8 Books Inspired By Mythology That I Want To Read

If you read my post about which challenges I’m participating in for 2017, you know that I am doing the Diverse Reads Challenge & now my challenge, Diversify the Shelves.

And I’ve already failed. Pretty bad.

This month’s theme was books based on mythology. I didn’t read any (I only read one book this month, please forgive me). So, to make up for the actual lack of reading books, I’ve put together a list of 10 books based on mythology that I want to read (and hopefully will actually get to). I had a hard time finding ones that interested me & different ones because almost every list was the same. So, if you have any recommendations, please comment and add the myth/folklore it is based on/inspired by if you know!

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Mythology/Folklore: This one blends together Nigerian mythology with science-fiction!

I’ve never read this author, but she writes some books that sound really interesting! Here are a few more: Binti, Akata Witch, The Shadow Speaker, Kabu Kabu, The Girl with the Magical Hands, and Hello, Moto. I could probably just do 10 Books I Want To Read by Nnedi Okorafor  😆

Summary: When a massive object crashes into the ocean off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous and legendary city, three people wandering along Bar Beach (Adaora, the marine biologist Anthony, the rapper famous throughout Africa- Agu, the troubled soldier) find themselves running a race against time to save the country they love and the world itself… from itself. Told from multiple points of view and crisscrossing narratives, combining everything from superhero comics to Nigerian mythology to tie together a story about a city consuming itself. [Read more on Goodreads]

The Blazing Star by Imani Josey

Mythology/Folklore: Egyptian

Okay, I admit, it was that cover that first sucked me in. I mean, come on, look at it. Then I learned that it takes place in ancient Egypt & has time travel, I was sold.

Summary: Sixteen-year-old Portia White is used to being overlooked—after all, her twin sister Alex is a literal genius.
But when Portia holds an Egyptian scarab beetle during history class, she takes center stage in a way she never expected: she faints. Upon waking, she is stronger, faster, and braver than before. And when she accidentally touches the scarab again?
She wakes up in ancient Egypt—her sister and an unwitting freshman in tow. [Read more on Goodreads]

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

Mythology/Folklore: Latinx (Caribbean)

Again, that cover. Okay, at first I wasn’t sold on this one because it’s compared to Clare’s novels (which I’m not a huge fan of) but someone said it was better than those. Since Clare’s novels are so loved, and this one is claimed to be better, I’m giving it a chance!

Summary: Sierra Santiago was looking forward to a fun summer of making art, hanging out with her friends, and skating around Brooklyn. But then a weird zombie guy crashes the first party of the season. Sierra’s near-comatose abuelo begins to say “No importa” over and over. And when the graffiti murals in Bed-Stuy start to weep…. Well, something stranger than the usual New York mayhem is going on. [Read more on Goodreads]

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh

Mythology/Folklore: Inspired by Arabian Nights

Do I even need to say why I want to read this one? Or do I need more so to explain why I haven’t read it yet? Honestly, I don’t know. I just keep forgetting about it. But gosh darn it! I will get to it this year!

Summary: In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad’s dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride. Shahrzad is determined not only to stay alive, but to end the caliph’s reign of terror once and for all. [Read more on Goodreads]

Wildefire by Karsten Knight

Mythology/Folklore: Polynesian

Reincarnated Gods? A volcano goddess? Yes, please.

Summary: Blackwood Academy was supposed to be a fresh start for Ashline Wilde. A secluded boarding school deep in the heart of California’s redwood forests, three thousand miles from her old life – it sounded like the new beginning she needed after an act of unspeakable violence left a girl in her hometown dead. But Blackwood is far from the peaceful haven Ashline was searching for.Because terrifying, supernatural beasts roam the forests around campus.Because the murderer from Ashline’s hometown – her own sister – has followed her across the country. Because a group of reincarnated gods and goddesses has been mysteriously summoned to Blackwood…and Ashline’s one of them. [Read more on Goodreads]

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Mythology/Folklore: Russian, “Snegurochka” or “The Snow Maiden”

Honestly, I just love the premise of this one. The story sounds mysterious. And there’s a fox.

Summary: Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart–he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm, she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season’s first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning, the snow child is gone–but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them. [Read more on Goodreads]

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan

Mythology/Folklore: Scottish

Oh, hi, Scottish myths & fairy tales? Sign me up! Also, that summary just sounds so good. It makes its own case.

Summary: As a Gracekeeper, Callanish administers shoreside burials, sending the dead to their final resting place deep in the depths of the ocean. Alone on her island, she has exiled herself to a life of tending watery graves as penance for a long-ago mistake that still haunts her. Meanwhile, North works as a circus performer with the Excalibur, a floating troupe of acrobats, clowns, dancers, and trainers who sail from one archipelago to the next, entertaining in exchange for sustenance. [Read more on Goodreads]

The Fire Wish by Amber Lough

Mythology/Folklore: Inspired by Arabian Nights

This sounds like The Parent Trap, or Freaky Friday (oh, what’s up, Lindsay Lohan!) but with maybe a little more danger.

Summary: Najwa is a jinni, training to be a spy in the war against the humans. Zayele is a human on her way to marry a prince of Baghdad—which she’ll do anything to avoid. So she captures Najwa and makes a wish. With a rush of smoke and fire, they fall apart and re-form—as each other. A jinni and a human, trading lives. Both girls must play their parts among enemies who would kill them if the deception were ever discovered—enemies including the young men Najwa and Zayele are just discovering they might love. [Read more on Goodreads]

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Have you read any of these? Do any of them sound interesting to you?
What other books inspired by mythology/folklore do you recommend or want to read?