You really don’t need to know anything about the myth, however, to enjoy the story.  It really reads like a fast paced adventure story.  Here is the publisher’s teaser:

When her adopted father is slain by a strange beast, Atalanta is determined to take care of herself. She is happy in the forest with only her friend Urso — a giant bear — for company. She wants nothing to do with the world of men.

But the ferocious creature that killed her father is still out there, and Atalanta can’t resist the opportunity to hunt it down, even if that means she has to join forces with a group of hunters to do so. Atalanta must prove that she is as strong and brave as any of the others, as they search together for the deadly Arcadian Beast.

It is an interesting blend of action adventure and subtle explorations of issues like family, gender and identity that are so prevalent in Greek mythology

More below.

It turns out there really wasn’t much overlap between the two YA approaches to this legend. Yolen and Harris use a very different perspective.

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While Spinner used the Calydonian Boar Hunt part of the myth to start the story Yolen and Harris morph the story into the hunt for an “Arcadian Beast” or mantiger that is sort of a combination Chimera and manticore. Spiner also focuses on what happens to Atalanta after she finds out about her royal lineage while Yolen and Harris focus on the events leading up to that revelation.

Yolen and Harris portray Atalanta as a exceptional huntress but also fiercely independent and competitive.  She is perfectly comfortable in the woods – her closest companion is bear – but as a result less adept at social interaction and the niceties of town life; let alone the culture and intrigue of the palace.

So for her the challenge is more than just tracking the beast and getting revenge for her father’s death it is also about learning how to interact with others and to be part of group larger than her immediate family. As the hunt moves from deep in the forest to local town to far away capitol this gets more challenging. And the mystery of her true parents adds an element of suspense and tension.

This quest brings her into contact with not only the hero Orion, the god Pan and the royal family but also in Evenor a family that she can feel apart of. Twice adopted (once by the she-bear and then by her hunter father) she ends up rejecting her blood family – for the time being anyway, the story leaves her eventual return open – and choosing instead what feels like home.

Atalanta can be a prickly and rather proud young women but the story also relates why someone of her skill and background might act this way. As noted, she had little opportunity to sharpen her social skills in the forest where her family and the animals were her only contacts.

But larger Arcadian society also refused to take her seriously as as young women. She is constantly having to prove herself worthy of the hunt.  It is only by saving Evenor’s children that she first win’s acceptance in the town. And it is only by beating Orion in a foot race that she wins the right to be in the hunt. And when events force her to lead the hunt to kill the beast she must once again prove she is up to the challenge even while politics of the royal court and the plots of the gods conspire against the hunt.

Along the way, Pan pops up to chide her and remind her that no matter how much she loves the forest and her bear companion Ursu as a human her fate will in the end be tied to people not animals.  Atalanta accepts this finally but chooses which family to be a part of and in that way stays true to herself.

But all of these are really undercurrents to the story – elements that are part of the underlying myth. Yolen and Harris really just use the characters and elements of the legend to tell a good story. One of a young hero who faces tragedy and but is strong enough and determined enough to rise above it.

Young readers familiar with Greek mythology will enjoy this fast paced read just as much as those with a little more familiarity. And it serves as a good introduction to the building blocks of these classic stories. I plan to check out the other volumes in this Young Heros series.

The books I read were actually three separate books (as pictured throughout) but I figured I would review them all under this one combined volume:

This is the legendary story of Merlin–from his abandonment by his parents at the age of eight to the discovery of his powers at twelve. Together, these three novels reimagine the origins of the greatest wizard of all time, giving readers a Merlin at once more human and more magical than any that has appeared before.

I found them to be interesting chapter books that explore the childhood of Merlin in poetic and dream like prose. Despite their unique style and structure they are captivating and entertaining reads.

More below.

The first thing to note about the books are how short they are as separate books (100 pages or so). But again, I see them as chapter books even if the style and subject are somewhat non-traditional.

The individual books, or as parts withing a larger work, mimic the feel of myths and legends in that they sketch and describe characters and events but lack the completeness of traditional novels.

The concept is to explore what Merlin’s childhood might have been like. Yolen has studied the Arthurian myths and legends surrounding the famous wizard and come up with her take on what happened and how that might have felt from Merlin’s perspective.

Passager covers Merlin’s abandonment at age eight until he is found and taken in by a kindly bird tamer.  A Passager is “a falcon caught in the wild and tamed but that is not yet an adult bird.” Yolen uses this theme to explore the idea of being a wild child lost in the woods and what it would be like to come back to a home and a makeshift family.

This first volume introduces Merlin and sketches out his personality and perspective. It also uses Merlin as a lens with to view both the nature of the wilderness but also the contrast with domestication and homelife.

As noted above, it has a poetic and dream like quality to it as you watch Merlin survive in the harsh conditions and being to relax under the care of humans again. He tries to make sense of his identity in the contrasting places and dynamics.

A Hobby is a “small Old World falcon or hawk that has been trained and flown at small birds.” And this volume beings with tragedy. Merlin is forced to leave his adopted home and set out alone once again.  Along the way he hooks up with a traveling magician – or mage – and his beautiful wife. But after interpreting some dreams for a Duke and Duchess things go awry yet again and he is left to fend for himself alone.

The focus of Hobby is on the relationships Merlin develops and how his identity and perspective changes when part of a group and accepted as such (or at least appearing to be). Merlin also begins to try and sort out his dreams and what they might mean both for him and for those in the dreams and around him.

The final book deals with Merlin as he is coming to grips with his magical potential – not fully mastered but beginning to understand the outlines. He meets an entire village of wild folk but his dreams once again cause conflict and lead to tragedy.

The book puts Merlin, who is now fully his own person making his own decisions, in a society that is more like his wild/nature side but it is also clear that his dream set him apart and keep him from fitting in. They in fact lead to conflict and end in tragedy just as they have before.

But in a strange way, Merlin finds a friend and a way to face the future.

What is interesting about the stories is their episodic and provisional nature.  They don’t really tell a definitive story with clear cut beginning middle and end; although there are aspects of this involved. Rather they sort of sketch out a way of looking at the legend of Merlin; of trying to see how this character might have developed and how he came to be the wizard of such fame.

I am not a student of Arthurian legend so I can’t really comment of Yolen’s interpretation of Merlin’s youth. But I found the impressionistic stories interesting and evocative even if they did lack any resolution.

You sort of have to set aside your expectations and just enjoy the writing and the unique story a they come. If you are looking for tight plots and lots of developed characters your will be disappointed.

But if you are interested in Arthurian legend and myth or just enjoy unique and imaginative storytelling then I think you will enjoy this trilogy.