Hayley's parents are dead and she has been raised by overly restrictive grandparents who seem to be ruled by Uncle Jolyon. Suddenly she is sent away to live with the Aunts in Ireland because she's done something wrong. What she's done and the consequences of it are revealed gradually in The Game as Hayley finds a whole new world (the Mythosphere) waiting for her when she meets the Aunts and her previously unknown cousins.
Interweaving story strands from myth, legend and literature (even Tolkien gets a passing nod), Diana Wynne Jones takes extraordinary concepts and makes them feel not only normal but right. You don't need to know your Greek myths to keep up with this (there's a glossary at the end) but if you do you might get more out of it.
As you might expect from Diana Wynne Jones, this is beautifully and economically written and well worth a read.
Interweaving story strands from myth, legend and literature (even Tolkien gets a passing nod), Diana Wynne Jones takes extraordinary concepts and makes them feel not only normal but right. You don't need to know your Greek myths to keep up with this (there's a glossary at the end) but if you do you might get more out of it.
As you might expect from Diana Wynne Jones, this is beautifully and economically written and well worth a read.