Pandora Gets Heart

Mythic Misadventures #4

by Carolyn Hennesy

Pandora and her friends Alcie, Iole, and Homer are practically evil-hunting experts. Jealousy, Vanity, and Laziness are all safely in the box and they already know Lust is lurking on Mount Pelion, so this fourth task should be super easy.

Just one teeny tiny the evil is hiding at a wedding that took place 1,300 years ago. Luckily, the messenger god, Hermes steps in to help Pandy and her friends travel back in time-with just one don't change anything. At the wedding, they recognize most of the gods and goddesses, but nobody recognizes them. ( Duh , they haven't been born yet.) So they can search for the evil without drawing attention to themselves. But then Lust appears in the middle of a fateful argument between three of the most powerful goddesses. There's no way Pandora can capture the evil without making a big scene. And worse, if she takes it at the wrong moment, she won't just change the course of history-she'll be history. Yup, this quest is totally under control . . . gulp!

Genres: Mythology, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens, Young Adult, Greek Mythology, Adventure

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Carolyn Hennesy, a Los Angeles native, has been in over 100 theatrical productions spanning the LA., regional and international theatre scenes. Having trained at American Conservatory Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London as well as earning a dramatic scholarship to the California State University at Northridge, she has played such distinguished houses as the Mark Taper Forum, Arizona Theatre Company, Odyssey Theatre, Lobero Theatre and Geary Stage. She also studied with the Groundlings in the early ‘90s and became a member of the Sunday Company. From there she moved to the main company at the ACME Comedy Theatre where she performed for 5 years to critical acclaim. Carolyn is the 2000 recipient of the prestigious Natalie Schafer Award for Outstanding Comedic Actress given by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and has been featured as an “Actor’s Actor” in the industry publication Backstage-West. She recently won the Ovation Award for her work in “The Fan Maroo” (Theatre of NOTE) and was an NAACP Award nominee for her ensemble work in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (Sacred Fools).

Notable theatre credits include: the long running and critically acclaimed “It’s Just Sex” (Zephyr Theatre), “Equinox” (Odyssey Theatre), “Two Rooms” (Santa Barbara Theatre Company), “View of the Dome” (Egyptian Arena Stage), “Tongue of a Bird” and “Nothing Sacred” (Mark Taper Forum), “The Heidi Chronicles” (Arizona Theatre Company), “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Julius Caesar,” and “The Lion In Winter” (Knightsbridge), and her one-woman show “Carolyn Hennesy’s Big Leap” (HBO Workspace). Films include “Terminator 3,” “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde,” “The Cougar Club,” “Sublime,” “the Believers” and “Click”.

Television work includes many regular, guest star and recurring roles in everything from episodics to sit-coms, but she can now regularly be seen on ABC’s daytime drama “General Hospital” in the role of “Diane Miller,” Port Charles’ smart and sassy mob lawyer. In addition to a full-time acting career, Carolyn is also an author, proud shop-a-holic, unabashed foodie, teaches improvisational comedy, speaks American Sign Language (fairly well!) and studies the flying trapeze.

But more important than any of this: she is the fabulously happy new wife of actor Donald Agnelli.

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic! in this Pandora book Pandy finally finds Dido! (Yay) but you know the story of the trojan war? well it how the trojan war began... you know Helen, Paris and the golden appple. BUT!!!!!!! its not all sugar and fluff!! beware!! an important character gets... well... how do i say this? um... lets say she ... uh.. visits... hades. i ended up cryin in the end. but then again... i cried when optimus prime died in transformors 2.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book, I find the Pandora books to be so funny.
Though in the end of this book a heart throbbing decision will have to be made. Someone must die. Who will it be? And what kind of god or goddess would force Pandy and her friends to such a limit. Well I think we all know who the culprit will be.
A dramatic twist to this book, so make sure you read the epilogue important details.... :-)

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has Pandy and the others hunting Lust. Yes, lust, in a novel for young readers. It handles the topic a bit strangely, but ultimately comes up with a subpar solution that makes Lust too similar to Greed.

Pandy goes back in time to the era of myth. They go to an infamous wedding (the perfect place for Lust) where Eris will present the Apple of Discord. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite fight for the apple, just like the myth, but Aphrodite is a bit too hot for a series for young readers. This book is just okay, but I didn’t like it as much as some other books in this series.

[Karen Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermes is bae, it is a fact.
Hera is a psycho maniac,
Aphrodite is just a plain old hottie
SOMETHING HAPPENED TO PANDY'S FRIEND I AM SO SORRY
Also, Pandora got back her doggy

Me, after coming to the end of this book:

[Sandy Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-breaking

This story has such a zad, but also funny ending. In spite of what we commonly think of when we hear the word lust, the title of the fourth book as more apt description of what it's about.

Considering what happened to Alcie, I can't help feeling angry while I read this fifth book. 😉

[Megan (sporadic hiatus due to law school) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming to the end of this one, I see why the next one is Pandora gets Angry- I'd be real ticked off too.

I don't think this one was as enjoyable; it didn't have the same fast pace or feel. But Hennesy does a good job drawing in myths and weaving them into Pandora's adventures (though I do believe Aphrodite got a little too... descriptive for a kids' book)

[Hailey Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pandora and her friends need to get Lust. But the only way to get it is to . . . go back in time. When Pandora and her friends go back in time they are told they cannot change anything. But can we trust them?

[Anna Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Great book! I loved it. It had a good plot and I am happy to see Pandora's mythic misadventures contimue

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another evil down, only three more to go! While I was sad that Alcie died, I really loved reading about the wedding!!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that this book continues to put the girls (and Homer) into higher and higher-stakes situations, but I'm interested to see if it walks back any lasting consequences in future books.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this took me way too long to realize why it wasn't called Pandora gets lust you probably camt call a kids book that

[meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

so to be fair, i had to review this for my work and didn't read the first three in the series. i get the feeling i definitely would have gotten more out of it if i didn't jump in on number four. the series has a cute premise--young pandy brings the infamous box to school, accidentally lets out all the evils into the world, and subsequently must go one quests to retrieve and recapture them. one evil per book. having already gotten jealousy, vanity, and laziness back under wraps, pandy and her friends take on lust (in a very middle grade way of course). the author (carolyn hennesy, of general hospital and cougartown fame, it turns out) definitely has a knack for making mythological events accessible and humorous, but i think the thing that stopped me from really getting into this book was it's kind of ambivalent tone. sort of funny, sort of serious, sort of lighthearted, but not really succeeding in any of them. it didn't seem to know what it really wanted to be, and as a result the ending felt suddenly and weirdly tragic. that said, it was certainly a decent read and i'd recommend it to middle-grade girls who are into mythology-related lit, but suggest they read them in order.

[Reading Vacation · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all know the story of Pandora opening her box and releasing the evils of the world. In this series, each book tells the story of Pandy returning one of those evils to her box. This time it’s lust (middle grade friendly).

Now, I know you are thinking that the whole myth thing is going to be my favorite part of the story. While it’s way up there near the top, my favorite part is Pandy’s voice. She comes off as a real teen girl – happy, sad, serious, funny – her mood changes to fit the scene.

Pandy and her friends go back in time 1,300 years before their current ancient Greek times. Read that again if you didn’t catch it the first time. This was really cool because the other Gods didn’t recognize them. Well, except Zeus because he’s special like that.

I was really surprised by what was being lusted over, and I liked how this was handled. One of the girls has a very serious decision to make and it’s not easy. I am looking forward to reading Pandora Gets Angry, which released February 2011.

RATING

5 Loved

COVER COMMENTS

I love the cartoonish cover because it’s a nice change from all the covers with models on them. I can even tell which character is which.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As usual, delving into the latest adventures of Pandora and her friends, has been a great enjoyment. From the opening scenes of Iole worrying about her friends having forgotten her special day - her Maiden Day (thirteenth birthday) to Alcie's selfless act to save her friends and further the mission to return all the evils back to the box. I enjoyed watching Iole begin to mature and make more of a place for herself with her friends, stand up for herself and take risks. It was good to see Pandy question the decisions she made in letting her friends join her, even though she acknowledged she wouldn't be able to have gotten as far as she had without them and their strengths to help her. And to see Alcie sacrifice her very life for her friends and the sake of the mission. It took me three days to read this amazing story - I couldn't put it down - and I cannot wait to see where the next adventure take the friends. And I have faith in the fact that Alcie will be around . . . I am sure Hades will right the wrong set on her by Hera very soon!!

[Angela Liao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pandora Gets Heart is the fourth book in the series, Pandora: Mythic Adventures. Pandora released many evils into the world. Now she and her friends are going on a quest to get all of the evils back into the box. In this quest they are to get back the evil, lust. Lust is hidden at a wedding that took place long ago, so with the help of the messenger god, Hermes, Pandora and her friends travel back in time to find lust. This is a great fantasy book I like to read when I’m bored. My favorite part of the book was when Pandora slaps Hera. If I was Pandora I wouldn’t be brave enough to do that. This was a very intense part. I knew that Pandora’s friends must be very surprised to see her do that to the most powerful goddess in Greece. I wonder what was Hera’s reaction after acknowledging what Pandora has done to her. I noticed that the goddess and gods in this book have different personalities compared to other Greek gods in other books I have read. I wonder will Pandora and her friends catch all the evils in time and I will be waiting to read the next book in this series.

[Anjola Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was "okay" to me. Of course I'm not going to sugarcoat now but , it really could be better. On the other hand, the author did a great job of using Greek history and modern teenagers to understand the story better. For example, in the book one part said "Then I started to sing Happy Maiden Day To Me...I can't believe they're being bad friends". That one sentence uses the old language/traditions of the Greek and the sad/drama the character is feeling towards her friend. If this book is apart of a series, I would not read this book again. Only, because of the predicted parts and not enough action starting.

[Konnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the first, this book is full of funny incidents with the gods of ancient Greece. The story was clever, but it is a little difficult to write a story all about the deadly sin of lust without making it unfit for the junior fiction set. Hennesy does a pretty good job with this, except when she doesn't. With that ambiguous description, read it before you hand it off to your pre-teen/teen daughter and make sure she's up to it.

[Mishal Syed · Rating 4 out of 5]

* reread March 2025 *

this is really cute, but it's sort of slow-paced for a while, and Pandy doesn't get the apple of Lust herself (she needs lots of help); there are several futile attempts and then Alcie "dies" for no reason (we know she'll be brought back from the dead, since this is a middle-grade book, but her death is still sad and jarring); the apple is retrieved at the very end, while everyone is miserable.

Still, this series is adorable and I love going back to it.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth book in the Pandora series. Pandy and her friends are after Lust. It is embodied in the golden apple that brought about the Trojan War, so they must travel back in time with the assistance of Hermes to steal the apple from Aphrodite and place it back in the box. Another charming installment in this series.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining & girl-oriented take on Greek Mythology. This series would be good for girls who enjoyed Percy Jackson or the Cronus Chronicles. The idea of Pandora having to go on a quest to recapture the seven deadly sins is a good one, & handled well.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dying,sadness,courage,everyone caring about each other and happiness. It was a great book. It had everything from adventure to gods. I recommend this book but read Pandora gets Jealous and the other 2 before reading this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Katie R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is Hera always the bad guy??? Someone should make a pro-Hera novel. But then again, she really does do some nasty things (granted, it seems like all the gods do).

However, Zeus really seems like the root of e v e r y t h i n g!

[Dolores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series! There is lots of humor and adventure in this entry and one major twist at the end. But I'm hoping that rumors of death will be greatly exaggerated! Can't wait until Pandora gets angry.

[Mary McKinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO SAD!!!!

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

the ending was kind of sad and i totally hate hera.

[Emily W]

It was scary in the end

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still a good mix of adventure, humor, and heart. More and more serious consequences for the kids. And some clever use of ancient mythology to tell a story who's messages are very modern.

[AaRtHi :) :D :P · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was really good but sooooo sad!!! one of the girls dies!!!! :(

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

great books if you want an easy read to pass a lil time

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check my review for Pandora Gets Jealous