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Dusssie

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Dusie Gorgan, the star of DUSSSIE, never expected puberty to be like this! Maturity brings about startling changes: snakes for hair, for one thing! Nancy Springer deftly weaves substantial mythology into this present day story of Medusa "Dusie" Gorgan, whose absent father is a mortal and whose mother is a goddess. This stand-alone book would be a great stepping stone into Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series or a companion volume for those who enjoyed THE LIGHTNING THIEF. A strong heroine, plenty of humor and a creative (and non-deadly) ending make this great for 'tweens.

It's official: Dussie is going crazy - 100% certifiably crazy. Or ... at least she hopes she is when she wakes up to find a mass of twenty-seven ssslithering, hisssssing sssnakes atop her head. Gross, right? But normal if you're a part of the Gorgon family. It seems that every Gorgon girl who's entered womanhood has entered it with her very own snakes. Dussie gets that it's tradition, and genetic but why her? Couldn't this have skipped a generation?! Why now, why smack in the middle of puberty? Why? Because of her dear deceased aunt: look-her-in-the-eye-and-you'll-be-turned-to-stone Medusa. Isn't it bad enough that Dussie has to carry the killer Gorgon's name, but now she has to carry around the killer curse too?!

This may be normal, but there's something about Dussie's snakes that are vastly different. Sure, they slither and hiss like most other snakes, but they talk to Dussie, telepathically. All day, every day Dussie's head is clouded with 27 snake voices - complaining, motivating, questioning, pleading for a story - it's all very annoying, and strange too.

Nothing good can come from this. She's tried everything to get rid of her new-found "pets". She's tried freezing them, she's even contemplating cutting them - but she doesn't want to hurt them (she's not that mean) or herself for that matter. In a desperate need to clear her mind and figure thing out, Dussie does the one thing that always helps: hitting the streets of Manhattan for a nice stroll. But that stroll turns disastrous when she bumps into Troy, the cutest boy around and the object of Dussie's affection, and accidentally turns him into a breathing stone statue. Oops! She didn't mean to do that, it just sort of ... happened. Doomed! Dussie's doomed to be a snake head her whole live, a snake head who can't possibly leave the house.

Or is she? Little by little, with the help of family and a new-found friend, Dussie slowly comes to terms with her new life, and her new pets. As she takes the time to learn about her snakes she learns more about herself. Day by day she begins to find both beauty and acceptance in her snakes, and more importantly in herself. But will this be enough to rid this evil burden from her life? Is this really a burden? Does Dussie really want to get rid of her snakes?

Nancy Springer has written a one of a kind story and has managed to breath new life into a story already told. The story of Greek gorgon Medusa has never been so laugh out loud funny as Springer has made it. Short, sweet, and well written Dusssie is a heartwarming story of the trial and tribulations of entering womanhood and finding yourself within the craziness normally called puberty.

Dusssie will have readers at the edge of the seats (im)patiently waiting to see what's going to become of their soon to be favorite character. Dussie is not only a believable character, but she's easily relatable, especially to anyone who has gone through, lived through, and has survived puberty. Springer has managed to summon all those awkward feelings/emotions one experiences during this time and really capture the truth in them, and makes us (older) readers see there's a bit of snake head in us all.

In the vein of The Percy Jackson series. This book has a female protagonist, Dussie, who grows snakes on her head, in place of her hair. She is the half human niece of Medusa. The story opens with her getting her period, a turn off for any self respecting young male reader. Apparently,the becoming of a woman is what triggered the change into her half gorgon self. The story does have its own flair, though, if the reader can get beyond the Percy Jackson comparison. The characters are likable and funny. The plot has its own twists and challenges for the heroine. Dussie's coming of age is unique and touching. She even grows to appreciate her mother!! It also takes place in New York City. I enjoyed this book and will recommend it to my female 6th grade students. Older girls might not be into the story. Boys would like it if it weren't for the whole period thing on the first page. I wouldn't even try to convince them. I laughed out loud in some parts.

While reading this book, I found it simple and fairly straight-forward. A new twist on a story written at least a million times before. But in getting to the end, I really fell in love with this book. The resolution was perfect. I would definitely recommend this to a friend.

Every young girl looks forward to the day she will "become a woman" with much excitement and some trepidation. But when thirteen year-old Dusie gets her period, she has more to fear than simply feeling fatter, or wondering if the boys will be able to tell. She has sprouted snakes on top of her head! Twenty-seven of them, to be exact.

Now she knows why her artsy mother has always worn a turban upon her head. Why didn't her mom warn her? She's so angry with her mother, yet desperately needs her. She turns that anger on Troy, the boy with eyes of tarnished silver who is simply flirting by trying to touch her hair. Her snakes strike out to protect her with disastrous results. They turn him to stone!

Dusie confides in an old man named Cy, who offers to help. He creates a potion that will kill her snakes without harming Dusie. But does Dusie still want to get rid of them? Can she ever find true love with a head full of snakes? Does she need them to help her undo the damage they've caused? Dusie gets to know each of her snakes, and, in the process, learns more about herself.

DUSSIE by Nancy Springer is a creative novel which plays with the coming of womanhood in a delightfully unexpected way. If Dusie can find her way through the mysterious changes of puberty, surely a mere mortal reader can. This was a fast, pleasurable read, one I recommend to all young ladies coming of age. If your head gets that crawly feeling, it just might be snakes!

Reviewed by: Cana Rensberger

Synopsis: Girl learns to cope with the family curse.

Short & Sweet: Requires the reader to ante-up quite a bit before the big pay-off at the end.

Favorite Line: "I was wearing my pink-and-yellow madras hippie hat and I fit right in."

Overall: At face value, this off-the-wall story is interesting enough to instigate comical conversations. However, as satire it's an exaggerated process of self-actualization and a study in family dynamics.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised that the natural history and mythological references were accurate.