Nobody's Princess
-
-
5.0 • 2 Ratings
-
-
- $7.99
-
- $7.99
Publisher Description
Helen of Sparta wants to be more than a princess and a pretty face—she wants to be a hero.
The traditions of ancient Sparta would have Helen know her place: a beautiful princess, a loyal daughter, a perfect bride. But Helen wants adventure, and she's not looking back. Not one to count on the gods to take care of her, she sets out to see the world and seek her own fate with steely determination. Her rebellious will makes Helen dangerous enemies—such as the self-proclaimed "son of Zeus" Theseus—but it also gains her true friends, from the famed huntress Atalanta to the young priestess who is the Oracle of Delphi. If she is strong enough, if she is cunning enough, if she is brave enough, Helen will find her destiny . . . but what does destiny have in store for her?
In Nobody's Princess, author Esther Friesner deftly weaves together history and myth as she takes a new look at the girl who will become Helen of Troy. The back of the book includes further facts about Helen of Troy and Ancient Greece. Hand to readers who love Tamora Pierce and Leigh Bardugo, particularly if they just finished Wonder Woman: Warbringer and want to know more about Helen of Troy.
"A must-read for fans of fantasy and mythology."—VOYA
"Along the way, Friesner skillfully exposes larger issues of women's rights, human bondage, and individual destiny. It's a rollicking good story."—Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this novel, first in a planned series, Friesner imagines the childhood of Helen, the Spartan princess whose face would launch a thousand ships and cause the Trojan War. As a girl, Helen loathes the domestic lives that royal women are expected to lead (and at which her twin sister, Clytemnestra, excels). Helen longs to be trained as a warrior reasoning that she'd be a much better queen if she understood how to fight and with her two older brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, covertly learns how to wield weapons. When Clytemnestra is betrothed to Prince Tantalus of Mykenae, Helen and her brothers accompany her to her new home, and then continue on to Calydon to help slay a giant boar that is terrorizing that land. Helen finds additional training and a role model in Atalanta, the beautiful princess who has chosen the life of a huntress. Finally, Helen, disguised as a boy, joins Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. Readers will enjoy the numerous cameos by famed mythological figures such as Theseus and the Oracle at Delphi and gain insights into the customs of the day and the gods' importance in everyday life. With fresh interest in fictionalized accounts of the Greek myths such as Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series Friesner's rendering of a vivacious and nervy Helen should easily win fans. Ages 12-16.
