Beyond the Odyssey

Maz Evans's Beyond the Odyssey is the third laugh-out-loud adventure starring Elliot and the Greek gods, for 9 year olds, and it opens on the worst possible day for a visit from school.

What happens

Elliot Hooper is thirteen and shares his family's farmhouse with a gang of ancient Greek immortals. Zeus cleans the oven with a thunderbolt. Athene crochets a tablecloth out of spaghetti. Virgo, a former constellation with no idea how to behave, has secretly adopted a baby gorgon called Gorgy who only says "plop".

Today the school welfare team is coming to check on Elliot's home life. So everyone has to act normal. Which, in this house, is a big ask!

It goes wrong in all the best ways. There's a gorgon in the biscuit tin and a downstairs loo that plays Beethoven. Mr Trick, the welfare officer desperate to seem cool, keeps calling Elliot "dude".

Meanwhile Virgo is summoned to the Zodiac Council, who need her vote on a very sneaky new law. And somewhere underground, the bad guys are making plans of their own.

The jokes never let up, and the gods are brilliant company. But there's real heart here too. Elliot's mum is very poorly. She barely speaks now and often seems lost in her own thoughts. His dad has come home after years in prison, and Elliot is desperate to keep the family together.

A gentle heads-up about Mum. Her illness is written kindly but honestly, and a couple of scenes with her are properly sad. If your reader has someone at home who is unwell, it may feel close. The same reader might also love how fiercely Elliot looks after her.

Is it the place to start? Probably not. So much of the fun comes from already knowing these characters.

What to read next

New to Elliot? Go back to Who Let the Gods Out, where he's falling asleep in assembly and keeping a big secret about home.