Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 A Contemporary Mythology Lesson August 31, 2008
If you love mythology, you'll get a kick out of Nobody's Princess. It is the story of who Helen of Troy was a young girl. The author uses mythological legends and weaves them throughout Helen's childhood experiences. Wonderful!
I can't wait to read the second book...Helen is joining Jason and the Argonaughts on the quest for the golden fleece...she's dressed as a weapon's bearer, a boy, and it promises to be a grand adventure.
 Interesting idea, but poor writing July 9, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I felt like the idea of the book--Helen of Troy in her early days--was brilliant. Unfortunately, I felt like the execution was a little wan. Overall, the writing reminded me too much of the cliched Tanith-Lee-girl-turns-into-a-warrior-even-though-she's-just-a-girl plot. Also, the first person point of view seemed to limit the story. It's told from Helen's view point, but Helen rarely provides the reader with anything really substantial to think about. She observes the world around her in a very simplistic, surface-only way and doesn't really add any depth to the reader's interpretations.
Who might Helen have been? May 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Helen of Sparta, more commonly called Helen of Troy, who possessed the face that launched a thousand ships. But who might she have been before her abduction started the ten year Trojan War? Esther Friesner attempts to find out.
Summarizing this book is pretty much useless since it doesn't really have much of a plot. That's not to say it's boring because it isn't. I really enjoyed it. But it's just one series of adventures after another and seems to be setting up for the sequel, Nobody's Prize, which releases later this month.
This book is about Helen. It's driven by her character and what her character does. Mainly, the action is centered around Helen's determination to be who she is, a girl who hates spinning and loves adventure, nearly impossible in a world where women spin and the men scorn huntresses and female warriors as something unnatural. Helen's not unnatural, though; she's just got attitude.
And she does. Sass and spunk and smarts all rolled into a gangly girl who certainly wouldn't believe you if you told her she'd grow up to be the most beautiful woman in the world and responsible for the start of a war.
If Helen were any less lively, this book would only be so-so. Yes, for the most part, I liked the writing and the descriptions and Helen's escapades were highly amusing. But the other characters...either seemed flat, stereotypical, or were in two chapters and then disappeared for the rest of the book. Yes, this book is a good look at life in Ancient Ancient Greece (as Friesner points out in the afterword, Helen lived during the Bronze Age, almost 2500 years ago, whereas the Greek philosophers and all that stuff were a thousand years after Helen's lifetime), but that's not the draw of this novel. Helen is.
Nobody's Princess March 31, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book starts out with Helen as a child, and it's obvious from the very beginning that she's a very questioning girl. She doesn't like her role as princess. As she gets older, what she wants is to be strong. She wants to hunt and train with her brothers, and she never wants to get married. Helen only wants to be a strong queen, instead of sitting inside and acting like a lady.
I really think that Helen is a witty, strong, and manipulative main character. Throughout the book, she is always trying to find ways to get through her dilemas to get what she wants, and more often than not she succeeds. I also think that many readers can relate to her, and she's complex, which I love.
That being said, I still don't think this book was what it could have been. The idea was good, but the whole book fell somewhat short of my expectations. I expected there to be a bit more to it. I know there's going to be a sequel very soon, but I still expected the end to have some sort of closure. The book in it's entirety just seemed kind of dull. I couldn't even tell if there was some sort of specific plotline. Nobody's Princess wasn't bad, by all means, but the writing seemed flat and nothing really jumped out at me to keep reading. Nevertheless, I still plan on reading Nobody's Prize when it comes out.
 Wonderful book! January 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a really great book, whether or not you like ancient greece. It's the story of young helen of troy and sparta, the face that launched a thousand ships, the most beautiful woman in the world...
But this is before all that. Here you see her grow up until she is 14, where we are left hanging until the next book...
The writing is clear and vivid; it is easy to follow Helen in your mind's eye and see clearly how ancient greece must have been in the eyes of one girl...
A wonderful book. I can hardly wait to read the sequel. 10/10 stars!
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