Lovely War

Lovely War is a work of historical fiction by Julie Berry. This Young Adult novel has won numerous awards, including the Golden Kite Award for Young Adult Fiction, the Whitney Award, and the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award.

Berry’s book tells the stories of two couples involved in the Great War (World War I). These stories are told through a frame narrative, recounted by the Greek goddess Aphrodite to a group of fellow Olympian gods and goddesses, as part of a court trial in which she is accused of infidelity by her husband, Hephaestus. Through her tale, Aphrodite explores the redemptive nature of mortal love, which she envies above all else.

This guide is based on the 2019 Viking Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) edition.

Content Warning: This guide contains references to racial prejudice, racial violence, and racial slurs that appear in the novel as well as general violence and trauma. This study guide quotes and obscures the author’s use of the n-word.

Plot Summary

The novel opens in a Manhattan hotel where Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, passion, and beauty, are involved in a passionate love affair. They are interrupted and imprisoned in a golden net by Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge and Aphrodite’s husband, who has discovered their affair.