I really don't know how I feel about this one or if I care enough to really grapple with my feelings, which is odd because I was absolutely having a ball for a while there. But it's just sorta not a lot beyond the surface.

The story follows Hel, the half-dead god Norse goddess of death, from birth to Ragnarok, casting her as snarky, 'boy crazy', emo, girlboss teen with an acerbic attitude.

At first I was really enjoying the similarish tone to Harrow from Tamsyn Muir's Locket Tomb series, especially with the wonderful performance of Eleanor Tomlinson that has a similar timbre to Moira Quirk's glorious narration for Muir's books, but it's kind of left no actual impression on me and I had to kinda force myself to get though it. I thought Circe by Madeline Miller was great and I would most compare it to that with less depth, story arc, and the fact Circe seemed to be doing something new with the story from a historical/ mythological fantasy perspective.

I suppose the question I'm left with is, what was the point? The historical/ mythological fiction giving a character a new first person, protagonist perspective is generally used to explored a character in greater depth, especially one done dirty by events and their screen time, interpret them in a new way, often through a feminist lens, or using them much like science fiction as a medium to explore and/ or interrogate a contemporary issue. I don't really see this doing any of those beyond showing that Hel had a tough life. Unfortunately, this book doesn't really give her much depth or narrative, and, with the handling of her feelings for Balder and reaction to her yassification by the mortal Freya, it doesn't seem like a feminist reading.

I think the real shame is that this tone and prose really could have been something, but it ultimately comes off as running Hel's story through an 'AI' filter. That's really unfair and I don't mean to be so harsh on Simon, I simply mean that this is what if Hel was an emo teen girlboss? without actually exploring what that means.

The narration really is something else and I think I would have struggled so much more without it, but this is also the first audiobook I've upped the playback speed because I just wanted to finish it sooner. ( )

A stunning, operatic, epic drama, like no other. Meet Hel, an ordinary teenager - and goddess of the Underworld. Why is life so unfair? Hel tries to make the best of it, creating gleaming halls in her dark kingdom and welcoming the dead who she is forced to host for eternity. Until eternity itself is threatened.
Francesca Simon is best known for her Horrid Henry series of books. I never read them, but I know they are hugely popular with children in every library in Ireland, and the UK, and probably elsewhere. Recently she has branched away from Henry, and this book, The Monstrous Child is her first aimed at children 12 .
But the main reason I first noticed it was the cover. It's so eye-catching. I love it. And then once I picked it up I figured, sure I really should read at least one book by Simon. How can I call myself a librarian if I don't?
The "monstrous" child of the title is Loki's daughter Hel. Her older brothers are a snake and a wolf, so maybe she should count herself lucky that she at least appears like a person. Albeit one that is both dead and alive. Her legs are rotten and dead. But she is still a god, although one none of the other gods want around.
Of course, none of the gods really come across in any sort of a positive light here. Loki is his usual trickster self, but with no charm to waste on his monster children. He doesn't care about any of them, apart from when they may be able to help him. And Odin doesn't exactly endear himself to Hel, our narrator, when he banishes her to underworld. She may be the Queen of the dead, but she is also its prisoner.
It is an interesting book, but too little happens in it, and I'm afraid Hel is a tad on the boring side. All she does is whine and moan. She has reason enough, definitely, but at the same time it'd be nice to see her drive some aspects of the plot rather than constantly having to react to things. Or just put up with them.
I do sort of want to pick up her other Norse books, I'm not sure if this is part of that series, it certainly wasn't advertised as such on my copy, but although I didn't love this book it did enough to keep me entertained and intrigued enough to want to read more by Simon. ( )

I feel like this book had a lot of potential, then it tried to cover too much ground too quickly. In this book, Francesca Simon covers a plethora of myths, starting at Hel's birth and moving on towards Ragnarok. We meet a LOT of characters and we go through them all so quickly that with the exception of her giantess friend, we don't really get to know any of them enough to care. I understand this is the third book in a series, but I feel like the story would have been better served more fleshed out and over the course of several books.

I really liked Hel's voice. She was angry and witty and sarcastic. Given her history, she had every right to be! Unfortunately, this anger also leads to a lot of ranting and rambling on Hel's part and it just got repetitive after a while.

HOWEVER. I appreciate the fact that Simon chose to remain loyal to Norse mythology. This in not the story of an average teenage girl who eventually became Hel, Queen of the Underworld. Most mythology is weird. Gods are born in strange and precarious ways, and that is EXACTLY how Simon runs with the story. Hel's siblings are a snake and a wolf and yup, that's correct per the mythology. It's not what we'd normal see in fiction, but it's technically canon.

Overall, I did like this story, and I read it really quickly. It was interesting and witty and fun but there was a lot of room for improvement in the speed of the story, the fleshing out of the world and characters, and personally I think we could have done with a better dialogue/description balance. Plus, Hel never changed or matured... I felt like the character didn't grow at all. I don't know. I liked it, but it's definitely a two star book for me. ( )

I liked the fresh take on Norse mythology. I liked that the story was told in the first person from Hel's point of view. The artwork on the cover and in the book was beautiful and complimented the story. The characters were good, I just wanted to know more about them. Even Hel seemed like more of a caricature than a real individual. It felt like the character was telling me the myth instead of me living the myth with the character. Overall it was a quick read that I am glad I read. It has made me curious enough about Norse mythology to look for other fictional treatments of it. ( )

I didn't realize this book was part of a series, but this can be read as a standalone. I liked this book. The story is told in the first person and is narrated by Hel, a spunky goddess who, unwillingly, becomes queen of the Underworld. Hel could definitely be annoying at times, but I ended up feeling sorry for her because of what she had to endure throughout the story. It was interesting to read about this mythological world and Hel's crazy journey. I enjoyed Francesca Simon's writing and I thought this was a fast, engrossing read. ( )