Mestra is a storybook by Madeline Miller that puts a lesser-known woman from Greek mythology at the center.
Mestra, the daughter of the king of Thessaly, has the gift—thanks to Poseidon—to take any form. But her father Erysichthon is cursed by Demeter with an insatiable hunger that threatens to destroy his surroundings.
With her special talent, Mestra tries to help her father, but the unstoppable need demands more and more of her. She faces the choice of where her responsibility ends and her own life begins.
Mestra is a powerful, compact tale about family, sacrifice, and boundaries, suitable for readers who appreciate how Madeline Miller approaches old myths in a human and contemporary way.