A gentle story of friendship, overcoming fears and bravery, all set on a beautiful Greek island.
Feature image credit: Allen & Unwin
Successful Australian author Karen Foxlee lives and writes in Queensland. Her internationally acclaimed book Lenny’s Book of Everything has won many awards. Foxlee creates new possibilities in a world where we think we know everything. She is able to take the reader into a place where we can believe the impossible. Her books usually have a young female central character who has to rise above her family difficulty or personal trait. These books are also perfect for the middle-grade reader as nothing is ever too scary or too adult.
The Trouble with the Two-Headed Hydra is the second book in the Miss Mary-Kate Martin’s Guide to Monsters series. Mary-Kate’s mother, Professor Martin (Prof), is an archaeologist and her father disappeared on Mount Shishapangma when she was five. Mary-Kate once again accompanies her mother when she is called out to an archaeological dig. This one is in the Greek Islands to uncover a mosaic of the local myth The Two Headed Hydra. Prof takes Mary Kate along with her, for reasons unknown to Mary-Kate, who would much rather stay home with her grandmother.
Mary-Kate is seen on the bright blue front cover (a nod to the blue ocean around the Greek Islands) with the items that are important to her: her red shoes, red sparkly backpack and carefully planned wardrobe (things we learned in the first book that help keep her anxiety under control). Behind her is a two-headed monster rearing from the ocean.
On the island of Galinios, boats and piers have been destroyed and the locals are blaming the island myth. An ex-movie-star now runs the local sardine factory and all may not be above board. Mary-Kate meets local boy Nikos who takes her on a tour and pretty soon they are caught up in the mysteries of the island. His grandmother, Yiayia Eva, is apparently the custodian of the sea monster stories and his brother Georgios writes the community island newspaper.
Mary-Kate soon begins writing questions in her notebook, in the appropriate colour pen of course. What does the colour red mean? Why are the fishermen leaving the island? Who are The Legendary Pest Control crew and what do they need to control?
Mary Kate is extremely observant, but always very anxious. She has learned ways to combat her anxiety by writing down notes, dealing with a small part of the problem at a time, and singing “la-la-la-la” out loud to distract her from scary things. Her glitter pens and strawberry-scented notebook help her put her thoughts in order.
The excerpt from P.K. Mayberry’s A Brief Guide to Monsters and Monster Hunters at the beginning of each chapter lets the reader know that Mary Kate is on the right track as a monster hunter.
The Trouble with the Two-Headed Hydra is part mystery, part adventure, and part mythology. It teaches us about the importance of caring for our environment and the dire consequences that will happen if we ignore the signs. It is also a story about bravery, kindness, friendship, thoughtfulness, and compassion. A friend can be found in the most unexpected of places. We just need to be open to finding them.
Foxlee has once again given us insight into how anxiety can take a tight grip on our lives and also give us some strategies to deal with it. In this story, Mary-Kate needs to overcome her fear of heights, but again she breaks the problem down into smaller pieces, which helps.
The Trouble with the Two-Headed Hydra could work as a stand-alone story, but readers will want to begin with the first book, which introduces us to the protagonist’s family and ways of coping with unexpected situations.
This story is well paced, clear, and gives the reader a sense of the Greek Islands with their blue sea and warm sun.
The occasional line drawing by Freda Chiu adds to the story and the 287 pages make it a perfect length for middle-grade readers who like a good mystery.
Reviewed by Sue Mauger
This review is the opinion of the reviewer and not necessarily of Glam Adelaide.
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: November 2022
RRP: $14.99
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