Magissa, by Kassandra Flamouri

Magissa is a great novel about grief and dealing with pain, a really well-written tribute to the Greek traditions, while also constituting an entertaining urban fantasy book. We are directly thrown into the funeral of Chrysa’s parents, who died in America in strange circumstances, being this funeral hosted in Greece, their homeland, to where Chrysa has returned after fourteen years out, as she has been raised as an American.

From the start, we are able to observe how this young girl has to deal at the same time with the grief of losing her most immediate family while trying to make herself a life in a country where she hasn’t been since she was three, in a really traditional community, where xenophobia and mistrust of strangers are an important denominator. Soon, she discovers that if she fleed from there when she was a child is due to her parents being scared, and because she’s the Maiden, the descendant of a powerful lineage of magical women, closing the circle which started with her grandmother.

And this discovery marks the start of a run to discover the truth about the death of her parents, and why they were assassinated by the Skia, opening the door to a secret world that lies there, where the old Greek traditions are real, the creatures and forces of nature manifest, all of them mixed also with a little bit of the Orthodox Christian Church traditions. And at some point, while having to deal with all these unexpected discoveries, part of her family and her known ones are in danger, as these same forces that try to get her power won’t stop in their proposal.

Chrysa is an excellent main character, who is experiencing so many confusing sensations, and having to deal with grief at the same time she’s becoming conscious of her own powers as magissa, and how she is part of a bigger scheme of things. Themes such as LGTBI+ discrimination and xenophobia are treated exquisitely, using the set-up of a traditional Greek community as the perfect place to explore them. Some of the scenes derivated from these themes are kinda hard to read, especially the ones that are seen from Chrysa’s perspective, as again, she’s on the worst side of things multiple times, being the outsider on Pyrha.

Worldbuilding is one of my favourite aspects of this book, despite I think I couldn’t grasp it as well as a Greek native could do, as many of the creatures and forces that appear are derivated from their folklore, like lykanthropos and nereidas. The relative isolation of the community helps make this mix not detune on the current world; I think it wouldn’t have worked as well if it was situated in a more crowded town.

In summary, Magissa is an ode to Greek folklore and traditions, while at the same time representing in a great way how a person has to deal with grief and pain. A really entertaining young adult novel, which I devoured in a few days, and that I can recommend to YA enjoyers, and those who are more curious about the folklore and traditions of Greece.