Who Let the Gods Out? by Maz Evans (review)

Twelve-year-old Elliot has a problem: his mom is slipping into dementia and the pair will likely lose their small English house unless he comes up with some money. One-thousand-nine-hundred-sixty-four-year-old Virgo also has a problem: she’s got to prove herself to the Zodiac Council by bringing ambrosia to Prisoner Forty-Two, who happens to be held underneath Stonehenge, which happens to be just a few steps from Elliot’s house. Virgo and Elliot meet, and Elliot agrees to help Virgo on her mission; however, they manage to epically bumble their task, accidently releasing the king of the daemons (aka Prisoner Forty-Two) and, probably, holy hell on the mortal world. They need some help and they need it now, so Virgo rounds up the ancient Gods of yore, complete with a now overweight but still charming playboy Zeus, a fashion-obsessed Hermes, college professor Athena, matchmaker Aphrodite, and inventor Hephaestus. The story has a clean, zippy pace, with a straightforward adventure and clever, pithy humor; the cast of eccentric gods and other quirky immortals (Sisyphus shows up with a terrible lisp, the three-headed hound of Hades beams about his recent litter of pups) is an absolute hoot, with the infighting between Aphrodite and Athena particularly amusing. Elliot and Virgo can get lost in the entertaining shuffle, but Elliot’s thoughts about his ailing mother and Virgo’s self-doubt add a thoughtful edge to the playfulness. Absurd divine beings, a boy on a quest, and a hell-raising demon—what’s not to like?