book, Splendors and Glooms.[2] She also won the 2016 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, the 2016 National Jewish Book Award, and the Sydney Taylor Book Award for her young adult book, The Hired Girl. Her other published books are The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug For Troy (2006), A Drowned Maiden's Hair: A Melodrama (2006), which won a Cybils Award that year, The Bearskinner: A Tale of the Brothers Grimm (2007), The Night Fairy (2010).
Schlitz attended Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, and graduated in 1977.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 406 reviews
January 27, 2021
“Hermes here. The Greek god - / Don’t put down the book - / I’m talking to you. If the lines looks like poetry, / relax. This book is shorter than it looks.” He may be the god of liars and thieves, but here's one moment when Hermes is telling the truth. Funny story. I remember working as a children’s librarian in New York City when, one day, I got “that kid”. Librarians, you may have had “that kid” in your rooms as well at some point. It’s the kid that has read (their words) “everything”. They are fairly certain that you will fail to impress them, so, naturally, you bend over backwards to do so. They want good books, nothing but the best, and if you mention something they've already read they are allowed to look upon you, not with scorn, but with pity. In this particular case (and it was about a decade ago) I found that Diana Wynne Jones took care of the problem nicely (they’d never heard of her) but I think about that kid periodically over the years. And when I encounter a book that is of high literary quality, they sometimes come to mind. Yet the thing about Amber and Clay, by Newbery Award winner Laura Amy Schlitz, is that while it would have been the perfect story to hand over, it isn’t just for “that kid” at all. A verse novel at its core, this is a book for those Percy Jackson fans. For the kids that like their fiction realistic, but don’t mind the occasional Greek God butting in for effect. For kids that like historical fiction with loads of accurate details (you’ll never forget what a strigil is). For kids that like verse novels, since they look so impressive and read so much more quickly than you might expect. This is a book positioned to impress, that then sneaks over and steals your heart. Hermes would be proud.
Two children find their fates linked, but not at the beginning. On the one hand you have Rhaskos, born a Thracian slave in Greece circa 400 BCE. His mother loves him, but too soon she’s sold away. Now his only comfort comes in drawing horses in the dirt, and what good would that do him? On the other hand you have Melisto, born wealthy and privileged, but with a mother who hates her and a father that’s often gone. When she is selected to be one of the special daughters of noblemen who will be a bear for the goddess Artemis at Brauron she finds a happiness she’d never encountered before. Rhaskos loves horses and Melisto comes to love a bear, but things change for both of them, and along with the philosopher Sokrates, their lives will soon be impossible to separate.
You can admire a book’s writing, but not love its characters. This, while unfortunate, happens when an author is being too clever by half. Yet what I found with this Laura Amy Schlitz novel was that embedded deep in the text was one of the smartest methods I've seen an author use to connect an audience to characters. At the outset are the obvious narrative techniques (parceling out information about the past (exposition) is much easier when you've a god to do the dirty work). And then there are the risks. If you should find yourself simultaneously attracted and repulsed by elements of this book, I shouldn’t think that was a coincidence. As I read it, I was very much taken by the ways in which Schlitz continuously pushes and pulls at the reader. Consider how you first encounter the story. The very first thing you see (after the cast of characters, of course) is “Exhibit 1” It's a fragment of a broken pot, much as you might see in a museum. Indeed the description of this object is contemporary, speculating on its creator. Then you are drawn closer by the charm of Hermes himself. He tells you a story. Then you are Melos, being addressed by Rhaskos. Could anything be more intimate? You are one of the central characters of the book, hearing the story from the other main character’s point of view. Do you see how the book takes you away initially and then pulls you in? The moments where you see the past as merely a series of objects distances you. Then you’re pulled into the first person again. Away and in. Away and in. And in this motion of away and near Ms. Schlitz draws you closer and closer to the characters’ hearts. Did I happen to mention that she's also writing all this in verse? Blank verse and strophe-antistrophe (or, as she prefers to call it, turn-counterturn). There’s some datylic hexameter, elegiac couplets, and even a character speaking in hendecasyllables. But always the form matches the personality of the character that wields it. These choices, rendered in a book for kids, should distance you, yet you’re only more interested in the hearts and minds of the people you have come to know.
Why you come to a Laura Amy Schlitz book is your business. Me? I come for the writing. More specifically I come for the descriptive writing. Some choice examples:
• Upon discussing Greece: “it’s not a land / that feels that it owes you a living. The soil / is laced with acid and iron. The country / has always been poor.”
• “Plague is disgusting / and tedious, too.” (I really felt that one this year)
• “If he couldn’t win, / he was like a drunkard without drink.” (hmmm. That one too.)
• “She knew her mother was an attractive woman, but there was something feral about Lysandra’s grace, something that reminded her of a weasel she had once watched kill a snake.”
• Of the bear, “Whatever it felt, it felt with every cell in its body. There was no moderation and no fraud.”
• “You must have seen what I saw that day - / stone that glows like honey through cream.”
• “He stood like a statue, not weeping. / I know what it is not to cry.”
• And even the child that is convinced that they know everything that has ever been written about the Greek gods may find that Ms. Schlitz writes little elements you never thought through before. Lines like “Artemis, the only Olympian goddess who had ever been a little girl” can catch you by surprise.
Indeed any author who casually throws out a line like “O, the wine-dark sea!” is working with some references (eat your heart out, Iliad). A look at the Bibliography shows a whopping forty-three sources. Surely these became useful in the course of things. If nothing else, they may have inspired the different ways in which the book is written. I don’t even know all the poetic forms Ms. Schlitz is working with here. There’s a section where Rhaskos has created a very decent clay pig. The text bounces between his thoughts and those of Hephaistos, who is rather charmed by the boy’s accomplishment. Many of the lines in the Hephaistos section (“the pig is good”, “Like Prometheus…”, “a world from clay”) are repeated, after a fashion, in the Rhaskos part (“… the animals were good”, “I felt like Prometheus…”, “who made mankind from clay…”). Does it mean something? Hmmm.
In her Author’s Note at the back, Schlitz makes it clear that she cannot correct the sins of the past. We see today the horrors of slavery, no matter the era, but in this book even the kindest most intelligent man there doesn’t critique it. Schlitz notes that she couldn’t put words in Sokrates’s mouth on the matter. Indeed, even Rhaskos mentions early on in the text, “He didn’t know how bitter it is to be a slave. / He couldn’t see that it was wrong / that I was a slave. He was the wisest man in Athens, but he couldn’t see that I’d been wronged.” Rhaskos can see the problem with his time period and say that it’s wrong because it affects him directly. What about when there are moments when Rhaskos himself is in the wrong? Every historical character is a product of their age. To what extent do you allow them to discuss their own prejudices? Generally speaking Schlitz keeps Rhaskos on a tight leash, but once in a while he falls prey to the era. He calls the men that use a less respected gymnasium, “Foreigners and half breeds, metics, human mongrels,” only to find the wisest man in Athens there having scintillating conversations with them. We cannot escape our age. We can only hope to dodge it a little.
Mind you, this is not the only time Rhaskos is unlikable. Indeed, Schlitz takes a chance on making him downright nasty for a while. When he first goes to work for the potter Phaistus he’s awful to both him and his wife Zosima. The risk here is evident. Should the reader turn on Rhaskos for his behavior, they will not want to read the book any further. Thankfully, Rhaskos is written in the kind of first person narrative that manages to be understandable but not sympathetic. And maybe some folks will find him too much of an adolescent, but at least you’ve been with him a long time before these sections. You want to see him come through it all in one piece.
I’m a children’s librarian by training so I cannot read a book like Amber and Clay and not pair it with books already in my library. Indeed, as I read, the connections started to come faster and faster. Let’s see, let’s see . . . obviously with Hermes starting the story in the way that he does you’d want to make sure a kid was up on his “Olympians” series of graphic novels by George O’Connor (particularly any pertaining to Hephaistos and Hermes). And why not throw in I Am Hermes by Mordecai Gerstein for spice? It may read young but the info is good. The overall realism of the text of Amber and Clay (with the exception of the occasional god popping up here and there in the chorus) brought to mind the Newbery Honor book The Winged Girl of Knossos (a gender swapped and researched retelling of the Icarus myth). Next you have the fact that much of this story is about a boy who works for a potter and there is a distinct possibility that the apprentice may be remembered long beyond the master. Sounds like A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, yes? And the bear? The bear that Melisto comes to love? If that bear does have at least a little kinship to the bear in Frances Hardinge’s A Skinful of Shadows then I don’t know my job.
Recently I’ve been trying to put a name on that feeling I sometimes get when I’m reading a book for kids and become suddenly overwhelmed with this sense of relief that the writing is as good as it is. Is there a word for that? Probably in some language out there. I can’t guarantee to you that you’ll have the same feeling, but I can say that while this book may look intimidating, and many of the words I’ve written here may make it out to be some kind of lofty, classical text, this is just a plain good story. A boy. A girl. Horses and bears. Philosophy but the kind you actually want to read more of. Bullies. Lightning strikes. Ghosts and death and daimons. Read it aloud or hand it to a young reader. Whatever you choose to do, find it a home. There really has never been and may never be a book quite like it again.
For ages 10-14.
Two children find their fates linked, but not at the beginning. On the one hand you have Rhaskos, born a Thracian slave in Greece circa 400 BCE. His mother loves him, but too soon she’s sold away. Now his only comfort comes in drawing horses in the dirt, and what good would that do him? On the other hand you have Melisto, born wealthy and privileged, but with a mother who hates her and a father that’s often gone. When she is selected to be one of the special daughters of noblemen who will be a bear for the goddess Artemis at Brauron she finds a happiness she’d never encountered before. Rhaskos loves horses and Melisto comes to love a bear, but things change for both of them, and along with the philosopher Sokrates, their lives will soon be impossible to separate.
You can admire a book’s writing, but not love its characters. This, while unfortunate, happens when an author is being too clever by half. Yet what I found with this Laura Amy Schlitz novel was that embedded deep in the text was one of the smartest methods I've seen an author use to connect an audience to characters. At the outset are the obvious narrative techniques (parceling out information about the past (exposition) is much easier when you've a god to do the dirty work). And then there are the risks. If you should find yourself simultaneously attracted and repulsed by elements of this book, I shouldn’t think that was a coincidence. As I read it, I was very much taken by the ways in which Schlitz continuously pushes and pulls at the reader. Consider how you first encounter the story. The very first thing you see (after the cast of characters, of course) is “Exhibit 1” It's a fragment of a broken pot, much as you might see in a museum. Indeed the description of this object is contemporary, speculating on its creator. Then you are drawn closer by the charm of Hermes himself. He tells you a story. Then you are Melos, being addressed by Rhaskos. Could anything be more intimate? You are one of the central characters of the book, hearing the story from the other main character’s point of view. Do you see how the book takes you away initially and then pulls you in? The moments where you see the past as merely a series of objects distances you. Then you’re pulled into the first person again. Away and in. Away and in. And in this motion of away and near Ms. Schlitz draws you closer and closer to the characters’ hearts. Did I happen to mention that she's also writing all this in verse? Blank verse and strophe-antistrophe (or, as she prefers to call it, turn-counterturn). There’s some datylic hexameter, elegiac couplets, and even a character speaking in hendecasyllables. But always the form matches the personality of the character that wields it. These choices, rendered in a book for kids, should distance you, yet you’re only more interested in the hearts and minds of the people you have come to know.
Why you come to a Laura Amy Schlitz book is your business. Me? I come for the writing. More specifically I come for the descriptive writing. Some choice examples:
• Upon discussing Greece: “it’s not a land / that feels that it owes you a living. The soil / is laced with acid and iron. The country / has always been poor.”
• “Plague is disgusting / and tedious, too.” (I really felt that one this year)
• “If he couldn’t win, / he was like a drunkard without drink.” (hmmm. That one too.)
• “She knew her mother was an attractive woman, but there was something feral about Lysandra’s grace, something that reminded her of a weasel she had once watched kill a snake.”
• Of the bear, “Whatever it felt, it felt with every cell in its body. There was no moderation and no fraud.”
• “You must have seen what I saw that day - / stone that glows like honey through cream.”
• “He stood like a statue, not weeping. / I know what it is not to cry.”
• And even the child that is convinced that they know everything that has ever been written about the Greek gods may find that Ms. Schlitz writes little elements you never thought through before. Lines like “Artemis, the only Olympian goddess who had ever been a little girl” can catch you by surprise.
Indeed any author who casually throws out a line like “O, the wine-dark sea!” is working with some references (eat your heart out, Iliad). A look at the Bibliography shows a whopping forty-three sources. Surely these became useful in the course of things. If nothing else, they may have inspired the different ways in which the book is written. I don’t even know all the poetic forms Ms. Schlitz is working with here. There’s a section where Rhaskos has created a very decent clay pig. The text bounces between his thoughts and those of Hephaistos, who is rather charmed by the boy’s accomplishment. Many of the lines in the Hephaistos section (“the pig is good”, “Like Prometheus…”, “a world from clay”) are repeated, after a fashion, in the Rhaskos part (“… the animals were good”, “I felt like Prometheus…”, “who made mankind from clay…”). Does it mean something? Hmmm.
In her Author’s Note at the back, Schlitz makes it clear that she cannot correct the sins of the past. We see today the horrors of slavery, no matter the era, but in this book even the kindest most intelligent man there doesn’t critique it. Schlitz notes that she couldn’t put words in Sokrates’s mouth on the matter. Indeed, even Rhaskos mentions early on in the text, “He didn’t know how bitter it is to be a slave. / He couldn’t see that it was wrong / that I was a slave. He was the wisest man in Athens, but he couldn’t see that I’d been wronged.” Rhaskos can see the problem with his time period and say that it’s wrong because it affects him directly. What about when there are moments when Rhaskos himself is in the wrong? Every historical character is a product of their age. To what extent do you allow them to discuss their own prejudices? Generally speaking Schlitz keeps Rhaskos on a tight leash, but once in a while he falls prey to the era. He calls the men that use a less respected gymnasium, “Foreigners and half breeds, metics, human mongrels,” only to find the wisest man in Athens there having scintillating conversations with them. We cannot escape our age. We can only hope to dodge it a little.
Mind you, this is not the only time Rhaskos is unlikable. Indeed, Schlitz takes a chance on making him downright nasty for a while. When he first goes to work for the potter Phaistus he’s awful to both him and his wife Zosima. The risk here is evident. Should the reader turn on Rhaskos for his behavior, they will not want to read the book any further. Thankfully, Rhaskos is written in the kind of first person narrative that manages to be understandable but not sympathetic. And maybe some folks will find him too much of an adolescent, but at least you’ve been with him a long time before these sections. You want to see him come through it all in one piece.
I’m a children’s librarian by training so I cannot read a book like Amber and Clay and not pair it with books already in my library. Indeed, as I read, the connections started to come faster and faster. Let’s see, let’s see . . . obviously with Hermes starting the story in the way that he does you’d want to make sure a kid was up on his “Olympians” series of graphic novels by George O’Connor (particularly any pertaining to Hephaistos and Hermes). And why not throw in I Am Hermes by Mordecai Gerstein for spice? It may read young but the info is good. The overall realism of the text of Amber and Clay (with the exception of the occasional god popping up here and there in the chorus) brought to mind the Newbery Honor book The Winged Girl of Knossos (a gender swapped and researched retelling of the Icarus myth). Next you have the fact that much of this story is about a boy who works for a potter and there is a distinct possibility that the apprentice may be remembered long beyond the master. Sounds like A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park, yes? And the bear? The bear that Melisto comes to love? If that bear does have at least a little kinship to the bear in Frances Hardinge’s A Skinful of Shadows then I don’t know my job.
Recently I’ve been trying to put a name on that feeling I sometimes get when I’m reading a book for kids and become suddenly overwhelmed with this sense of relief that the writing is as good as it is. Is there a word for that? Probably in some language out there. I can’t guarantee to you that you’ll have the same feeling, but I can say that while this book may look intimidating, and many of the words I’ve written here may make it out to be some kind of lofty, classical text, this is just a plain good story. A boy. A girl. Horses and bears. Philosophy but the kind you actually want to read more of. Bullies. Lightning strikes. Ghosts and death and daimons. Read it aloud or hand it to a young reader. Whatever you choose to do, find it a home. There really has never been and may never be a book quite like it again.
For ages 10-14.
May 2, 2024
3.5 stars 🌟
I felt like I was there with them, walking the streets of where Melisto and Rhaskos lived. The interludes with the "artifact descriptions" helped even more. It's like you're floating back and forth between the two.
Maybe it's being autistic and an empath, but I could just feel it all...the weather, the emotions, the occasional crowd noises, when people were struck.. you get the idea, I hope.
It did drag some after 78%, but I never lost interest and was white knuckling my steering wheel, crossing my fingers.
It's over kind of suddenly but also giving you a glimpse into Rhaskos' life afterward. Would have loved to see more of what transpired after... a certain event with the last interlude still gave me a smile.
It was fun to see Socrates in there as well (didn't realize his name was pronounced differently) and the parts interrupted by the gods gave more insight into things..and I could easily picture them impatiently snapping their fingers if our attention wandered.
Would recommend the audiobook of this highly. It brings the story up more .
I felt like I was there with them, walking the streets of where Melisto and Rhaskos lived. The interludes with the "artifact descriptions" helped even more. It's like you're floating back and forth between the two.
Maybe it's being autistic and an empath, but I could just feel it all...the weather, the emotions, the occasional crowd noises, when people were struck.. you get the idea, I hope.
It did drag some after 78%, but I never lost interest and was white knuckling my steering wheel, crossing my fingers.
It's over kind of suddenly but also giving you a glimpse into Rhaskos' life afterward. Would have loved to see more of what transpired after... a certain event with the last interlude still gave me a smile.
It was fun to see Socrates in there as well (didn't realize his name was pronounced differently) and the parts interrupted by the gods gave more insight into things..and I could easily picture them impatiently snapping their fingers if our attention wandered.
Would recommend the audiobook of this highly. It brings the story up more .
November 26, 2021
There they are:
the girl as electric as amber,
and the boy, indestructible as clay.
Don't let the size of this new masterpiece from Laura Amy Schlitz intimidate you. It is smooth as butter with the saltiness of good cheese on a hearty piece of bread. This epic tale, told mostly in verse, is magnificent in its scope. Framed by eighteen exhibits of Greek artifacts, the narrative tells the story of Rhaskos, the slave boy, and Melistos, the wellborn girl. Their destinies are bound together in ways that are beautifully wrought by the author. Along the way, there is commentary from the gods and communion with Socrates (SO, not SOCK). You will notice the cover features a horse and a bear. The horse is especially meaningful to Rhaskos. He spends the entire book perfecting his drawings of horses. As a child I remember doing the same, so Rhaskos is especially dear to my heart. If you loved The Book of Boy and The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. If you love a Greek tragedy. This is the book for you, young or old.
the girl as electric as amber,
and the boy, indestructible as clay.
Don't let the size of this new masterpiece from Laura Amy Schlitz intimidate you. It is smooth as butter with the saltiness of good cheese on a hearty piece of bread. This epic tale, told mostly in verse, is magnificent in its scope. Framed by eighteen exhibits of Greek artifacts, the narrative tells the story of Rhaskos, the slave boy, and Melistos, the wellborn girl. Their destinies are bound together in ways that are beautifully wrought by the author. Along the way, there is commentary from the gods and communion with Socrates (SO, not SOCK). You will notice the cover features a horse and a bear. The horse is especially meaningful to Rhaskos. He spends the entire book perfecting his drawings of horses. As a child I remember doing the same, so Rhaskos is especially dear to my heart. If you loved The Book of Boy and The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. If you love a Greek tragedy. This is the book for you, young or old.
May 7, 2021
I'm dithering between 4 and 5 stars. I am at a loss for words: this verse novel for the middle-school set grabbed me and won't let go. I don't think I can write a coherent review.
I loved our two main human characters: Rhaskos, an enslaved boy of Thracian heritage, and Melito, an aristocratic girl living in Athens.
I loved the author's use of the Greek gods as narrators. Hermes was a delight.
I loved the writing--the poetry was so varied, so clever, so easy to gulp down. It flowed so effortlessly for this reader.
The setting is Greece, c. 400 BCE. The author did not romanticize the country's history; she gave us warts to go with the ancient glories.
Best of all, I loved the exhibits--'relics' from that era, described as modern-era museum pieces; each chosen to illustrate a particular section of the story. The reader knows the answers that the museum writers could only guess at.
Highly recommended for all lovers of intelligently written historical fiction.
I loved our two main human characters: Rhaskos, an enslaved boy of Thracian heritage, and Melito, an aristocratic girl living in Athens.
I loved the author's use of the Greek gods as narrators. Hermes was a delight.
I loved the writing--the poetry was so varied, so clever, so easy to gulp down. It flowed so effortlessly for this reader.
The setting is Greece, c. 400 BCE. The author did not romanticize the country's history; she gave us warts to go with the ancient glories.
Best of all, I loved the exhibits--'relics' from that era, described as modern-era museum pieces; each chosen to illustrate a particular section of the story. The reader knows the answers that the museum writers could only guess at.
Highly recommended for all lovers of intelligently written historical fiction.
August 13, 2021
8/12/21 Update - By reading both the print copy (mostly) and the digital copy, I was able to better comprehend this story of Rhaskos (aka Thrax or Pyrrhos) an enslaved boy in ancient Greece. Learn about the Spartans and the Athenians. Find out how an enslaved person can earn their freedom, is it even possible?
With a wide cast of characters, cameos by the ancient gods; Hermes, Artemis, Hephaistos, & Athena plus the philosopher Sokrates (aka Socrates or So-kra-tees); there is a lot to digest. My own recommendation is to read the Author's Notes at the end of the story before starting the book and again after the first couple hundred pages (near the end of Exhibit 9)
Even though this is 532 pages, there will be readers who get to the last page longing for more.Give this to those who are interested in mythology or ancient Greece, those who like challenging reads (aka longer books) or novels in verse.
5/31/21 DNF - I am going to wait until I have a print copy of this book to read. I feel like I am missing out on parts by reading it as a digital book.
With a wide cast of characters, cameos by the ancient gods; Hermes, Artemis, Hephaistos, & Athena plus the philosopher Sokrates (aka Socrates or So-kra-tees); there is a lot to digest. My own recommendation is to read the Author's Notes at the end of the story before starting the book and again after the first couple hundred pages (near the end of Exhibit 9)
Even though this is 532 pages, there will be readers who get to the last page longing for more.Give this to those who are interested in mythology or ancient Greece, those who like challenging reads (aka longer books) or novels in verse.
5/31/21 DNF - I am going to wait until I have a print copy of this book to read. I feel like I am missing out on parts by reading it as a digital book.
Read
December 3, 2021There they are:
the girl as electric as amber,
and the boy, indestructible as clay.
Don't let the size of this new masterpiece from Laura Amy Schlitz intimidate you. It is smooth as butter with the saltiness of good cheese on a hearty piece of bread. This epic tale, told mostly in verse, is magnificent in its scope. Framed by eighteen exhibits of Greek artifacts, the narrative tells the story of Rhaskos, the slave boy, and Melistos, the wellborn girl. Their destinies are bound together in ways that are beautifully wrought by the author. Along the way, there is commentary from the gods and communion with Socrates (SO, not SOCK). You will notice the cover features a horse and a bear. The horse is especially meaningful to Rhaskos. He spends the entire book perfecting his drawings of horses. As a child I remember doing the same, so Rhaskos is especially dear to my heart. If you loved The Book of Boy and The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. If you love a Greek tragedy. This is the book for you, young or old. *Reviewed by Darla from Red Bridge*
the girl as electric as amber,
and the boy, indestructible as clay.
Don't let the size of this new masterpiece from Laura Amy Schlitz intimidate you. It is smooth as butter with the saltiness of good cheese on a hearty piece of bread. This epic tale, told mostly in verse, is magnificent in its scope. Framed by eighteen exhibits of Greek artifacts, the narrative tells the story of Rhaskos, the slave boy, and Melistos, the wellborn girl. Their destinies are bound together in ways that are beautifully wrought by the author. Along the way, there is commentary from the gods and communion with Socrates (SO, not SOCK). You will notice the cover features a horse and a bear. The horse is especially meaningful to Rhaskos. He spends the entire book perfecting his drawings of horses. As a child I remember doing the same, so Rhaskos is especially dear to my heart. If you loved The Book of Boy and The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. If you love a Greek tragedy. This is the book for you, young or old. *Reviewed by Darla from Red Bridge*
March 21, 2023
Five glorious stars to this incredible middle grade novel. It plays with structure, sometimes nodding to the graceful back and forth of Ancient Greek plays, sometimes flowing into free verse poetry, and occasionally giving us familiar prose. It’s part historical fiction, part fantasy, part character study. The story is told from the perspectives of a clever, enslaved Thracian boy, a wealthy Athenian girl, and some Greek gods (Hermes being my favorite). It plays with structure, like I said, but it even dabbles a little in philosophy (Rhaskos befriends Sokrates). Really, though, you just fall in love with these characters that leap off the page as they journey through a vivid Ancient Greek world. Oh my word was it just brilliant. I am blown away and completely in love with this astounding, masterful novel.
February 25, 2021
Amber and Clay is the story of two children who are very different and who have very different life experiences and yet who join together to try to accomplish a common goal. Amber is a wild girl, reckless, undisciplined, plain, the child of a rich man, a child unloved by her mother. Clay is a quiet boy, the son of an enslaved woman, thoughtful though untaught, clever though unschooled, interested in drawing horses. The story takes place in ancient Greece and the other characters include a philosopher, a bear, and some of the gods.
You can't help but be amazed at this book, with its beautiful structure of beginning chapters with an artifact of ancient Greece, found in the present day, an artifact that is closely tied to the plot. The characters are all vivid and completely unique, and the author bravely allows them to experience the full repercussions of their actions, some of which is heartbreaking. Author Laura Amy Schlitz uses timeless poetic forms to tell the story, and, again, that is an achievement that the reader can't help but admire. The lives of these two children are fascinating to watch as the story unfolds.
A brilliant book.
You can't help but be amazed at this book, with its beautiful structure of beginning chapters with an artifact of ancient Greece, found in the present day, an artifact that is closely tied to the plot. The characters are all vivid and completely unique, and the author bravely allows them to experience the full repercussions of their actions, some of which is heartbreaking. Author Laura Amy Schlitz uses timeless poetic forms to tell the story, and, again, that is an achievement that the reader can't help but admire. The lives of these two children are fascinating to watch as the story unfolds.
A brilliant book.
August 19, 2021
4/5 stars
Do you ever pick up a book and open up to the first page and know this book will be great?
Well, that's what happened when I started reading Amber and Clay.
Not only is this a perfect summer read, but it's perfect for fans of mythology and more specifically, Greek Mythology.
Do you like the Greek Pantheon? You'll love this.
Do you like Poetry? You'll really love this.
Do you want a book that will leave you breathless and still processing it after you finish it? YOU'LL LOVE THIS.
Such a fun read that I can't get out of my head even though I finished it over a week ago!
Do you ever pick up a book and open up to the first page and know this book will be great?
Well, that's what happened when I started reading Amber and Clay.
Not only is this a perfect summer read, but it's perfect for fans of mythology and more specifically, Greek Mythology.
Do you like the Greek Pantheon? You'll love this.
Do you like Poetry? You'll really love this.
Do you want a book that will leave you breathless and still processing it after you finish it? YOU'LL LOVE THIS.
Such a fun read that I can't get out of my head even though I finished it over a week ago!
January 27, 2022
Popsugar #12 A book about the afterlife
May 10, 2021
Incredibly good. Still processing, but will review soon!
August 1, 2023
*my old review was embarrassing so i deleted it*
July 18, 2021
4/5 stars!
Thank you so much Candlewick Press for sending me a review copy!
Amber and Clay was undoubtedly a GORGEOUS book! From the wonderful stanzas on paper, to the breathtaking twists and turns these characters went through.
I think I never read a 500 page book so fast. It reads like a breeze, although the contents are sometimes far from light. I had some trouble with the pacing about 200 pages in, because it becomes denser, but it only lasts a couple of pages before going back to being the fast paced adventure it was until the end.
Rhaskos and Melisto were both amazing characters. Complex and good to accompany throughout the book.
Hermes opens up the book and narrates a good part of the story. He is a narrator full of personality who adds a needed perspective on Rhaskos and Melisto’s story.
The highlight of the story for me was Sokrates. But I don’t want to elaborate on that a lot, because I don’t want to spoil the best part of the book for you.
The book was ending and I was worried it might not have a satisfying ending, or maybe it wouldn’t tie all the loose ends. Let me tell you: it did. And it was the perfect ending to such an eclectic book!
If you’re a Percy Jackson or a Greek Mythology lover, this is one book you might want to check out!!
Thank you so much Candlewick Press for sending me a review copy!
Amber and Clay was undoubtedly a GORGEOUS book! From the wonderful stanzas on paper, to the breathtaking twists and turns these characters went through.
I think I never read a 500 page book so fast. It reads like a breeze, although the contents are sometimes far from light. I had some trouble with the pacing about 200 pages in, because it becomes denser, but it only lasts a couple of pages before going back to being the fast paced adventure it was until the end.
Rhaskos and Melisto were both amazing characters. Complex and good to accompany throughout the book.
Hermes opens up the book and narrates a good part of the story. He is a narrator full of personality who adds a needed perspective on Rhaskos and Melisto’s story.
The highlight of the story for me was Sokrates. But I don’t want to elaborate on that a lot, because I don’t want to spoil the best part of the book for you.
The book was ending and I was worried it might not have a satisfying ending, or maybe it wouldn’t tie all the loose ends. Let me tell you: it did. And it was the perfect ending to such an eclectic book!
If you’re a Percy Jackson or a Greek Mythology lover, this is one book you might want to check out!!
July 26, 2021
Long and mostly boring. There were spots where I got into the story but these were rare and fleeting. I really cannot see a middle grader reading this book.
May 13, 2021
One of the coolest things about this novel is that it could potentially be real.
A lot of research went into this novel, as shown by the 5 page bibliography in the back. It would be amazing if maybe, just maybe, Laura Amy Schlitz got it right.
It took a long time to get into this story because there's a lot going on. I appreciated the cast list in the beginning and I think having a map would have helped also. This story is told from multiple POVs and in multiple ways, from free verse to novel format.
'Amber and Clay' mainly follows two children; Rhaskos and Melisto. Rhaskos is born a slave and works for a variety of cruel to kindly masters. Melisto is the daughter of a well off man and sent to be a Bear or follower of Artemis. By a weird twist of Fate, and it can be called nothing other than Fate, the two's destinies are entwined.
I think it's necessary to have a fundamental knowledge of Ancient Greece to help with this. There's a lot of politics and social standing etiquette going on that can feel abrasive at first, but this is truly what happened at these points in history. I loved the artifacts included in the story also; I legitimately thought they were real (turns out they are not!) and they really added a level of 'realism' to the story. Dear Gods, do I wish this was a true tale.
This story does grab you and pulls you into this incredible narrative. It's so artfully woven a tapestry and I adored it!
A lot of research went into this novel, as shown by the 5 page bibliography in the back. It would be amazing if maybe, just maybe, Laura Amy Schlitz got it right.
It took a long time to get into this story because there's a lot going on. I appreciated the cast list in the beginning and I think having a map would have helped also. This story is told from multiple POVs and in multiple ways, from free verse to novel format.
'Amber and Clay' mainly follows two children; Rhaskos and Melisto. Rhaskos is born a slave and works for a variety of cruel to kindly masters. Melisto is the daughter of a well off man and sent to be a Bear or follower of Artemis. By a weird twist of Fate, and it can be called nothing other than Fate, the two's destinies are entwined.
I think it's necessary to have a fundamental knowledge of Ancient Greece to help with this. There's a lot of politics and social standing etiquette going on that can feel abrasive at first, but this is truly what happened at these points in history. I loved the artifacts included in the story also; I legitimately thought they were real (turns out they are not!) and they really added a level of 'realism' to the story. Dear Gods, do I wish this was a true tale.
This story does grab you and pulls you into this incredible narrative. It's so artfully woven a tapestry and I adored it!
July 13, 2021
Very well-researched, well-written with touches of humor, very long. As an adult reader, I appreciated every aspect of this book.
September 6, 2021
I am envisioning a beautiful Newbery sticker on this one for 2022. One of the very best books of the year.
April 22, 2025
I needed a YA and this one was really lovely. An Athenian artist and a ghost in 400BCE. I enjoyed the portrayal of Socrates.
April 16, 2021
I love Greek mythology and this middle grade book was right up my alley. The author was skillful at weaving several stories together and I was thrilled with the way she inserted great lessons in every chapter. (This old lady learned about Greek art, artifacts and language in a painless way.) I was also relieved to find that the author wasn't tempted to make Amber and Clay into a cheesy romantic tale. She raises serious issues about slavery and abuse. She introduces Socrates to a new generation and allows young people to debate what makes a meaningful life, and she adds humor via the voice of the messenger god, Hermes. FUN, stimulating read!
August 19, 2023
Reread 2023.
***
Oh gosh, my heart. This was so heartbreaking and beautiful and cathartic (appropriate for a novel set in ancient Greece.)
I loved these characters and felt for them so much - Melisto and Rhaskos go through so much and I ached for them while also feeling their joy at the good things they experienced too. They don't meet until much farther in the book than I expected, but their friendship is still so beautiful and believable.
Unsurprisingly, I shed many tears while reading this and for many different feelings. There is so much emotional impact in this book, even for things that you KNOW are coming.
And the structure and writing of this book is BRILLIANT. I think Hermes' chapters were some of my favorites, writing-wise, and his personality was so fascinating as well: playful and charming and strange but maybe with a little more of a heart than he wants to admit, and I really like that he was one of the main narrators.
And more generally, I think the prose and verse and artifact sections of this novel were gorgeously woven together.
The themes of this book were expertly handled, from suffering to beauty to love to what makes a person good.
Can't recommend this enough, if that wasn't clear already!
CW: Grief, slavery, child abuse, execution, misogyny, loss of child, animal sacrifice, infertility, references to animal abuse
***
Oh gosh, my heart. This was so heartbreaking and beautiful and cathartic (appropriate for a novel set in ancient Greece.)
I loved these characters and felt for them so much - Melisto and Rhaskos go through so much and I ached for them while also feeling their joy at the good things they experienced too. They don't meet until much farther in the book than I expected, but their friendship is still so beautiful and believable.
Unsurprisingly, I shed many tears while reading this and for many different feelings. There is so much emotional impact in this book, even for things that you KNOW are coming.
And the structure and writing of this book is BRILLIANT. I think Hermes' chapters were some of my favorites, writing-wise, and his personality was so fascinating as well: playful and charming and strange but maybe with a little more of a heart than he wants to admit, and I really like that he was one of the main narrators.
And more generally, I think the prose and verse and artifact sections of this novel were gorgeously woven together.
The themes of this book were expertly handled, from suffering to beauty to love to what makes a person good.
Can't recommend this enough, if that wasn't clear already!
CW: Grief, slavery, child abuse, execution, misogyny, loss of child, animal sacrifice, infertility, references to animal abuse
May 14, 2021
2.5 stars. It took me a long time to get through this. True, I was reading other books in between, but also, I didn't much feel like reading it during the times I wasn't reading other books. I found it interesting enough, and the verse parts don't bother me, because I agree with Hermes - it means the book is not as long as you think it is. But even then, it dragged. Part of it is Rhaskos. I liked Melisto more than I did Rhaskos, because something about Melisto sparkled. It's weird, because outside of the section on Brauron and the bear, nothing in Melisto's story is as interesting as Rhaskos' narrative. I just liked her more. I spent a lot of time waiting for her storyline to connect with Rhaskos' and it does happen, but the blurb lied. It doesn't happen until the end. By then I was finishing it just because I had wasted too much time on it already.
I loved the concept, and even the execution. Maybe it just took a long time for the payoff - I don't know. I just wasn't enamored with it the way I expected to when I first opened the book and saw Hermes breaking the fourth wall speaking in verse. It's also slightly above the middle grade level it's marketed at (my child is seven and I read some middle grade books for him, but I wouldn't read this one for a good long while).
I loved the concept, and even the execution. Maybe it just took a long time for the payoff - I don't know. I just wasn't enamored with it the way I expected to when I first opened the book and saw Hermes breaking the fourth wall speaking in verse. It's also slightly above the middle grade level it's marketed at (my child is seven and I read some middle grade books for him, but I wouldn't read this one for a good long while).
May 30, 2021
Amber and Clay has received so much hype but it completely missed the mark for me. The plot was interesting but the format was confusing and gimmicky. When I read children’s literature or YA literature I try to think who can I recommend it to. Which of my students would love this book? I don’t know. It’s long and drawn out. You do not get enough time with either Rhaskos Ir Melisto until pretty far into the story.
It’s really frustrating because the whole story of Melisto going to Brauron was the best part and it was just a few short pages.
There were so many characters introduced who really were useless. I know this book has been praised over and over again and I wanted to look it because I’m a fan of the author, but truly this was one of my least favorite books that I have read this year.
Finally the Author’s Note was the icing on the bitter cake. “When I first began researching this novel, I was shocked by the hardships of Greek life, by the oppression of women and enslaved people.” What?!? How is that shocking? Has the author just completely ignored everything about Western culture???
Overall, would not recommend. And the fact that it’s on so many mock Newbery lists is so upsetting.
It’s really frustrating because the whole story of Melisto going to Brauron was the best part and it was just a few short pages.
There were so many characters introduced who really were useless. I know this book has been praised over and over again and I wanted to look it because I’m a fan of the author, but truly this was one of my least favorite books that I have read this year.
Finally the Author’s Note was the icing on the bitter cake. “When I first began researching this novel, I was shocked by the hardships of Greek life, by the oppression of women and enslaved people.” What?!? How is that shocking? Has the author just completely ignored everything about Western culture???
Overall, would not recommend. And the fact that it’s on so many mock Newbery lists is so upsetting.
June 12, 2021
This is an excellent book with many distinguished qualities. I would put it more in the YA category and therefore not put it eligible for a Newbery. I think only a few authors could pull off writing a story that mixes fantasy, mythology, poetry and historical fiction. The audio narration was fantastic. I thought the transitions between points of view and inclusion or artifacts were done very well. The depiction of Socrates could not have been better. Other reviewers have described the gods and goddesses as snarky- perfect word choice. If a student can stay with this book, they would learn valuable information about daily life of various social stations in Greece during this time period. I’m thrilled there is a fantastic book for this historical time period- just think it will be way above most of my students’ abilities for younger middle school. Hoping awards for YA books will take on this title.
July 23, 2022
this was a good book. it was quick and i love the way it was formatted, with the poetry verses as well as the normal prose.
the historical accuracy and the thought put into it was really cool and the notes in the back were nice to read through
*cough* the fact that the author said that achilles and patroclus were 'friends' and that achilles fell in love with the amazon queen bothered me in every way
the historical accuracy and the thought put into it was really cool and the notes in the back were nice to read through
*cough* the fact that the author said that achilles and patroclus were 'friends' and that achilles fell in love with the amazon queen bothered me in every way
July 31, 2021
I had a lot of trouble with the tone of this book. I felt like there was too much toilet humor, which I wasn't expecting from a book set in ancient Greece. It also dragged on for way too long, and I don't think this book warranted 500 pages. There were also some historical inaccuracies that I couldn't overlook.
July 12, 2023
So good! Switches back and forth between verse and prose. Would love to reread this, I know I missed a lot. The story was so good, writing so good, loved the whole thing. Could hardly put it down at the end. Will recommend widely.
May 5, 2025
I've read this book a few times, and every time I do, it gets better
The only slightly negative thing I have about it is that it is technically a middle-grade novel, but it shouldn't be. Although it is about 2 kids, it handles topics that require a certain level of maturity to understand.
I love love love this book!
The only slightly negative thing I have about it is that it is technically a middle-grade novel, but it shouldn't be. Although it is about 2 kids, it handles topics that require a certain level of maturity to understand.
I love love love this book!
July 17, 2021
An ambitious, impressively crafted epic tale set in ancient Greece and told from multiple perspectives, mostly in verse with some prose sections. A boy and a girl who have little in common and never meet in the flesh are bound by destiny. The god Hermes acts as chorus, providing snarky, irreverent interludes as well as much-needed context that is not always sufficient.
Read
September 7, 2023I would like to talk to an actual middle grade-aged child who has read this.
February 21, 2024
4.5 stars! This was really powerful and impactful, FRTC
Displaying 1 - 30 of 406 reviews