Genre: Historical Fiction/Mythology
# of Pages: 305
RAC Book: Yes
In this fictional account of the childhood of Helen of Troy, Helen grows up wanting to learn swordplay with her two older brothers and fighting with her twin sister, Clytemnestra. She is heir to the throne and in her sister’s eyes it seems like she gets away with everything. Helen does manage to get the same training her brothers have because their teacher believes her motives for wanting to defend herself are reasonable. When her sister is betrothed and asked to leave at the age of 14, Helen and her brothers accompany her so that she will feel safe. This begins a few crazy adventures for her and her brothers that include a boar hunt and visiting an oracle. The story is continued in Nobody’s Prize.
This retelling of Helen of Troy’s childhood puts a fun spin on a character that has been mainly known for starting the Trojan War. The author does a nice job of explaining why these characters worshiped the gods and why they had to provide valuable offerings in order to please them. Helen seems unaware of her beauty throughout a lot of this book, which makes her seem more driven to reach her goals in her own way. Her desire to hunt, use weapons, and even go on dangerous adventures endears her to readers. For those readers who like adventures and mythology this will be a winner.
Young Adult Book Reviews 
Loved the book 🙂
I’ve read Sphinx’s Princess, and Sphinx’s Queen by Esther Friesner and I loved both books.
Thanks for the review, it sounds interesting, and I definitely will read it!
I have to do a literary analysis on this book, and the only thing that kept me reading was the amazingness (I know that is not a word) of this book! I ❤ it!!