Mythic Misadventures is a YA series by actress and authoress Carolyn Hennesy. The series is inspired by Greek Mythology and consists of seven books, published yearly between 2007 and 2013. Each book revolves around Pandy and her friends capturing a new evil.
Pandora is a thirteen-year-old girl living in a fantasy version of Classical Greece. She's curious, she's spunky, she's adventurous. She's also the daughter of the legendary Titan Prometheus. One day, against his wishes, she steals the box entrusted to her father by Zeus himself and takes it to school for a show-and-tell project. At school, Pandora's box is accidentally opened and releases seven plagues of evil into the world: Envy, Vanity, Sloth, Lust, Rage, Greed, and Fear.
Now, Pandy is tasked with recapturing all of the evils in just six months. It's a good thing her friends Alcestis and Iole are there to help! Together the three girls (and a dog) travel the ancient world, meeting new allies and enemies along the way.
- Pandora Gets Jealous
- Pandora Gets Vain
- Pandora Gets Lazy
- Pandora Gets Heart
- Pandora Gets Angry
- Pandora Gets Greedy
- Pandora Gets Frightened
This series provides examples of:
- Alpha Bitch: Helen and Hippia check all the boxes. Their bullying works out for the worst.
- Ancient Grome: The books are set primarily in a fantasy version of Greece with bits of different times and places from the ancient Mediterranean scattered throughout, mixed with the author's own inventions. Pandy and Co. also travel to Rome, Persia, and North Africa.
- Big Bad: Hera is the main antagonist throughout the series and tries to make Pandy fail in her quest by any means possible.
- Body to Jewel: Monsters like the Chimera bleed rubies, which sometimes fall to Earth like rain.
- Canine Companion: Pandy's faithful shepherd dog, Dido.
- Childhood Friends: Pandy and Alcie have known each other as long as they can remember, while Iole is a more recent addition to the group.
- Daddy's Girl: Pandy and Prometheus are very close, even if she does disobey him at times.
- Distinguishing Mark: Pandy gets a teardrop-shaped sliver of gold stuck just beneath the skin under one eye. It's very distinctive and a reminder of all she's survived. It is visible in certain book covers after she is injured.
- Episode Finishes the Title: Each title follows the Pandora Gets... format.
- Fiery Redhead: Red-headed Alcie is the brashest and most hot-tempered of the group.
- Gotta Catch Them All: Pandy and friends need to recapture seven plagues to save the world.
- Here We Go Again!: The last book ends with someone new finding the box, hinting that it'll start all over again.
- Jerkass Gods: Hera is the biggest example, but her Roman counterpart Juno is just as nasty and the two of them work together.
- Magical Profanity Filter: Alcie is cursed to swear only in fruit.
- Oh, No... Not Again!: The reaction when Pandora's mom gets vaporized by Zeus.
- Peacock Girl: Or boy, rather. Pandy's little brother Xander has a peacock tail because their mother failed to sacrifice properly to Hera while she was pregnant.
- Physical God: Gods and heroes casually mingle with mortals. Pandy herself is a demi-titan who goes to school with regular humans. Even characters who are technically mortal, like Alcie, have legendary relatives.
- Plain Jane: Pandora is described as having plain brown hair, brown eyes, and a slight overbite. The latter makes her insecure and she fears she looks like a horse.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: It's literally a story about Pandora's Box.
- Seven Deadly Sins: A modified version, with Gluttony being replaced by Fear.
- The Smart Guy: Iole is by far the smartest of the group. She reads philosophy for fun, excels at math, and even has a frail, "nerdy" build.
- Swiss-Army Tears: Pandora's tears activate the map that guides the girls to the evils' hiding places.
