The first-ever standalone superspecial in the Goddess Girls series—let the games begin! Athena, Medusa, Artemis, and Persephone are sick and tired of being left out of the annual boys-only Olympic Games. Their solution? The Girl Games! But as the Goddess Girls work to make their dream into a reality, they come up against plenty of chaos and competition. Told in alternating points of view, this superspecial is packed with Olympic spirit! Joan Holub has authored and/or illustrated over 140 children’s books, including the Goddess Girls series, the Heroes in Training series, the New York Times bestselling picture book Mighty Dads (illustrated by James Dean), and Little Red Writing (illustrated by Melissa Sweet). She lives in North Carolina and is online at JoanHolub.com. Suzanne Williams is a former elementary school librarian and the author of over seventy books for children, including the award-winning picture books Library Lil (illustrated by Steven Kellogg) and My Dog Never Says Please (illustrated by Tedd Arnold), and several chapter book and middle grade series. She also coauthors the Goddess Girls and Thunder Girls series with the fantastic Joan Holub. Visit her at Suzanne-Williams.com. The Girl Games 1 Artemis Thursday morning. WE ARE STANDING IN THE COURTYARD OF Mount Olympus Academy,” a goddessgirl named Artemis announced to the tour group gathered around her. The seven girls in her group, who were visiting MOA for the next few days, followed her gaze. The majestic academy—built of gleaming white stone and surrounded on all sides by dozens of Ionic columns—stood right behind her at the top of the granite staircase. Pointing down, Artemis continued, “The white marble tiles beneath your feet were brought here from a quarry in”—she brushed her curly black hair from her eyes and glanced at the official MOA tour guide scroll in her hands—“Thasos.” “Wherever that is,” she heard one of the Amazon girls in her group whisper. Her name was Penthesilea. Dozens of silver bracelets jangled noisily on her arms as she moved. Another Amazon girl, named Hippolyta, smacked the gum she was chewing and shrugged. Ye gods! Why did I have to get these two mean Amazon girls in my group? Artemis wondered. They wore platform sandals, stood ten inches taller than any of the other girls, and were known for being bold and brash. Still, they didn’t have to be rude! Artemis’s goddessgirl friend, Persephone, sent her an encouraging smile. She was helping lead the group and was always trying to make sure everyone got along. “Remember,” Persephone whispered to her. “These girls have traveled a long way to get here from schools on Earth and other realms. They’re tired and probably anxious about the Games this Saturday. So let’s cut them some slack.” Artemis nodded. In truth, she couldn’t really blame the Amazons for being a teeny bit bored. They’d come to take part in the very-first-ever girls-only Olympic Games. Only two days away! A thrill of excitement shot up her spine at the thought of the upcoming competitions. Although everybody was calling them the Girl Games, their official name was the Heraean Games. Zeus, the principal of MOA, had named them after his new wife, Hera. And it was Hera’s idea to have MOA students give these tours to visiting girl athletes. It was a good idea, Artemis supposed. The problem was that she didn’t really have time to play tour guide. She had too much other stuff to do to get ready for the Games. Like her, these girls would probably rather be off practicing for their own athletic events right now. After all, there wasn’t much time left! Noticing that Artemis had gone quiet, Persephone took over as tour guide for a while. “Let’s go look inside the Academy next,” she suggested to their group. Her long, wavy red hair brushed her pale arm as she turned and led them all up the granite staircase. Artemis followed, her mind full of the megazillion tasks she still needed to do to make sure that everything on Game Day would go off without a hitch. These girls-only Olympics had been her idea, and she didn’t want them to bomb. How awful would that be? Her stomach tightened as she pushed through the enormous bronze doors of the Academy. Just thinking about the possibility of failure stressed her out. Everyone was counting on her. An awed silence fell over the girls in their group as they filed inside, entering the main hall. Persephone went over to a golden fountain against one wall. She turned it on for a second so that glittery liquid spurted from its spout in an arc. “Instead of water, the fountains here at MOA spout nectar,” she said. “That’s what Immortals drink to make their skin shimmer, right?” interrupted a mortal girl in their group. “What would happen if I drank it?” “Nothing. It has no effect on mortals,” answered a green-skinned mortal MOA student passing by. Medusa. She and another mortal girl named Pandora were leading a tour group of six girls. Me