Published: 2025
Author: Katrina Leno
Genres: YA Fantasy, Mythology, Magical Realism
Audience: Grades 10–12
Number of Stars: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Goodreads Link: Persephone’s Curse
Content Warnings: Profanity, alcohol use (wine), emotional isolation, and themes of death/grief.
Publisher’s Summary
Are the four Farthing sisters really descended from Persephone? Their aunt has always insisted they can trace their lineage back to the Goddess of the Underworld. It seems plausible—after all, a gentle ghost named Henry lives in the attic of their Manhattan brownstone, and only the sisters can see him. But when one sister falls in love with Henry and another accidentally banishes him to the Underworld, the family’s magic is put to the ultimate test. To save Henry and keep their sister from vanishing into the land of the dead forever, the Farthing girls must embrace their heritage, make impossible sacrifices, and mend a growing tear between worlds before their home is swallowed by the void.
Full Review
Persephone’s Curse is the story of the four Farthing sisters: Bernadette, Evelyn, Winnie (the main character), and Clara. The girls’ aunt has always told them that their lineage can be traced back to the Goddess of the Underworld, Persephone. The sisters all live together in a New York City brownstone. Evelyn falls in love with Henry, a ghost who lives with the girls. Winnie accidentally banishes Henry from their home.
Being madly in love with Henry, Evelyn vanishes not long after Henry’s banishment. After three days of trying to reach out to Henry and Evelyn, the sisters find Evelyn. However, they find that Evelyn is not the same; her hair is longer, her eyes are darker, and her skin has grown pale. Evelyn reveals to her sisters that she went to find Henry and spent three years in the Underworld trying to bring him back. Her efforts to bring him back failed. The sisters discover that if they aren’t able to bring Henry back, Evelyn will return to the Underworld to be with him.
Scared of losing their sister forever, the girls work together to find a way to bring him back. They manage to bring him back; however, now there is a tear between worlds. This tear is above their home and it keeps growing larger and larger. Now they must work together to find a solution to mend the tear before it traps the entire house between our world and the Underworld and they become stuck in an endless loop.
🎒 Classroom & Curricular Connections
- ELA (Comparative Mythology): Compare Katrina Leno’s modern retelling with the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.
- Activity Idea: Identify the “seeds” of the original myth in the story. How does the setting of a Manhattan brownstone change the “vibe” of a Greek tragedy?
- Creative Writing (Character Development): The reviewer suggests character diaries as a follow-up.
- Activity Idea: Write a diary entry from the perspective of one of the sisters during the three days Evelyn was missing. How did their “special talent” manifest before they had to sacrifice it?
- Art & Psychology (Visualizing the In-Between):
- Activity Idea: Create artwork depicting the “In-Between” world. Focus on using color (or the lack thereof) to represent the feelings of being “stuck” or “isolated” that the reviewer mentioned would resonate with teens.
- Social Studies (Genealogy & Folklore): The Farthing sisters’ identity is tied to their aunt’s stories of their lineage.
- Activity Idea: Create a family tree connecting Persephone to the four Farthing sisters. Research other cultures that have “Underworld” goddesses and see if there are similar stories of descendants living among us.
