School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--Mary, a daughter of a Greek father and French mother, lives in Detroit with her twin sister and younger brothers during the Great Depression. Her dreams of a different life and a crush on an "American Boy" are in conflict with her father's desire for an arranged marriage to help the family financially. The desire to assimilate drives Mary. She wants a life where she can have choices, not expectations. Mary discovers letters written between her parents during World War I. The story moves back and forth between her parents' childhoods, meeting, and their war correspondence, and the life Mary is trying to create for herself. Their youthful goals run parallel to Mary's. A series of losses push Mary and her parents to start moving toward their dreams. Small details of the Great Depression are woven throughout---from Hoovervilles to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The author's note details her grandmother's experiences, on whom the story is based. The back matter also includes black-and-white photos of family members and a list with quotes and historical facts. VERDICT A compelling story of the tension between children and their immigrant parents and the sometimes conflicting dreams. A first purchase for larger libraries.--Tamara Saarinen, Pierce County Lib., WA
Kirkus Review
A multigenerational coming-of-age story centered around an immigrant community during the Great Depression. The novel begins in 1933 with Mary, 16, living in a small apartment in Detroit, Michigan, with her Greek father and French mother; twin sister, Marguerite; and three younger brothers. Her father, a shop owner struggling now that no one is buying Ford motorcars, wants to arrange her marriage to a fellow immigrant, but Mary longs for modernity, a job, and some fun with dashing, blond Billy. She finds a mysterious pile of unaddressed letters dated 1918, which leads to two other stories--that of Gio, a young Greek fisherman who, through complicated circumstances, ends up enlisted in the U.S. Army, and Jeanne, a wealthy French girl who volunteers with wounded soldiers at a hospital in Brittany. Eventually the strands come together to reveal the identities of Jeanne and Gio. At times, the plot seems too convoluted--Marguerite, Mary's twin, never feels necessary at all--and the cryptic nature of the letters makes them feel inauthentic. However, the author's sense of history brings details of the different times and cultures to life as she tells a story inspired by her family's history. Her blank verse serves the tale well, with lines such as "Death walks the halls / naked, / without pride, asking for his mother," to convey the youth and despair of injured young men. A strong debut written with heart and strength. (author's note, photographs, endnotes) (Verse novel. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In depression-era Detroit, the world seems like a place full of contradictions to Mary--the streets teeming with women in furs and men who haven't eaten in days. Promised to a much older man and told to curb her desire to own a business like her father, while courted by a boy who sees her for who she is and who she wants to be, Mary sees her future as more uncertain by the day. This novel in verse perfectly balances important historical touchstones with a timeless narrative. By flashing back to Mary's parents' adolescences in WWI-era Greece and France, they avoid becoming the stock, closed-minded adults that populate many coming-of-age stories but exist as people whose dreams have been blunted by trauma. Call Me Athena is a kaleidoscope of moments from the past, yet its real strength is the way it takes such different times, places, and stories and shows how commonalities like love, grief, and hope can connect a family over the course of generations.
