Reading Level: Ages 10-14

Charlotte, an ordinary girl “inside an ordinary middle school in an ordinary city in an ordinary state in the middle of an ordinary country” has an ordinary problem: she has been “mega super-grounded” for staying out all night. What her parents don’t know is the extraordinary reason behind her behavior. Charlotte was busy saving the world from the mischievous gods of the Underworld.

This is how the story opens in The Siren Song, the second installment of “The Cronus Chronicles.” The fact that author Anne Ursu begins in the middle of the action where the first novel, The Shadow Thieves, left off, is not as jarring as one would expect. Rather, the reader will happily dive into the middle and easily accept the premise that the heroine Charlotte and her male cousin Zee have already done battle with such heavy-hitters as Poseidon and a relentlessly vindictive god named Philonecron. They successfully defeated Philonecron in the first novel and now have to face the consequences—angry gods determined to extract revenge.

Perfect for a unit on mythology, the novel seamlessly weaves in well-known gods and places of Greek mythology without bogging the story down with pedantic and overdrawn descriptions. In fact, Ursu offers a remarkable little chapter in the middle of Part Two that gives readers a humorous and quick-paced summary of Zeus’ reign in Mt. Olympus and Poseidon’s rule over the seas—without readers catching on that they just may have learned something about (yuck!) mythology. Ursu’s descriptions of mythological figures are effectively sparse. Poseidon, for example, is simply said to be “great and terrible, with deep blue skin and eyes like oceans.”

But Ursu’s strength as a writer lies in her witty dialogue, believable characters, and humorous renditions of situations and colorful characters, right down to the Bestiary descriptions at the end. For example, Delphin, the dolphin who arranged Poseidon’s marriage to Amphitrite, “proved his loyalty when he planned their wedding—with, we presume, lots of dolphin ice sculptures.”

If there is a criticism to be made of the novel, it lies in the choice of narrator. The novel, divided into four parts and presented in the third-person limited point of view, switches in Part Two from Charlotte to the male protagonist Zee. It is especially disconcerting in light of what happens to Zee next. Without giving too much away, Zee becomes incapacitated throughout much of the remainder of the novel. The remaining action is given once again from Charlotte’s perspective, running the risk of alienating male readers. The answer to this potential problem would be to ensure that readers do not skip the first book in the series, in which Zee plays a more dominant role. The hope is that readers will have sufficiently identified with Zee in the first book that the action will be enough to carry them through the second one.

Shortcomings aside, Ursu’s tale is an entertaining jaunt through the mythological underworld where likeable characters triumph over powerful “authority” figures, a theme irresistible to the adolescent. Ursu’s greatest achievement is the way she masterfully brings to life mythological characters to the young adult. This second novel, and the trilogy in general, is perfect for the reluctant reader, female in particular, who won’t be able to put it down. Readers will be left anxiously awaiting the third and final installment.