Waiting On Wednesday (11) Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman

A romantic teen Persephone/Hades story? How cool does that sound? I first heard about this at Fuse #8's HarperCollins Spring Library preview. Here's what Elizabeth said:

"Emily Whitman's Radiant Darkness takes a very interesting route with its tale. Hades is the kind of fellow a girl would want to give up natural sunshine for and (I was a little unclear on this but I HOPE it's the case) Demeter is the villain. How perfect is that? You're shacking up with your boyfriend/husband and here comes mom to hurl you back up to the surface where you do not want to be. Tell me a teen can't relate to that?"

And here's the description from the Frankfurt Rights Guide:

Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the Earth, but she is just like every teenager. She spends her days gossiping with friends, and looks forward to growing up. On the day it is tradition that a girl offers her childhood to Artemis in order to prove she is ready to be a woman, she is heartbroken when Demeter says she is not ready. Persephone is sick of her sheltered life and her controlling mother.

When a handsome stranger finds his way into their gardens, Persephone knows she should tell her mother, but she cannot. She has never spoken to a man before, and her attraction to the stranger is too much to resist. He returns to see her often and they meet whenever Persephone can sneak away. When Persephone discovers who he is, she is terrified—he is Hades, the God of the Underworld. Hades urges her to join him in the Underworld as his Queen.

I love mythology and Persephone's story has always been one of my favorites. It will be interesting to see where Whitman takes this! Radiant Darkness will be released April 2009.