Brynne Rebele-Henry

When sixteen-year-old, mythology-obsessed Raya and her true love, Sarah, are sent from their conservative Texas town to a re-education camp, Raya assumes the role of Orpheus to save them.

Orpheus Girl

menna

ella mayo

Flavia Louise

I was quite disappointed. This was too short to actually understand and care for the characters. Absolutely no back story. A ton of queer pain and for what? I don't know.

Katie Kite

I got from this more of what I wanted from Cameron Post, if that makes sense? But it still didn’t quite hit emotionally or resonate the way I wanted it to

Jasmin 

What can I say - this book hurts. A lot. And at the same time, it is incredibly well written.
The book is full of references to the myth it is based on, but also so much other symbols and little hints and so on. 
Despite the book being relatively short, the characters have distinct personalities. I would have been intersted in learning more about each of them, but through the narration/what is going on in the story this was not possible. Still, I felt for all of them.


Content warnings from the book: selfharm, homophobia, transphobia, violence against LGBTQ+ characters. 

Furthermore, a trans character gets deadnamed with the deadname in the text

From here on, spoilers:
(view spoiler)[The book is absolutely heartbreaking, but also so full of hope. Raya is a powerful, strong character that endures conversion therapy in the course of the novel. Her being able to escape in the end, without losing Sarah, might at the first glance seem like a stark diversion from Orpheus, but from the text it is apparent that the person she lost is part of herself. (hide spoiler)]

daisy

tw: suicide attempt, homophobia, transphobia, forced therapy, electric shock

let me cry because this book is really heart breaking. i never actually experienced any of the hurtful events from this book but my heart aches for all of them who have to go through this type of shit, everyday. i really like all of the characters and their chemistry (even tho something's kinda off because the book is pretty short so it doesnt cover all the characters story) and there's a point plus because this book got some link with greek mythology! (which i am super obsessed with) its also so beautifully written as well. i liked this so much.

" Still, in the space between consciousness and not, I remember the dream I had: she and I were in an ocean and the tide kept pulling me under. She was wearing a white hospital gown, and my wings had returned. She called out, “Stop struggling; you’ll sink faster.” But I couldn’t stop, and soon the salty water was filling my throat and seeping into my lungs. I clawed at my mouth but I couldn’t breathe. My wings were too waterlogged to fly and hung limp and heavy from my back. Sarah was gone. And then I started to sink. Suddenly I felt her arms around me, pulling me out. But when we beached on the sand, I couldn’t feel my wings. When I put a hand to my back, there was only wet, empty skin. She whispered, “I had to cut them off; they weighed you down too much.” "

In her debut novel, award-winning poet Brynne Rebele-Henry re-imagines the Orpheus myth as a love story between two teenage girls who are sent to conversion therapy after being caught together in an intimate moment. Abandoned by a single mother she never knew, 16-year-old Raya--obsessed with ancient myths--lives with her grandmother in a small conservative Texas town. For years Raya has fought to hide her feelings for her best friend and true love, Sarah. When the two are outed, they are sent to Friendly Saviors: a re-education camp meant to "fix" them and make them heterosexual. Upon arrival, Raya vows to assume the role of Orpheus, to return to the world of the living with her love--and after she, Sarah, and the other teen residents are subjected to abusive and brutal "treatments" by the staff, Raya only becomes more determined to escape. In a haunting voice reminiscent of Sylvia Plath and the contemporary lyricism of David Levithan, Brynne Rebele-Henry weaves a powerful inversion of the Orpheus myth informed by the disturbing real-world truths of conversion therapy. Orpheus Girl is a story of dysfunctional families, trauma, first love, heartbreak, and ultimately, the fierce adolescent resilience that has the power to triumph over darkness and ignorance. CW: There are scenes in this book that depict self-harm, homophobia, transphobia, and violence against LGBTQ characters.

alex arias

a modern retelling but not really. this book ripped my heart out and stomped on it and then put it back together again. all the catharsis i crave from the myth of orpheus and eurydice (which i like to refer to as my “emotional support greek tragedy”). please please please bear in mind the content warnings (homophobia, transphobia, violence, self-harm, suicide), this is certainly a heavy read but my god do i love it.

Abi Baker

honestly i don't know what to rate this because it's really well written but it's genuinely a book that puts lesbians, gay teens and trans teens through enormous amounts of suffering just to prove that it's bad for them to suffer i guess

Sophie 

In her debut novel, award-winning poet Brynne Rebele-Henry re-imagines the Orpheus myth as a love story between two teenage girls who are sent to conversion therapy after being caught together in an intimate moment. Abandoned by a single mother she never knew, 16-year-old Raya—obsessed with ancient myths—lives with her grandmother in a small conservative Texas town. For years Raya has fought to hide her feelings for her best friend and true love, Sarah. When the two are outed, they are sent to Friendly Saviors: a re-education camp meant to “fix” them and make them heterosexual. Upon arrival, Raya vows to assume the role of Orpheus, to return to the world of the living with her love—and after she, Sarah, and the other teen residents are subjected to abusive and brutal “treatments” by the staff, Raya only becomes more determined to escape. In a haunting voice reminiscent of Sylvia Plath and the contemporary lyricism of David Levithan, Brynne Rebele-Henry weaves a powerful inversion of the Orpheus myth informed by the disturbing real-world truths of conversion therapy. Orpheus Girl is a story of dysfunctional families, trauma, first love, heartbreak, and ultimately, the fierce adolescent resilience that has the power to triumph over darkness and ignorance. CW: There are scenes in this book that depict self-harm, homophobia, transphobia, and violence against LGBTQ characters.

Orpheus Girl

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