Strange but brilliant is really the best way to describe this inspired book! Time slip adventures like this one can either be dire or wonderful, and Annelise Gray has managed to pull this one off with aplomb. Her background in Classics really shines through, as it does in her fabulously gripping four part 'Circus Maximus' series. 

Children already familiar with 'The Odyssey' will have no trouble recognising all the places and characters Phoebe and Leander encounter on their quest to find Leander's father and destroy the evil monster Morpheia - but for readers who have never read Homer's story, the book works too: Gray cleverly tells the story of Odysseus's journey through Phoebe as they sail the oceans, was she recounts it in snatches to Leander (who, of course, though an Ancient Greek himself, has never heard the tale!).

As well as being a celebration of the Ancient Greek myth, the book is so many other things. It's an ode to the power of imagination and storytelling - Cass, Phoebe's grandmother, created the monster Morpheia herself as a child playing with a greek friend Hattie during long summer holidays, and the whole world in which Phoebe finds herself is the product of Cass's memories and creativity, combined with those of Homer. It's a very clever comment on the power of the oral storytelling tradition and the way in which myths can grow and morph over centuries when passed down in this way. It's also a celebration of art, of bravery, an exploration of grief, and last, but not least, recognizes beautifully the importance of the bonds across generations in families - in life, and also beyond it.

There is humour too - notably some very funny tongue in cheek moments of Ancient Greeks wondering in amazement over the existence of Phoebe Quilliam's pockets! At heart, it's an rip-roaring, sea-faring adventure story - one that is gripping and fun and educational too - it'll leave readers reaching for the nearest copy of The Odyssey, and that is an quite an achievement!