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7 Works 387 Members 6 Reviews

About the Author

Erin E. Moulton received an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her books include Flutter, Tracing Stars, Chasing the Milky Way, and Keepers of the Labyrinth. (Bowker Author Biography)

Includes the names: Erin Moulton, Erin E. Moulton 

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Wow. I didn't know what I was getting into when I decided to read this book. I thought the main plot would be about robotics. There is a little robotics, but it is secondary to the main plot which is about manic-depressive disorder. It doesn't just nibble around the edges either. This is a well-written story of how a parent's mental illness can have devastating effects on a family.

11-year-old Lucy's family has fallen from grace. Her intelligent mother, who once worked as a professor at a college, can barely take care of her two daughters. With no dad in the picture, Lucy is the one taking care of her mother. Out of necessity she is very mature for her age. They live in a trailer park and Lucy is already thinking of her future. She knows she wants a better life. If only she can win the robotics competition, she'll win enough money to help pay for college.

There are several major episodes that perfectly describe how insane and incompetent Lucy's mother can be when she is off her medication. One is the time her mom wakes her up in the middle of the night to go look at the northern lights. Another is when she loses control in the principal's office. The best example is when they are on their way to the robotics competition and steal and RV.

If you want a middle grade book that tackles bipolar illness, look no further.
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valorrmac | 2 other reviews | Sep 21, 2018 |
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Keepers of the Labyrinth is an interesting read because of its take on Greek Mythology but the slow beginning and choppy writing may take away from the enjoyment.

Opening Sentence: The wind blew in from the Aegean and swept toward the Libyan Sea.

The Review:

I was really excited to read Keepers of the Labyrinth because I really love Greek Mythology and I couldn’t wait to see how the Minotaur and the Labyrinth would play out in modern day. My only problem with this book was how long it took me to get into it. The set up took way too long and I just couldn’t quite figure out what was supposed to happen. What I did love about this book was how Erin explained the origin of mythology and gave everything a twist which could only be discovered by going through the labyrinth.

Lilith Bennette’s mother committed suicide a few years before the books opens. Lil didn’t believe her mother would do a thing when her motto for life is, “Min zeis aplos. Zeis tolmira.. Do not just live. Live boldly.“ So when Lil gets accepted to go to Crete to a Future Leaders International conference in order to win a scholarship she jumps on it. It was the same program her mother went through as a teenager. She believes that she can reconstruct her mother’s life on the island through pictures and hopefully a woman who knew her mother at the camp.

At the camp, Lil meets three other girls whom she gets teamed up with in order to win the scholarship. Their virtues and strengths will be tested and judged for worthiness. As the story progresses, Lil stumbles upon some strange occurrences and even over hears the leaders speaking of her mother’s death. Then one night the camp is attacked and Lil and her friends venture into the labyrinth in order to get the answers that Lil needs.

Lil is a strong young female character, along with her friends Charlie, Sydney and Kat. They each have their strengths and weaknesses as pointed out in the novel. They are a little reckless and even when things seem a little bleak they are still in it together. There are some spoilery things that I won’t discuss especially about a team member but when its life and death on the line, some things are said and some things happen which don’t look good for the group.

There are several third person point of views in this novel which I think also kind of threw me off. The main focus is Lil but a couple of the Zephylites, basically the “bad guys”, are shown in order to know their motivation for their attack on the compound in Crete.

The writing was a little stilted and jarring at times and it made it hard for me to focus, especially in the beginning. I would have to reread scenes again in order to make sure I understood what was happening. The writing is very descriptive in the beginning trying to set up everything that is going on with Lilith, the conference and Zephylites. After the girls descended into the labyrinth, I was able to get into the story more and the last half of the book went by in a flash.

I would recommend this book for those who want something a little different and love Greek Mythology but I would warn about the slow buildup. The ending was well thought out and worth it.

Notable Scene:

“The police said it was suicide,” Lil said. “No questions asked.” She shook her head.

“And she had this necklace?” Charlie said, scribbling in her notebook.

Sydney extended her hand for the picture. Lil passed it over to her. “And she knew Bente,” Sydney said, circling Bente’s picture on her own chart.

“Before we arrived on the rock,” Kat said, her knitting needles clicking, “you were talking to her. Did she give any indication of knowing what happened to your mom?”

“That’s just it,” Lil said, pulling her feet up onto the chair. “She said it wasn’t like my mom to commit suicide.” She paused. “My mom had this saying. She said it was an old Greek adage. Min zeis aplos. Zeis tolmira. Do not just live. Live boldly.. Bente must have know this, because she said it to me before I started climbing the rock wall.”

“That’s weird,” Sydney said.

FTC Advisory: Erin E. Moulton graciously provided me with a copy of Keepers of the Labyrinth. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
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DarkFaerieTales | Sep 6, 2015 |
This is one of those tricky books that is probably middle grade but has such tough themes, I would be hesitant to give it to a very young reader. Lucy lives in a crappy trailer park and is focused on building a junkbot for competition. Her mother is mentally ill and is starting to decline very rapidly. There are some big picture issues here that might be tricky for young kids but it is a pretty good story.
 
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Brainannex | 2 other reviews | Dec 28, 2014 |
This is wonderful story, with powerful writing. It will appeal to a broad age range and would make a great family read-aloud.

In summing up the feel of this book, my mind mashed together Ramona Quimby and Huckleberry Finn. The element of always striving to be better versus the need to be true to oneself is integral to this story.

Character development and consistency was beyond excellent. An example of what I mean is found in chapter 8 as Indie gets her first glimpse of Punk rocker, Sloth. Indie has always been fish obssessed and it follows through in this description, "Sloth is standing there looking at both of us. She has so many face rings, she looks like a fish that never gets caught but just drags the hooks away into the deep blue sea."

This is how a real kid thinks. Whatever they are obssessed with spills over into every aspect of their lives. It's little details like this that catch a young reader.

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Angelina-Justice | 1 other review | Feb 3, 2014 |

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