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 enlarge | Author: Esther Friesner
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $4.10
You Save: $3.89 (49%)
New (24) Used (11) from $3.05
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 35777
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0375875298
EAN: 9780375875298
ASIN: 0375875298
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 6-10 of 10 | | « PREV | | |
 Wonderful book! January 27, 2008
2 out of 2 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!
"This is my kind of Helen!"--Tamora Pierce. That pretty much sums it up for me!! December 15, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is my favorite book! It is well written exciting and funny. I like how the author shows Helen as more then just a pretty face. In this book Helen learns to fight, and ride. She isn't just going to sit around all the time a let everyone else have a the action. No, she is going to go out there and do it for herself! This is a great story for girls of all ages! I would say 12 to adult will like this book!!
The best ever!!!!!!!!!!! November 22, 2007
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Exelent book. This book made me want to read the seacond one even before it got out.Really, really great book! I definitly recomend this book to everyone!
The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships July 9, 2007
8 out of 17 found this review helpful
Nobody's Princess is a amazing book about beautiful Helen of Sparta's youth. This book tells of the sorrows and excitement of Helen life. It is definitely five stars!
rethinking her long-held image as merely a beautiful woman and a passive prize of the Trojan War June 1, 2007
44 out of 44 found this review helpful
Probably all most of us know about the ancient figure of Helen of Troy is the famous quote about "the face that launched a thousand ships." In NOBODY'S PRINCESS, Esther Friesner, a prolific and well-respected fantasy writer, fearlessly takes on the formidable task of turning Helen into a flesh-and-blood girl, with her own hopes, dreams and ambitions.
In Friesner's take on ancient tales, Helen is a Bronze Age princess of the brave, warlike Spartan people. Destined to be queen (the Spartan succession was matrilineal) and told from an early age that her beauty far outshines that of her sister Clytemnestra, Helen is convinced that there must be more to life than spinning wool, weaving cloth and accepting the hand of a worthy suitor in marriage. In fact, even as a child, Helen exhibits the kind of fierce independence, stubbornness and bravery that will serve her well as queen.
As a young girl, Helen decides three things:
"Even if I was pretty, it wasn't going to be enough to bring me the life I wanted: one where I was free to make choices that mattered, one where people listened to what I had to say.
Aphrodite had the beauty; Zeus had the thunderbolts. Everyone loved Aphrodite, but everyone listened to Zeus.
I'd never get my hands on a thunderbolt, so if I wanted to be free, I'd better find a way to get my hands on the next best thing: a sword."
Through the rest of Friesner's novel, Helen sets out to accomplish these goals. From teaching herself to run as swiftly as a rabbit to obtaining secret sword lessons to receiving hunting training from her mother, Helen is determined to be no ordinary princess. Soon she is using her new skills (combined with her strong heritage and her intrinsic tenacity) to reshape her world as she sees fit, regardless of what her society might say. Her strong personality continues to grow and take shape right up to the abrupt ending. But stay tuned, since the sequel, NOBODY'S PRIZE, is due to be published in 2008.
In her extensive author's note, Friesner reveals how much of her novel is based on preexisting sources. The answer? Not much, since Helen is rarely mentioned in literature outside of THE ILIAD and a handful of other apocryphal tales, and virtually nothing is known of her early life. This gives Friesner a nearly-blank slate in which to set her tale. That being said, however, the author does ground her story in ancient history, introducing actual customs, details of daily life and political struggles into her narrative.
Helen's story is so compelling that readers will find themselves rethinking her long-held image as merely a beautiful woman and a passive prize of the Trojan War. Instead, in Friesner's exhilarating, thought-provoking retelling, Helen proves that beauty is far more than just skin deep.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
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