Nobody's Princess (Book 1) by Esther Friesner

Rating 3 out of 5
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (March 25, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375875298
ISBN-13: 978-0375875298


Esther Friesner takes us back in time to ancient Greece to tell the tale of a young girl who later grew up to become Helen of Troy.

"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."

What I liked

• That Helen is portrayed as a strong independent girl. Her portrayal in this book too me is more like what a Spartan Princess would be. Not some helpless little bimbo or a conniving temptress as she gets portrayed time and time again in Hollywood and most literature. In this book she is strong minded and strong willed, smart, independent, and trying to buck the shackles that tie her to her duty, while at the same time trying to honor the traditions she lives by.
• The other strong women portrayed in this book. Friesner has some really wonderful women characters who guide the young Helen from childhood to her teenage years. Shaping her views on the world. There is the nanny Ionne who is loving but firm; her mother who is Queen, politician, wife, healer, and huntress; Atalanta a fellow princess to another Greek King and has followed the path of the warrior; The Delphi Oracle who while having the “gift” is the ultimate diplomat, who is fun and knowledgeable on the world beyond her years. All of these women were believable in their roles and provided many life lessons to the young Helen.
• “Real World” explanations for the mythology aspects of Helen’s story. Helen’s own story is that she is the daughter of the mighty Zeus, but this book dismisses that as just a story. Like wise Friesner over and over discounts most of the “stories” as being just that stories. One character commented that “being told that the hero had killed a swamp snake, even a big swamp snake, is no where near as impressive as killing a three headed hydra”. While the Gods are not totally dismissed, they do not play such a pivotal role other then worshiping them.
• It was a quick, brain candy read.
• I loved the period it was set in which was the Greek “Age of Heores”. It touches on several mythological stories such as Jason and the Argonauts.

What I disliked

• It was quite light and fluffy. Perhaps this is because there is very little “known” about a young Helen before she became Helen of Troy. Or maybe because it is a Young Adult book. I am not sure why, but it was not as meaty as I would have expected.
• The modern world references irked me. While I understand for narrative purposes it probably made sense to use modern terms and ideas, but it still bugged me. At one point a character said a phrase that was essentially “she used to change your diaper” which was odd to me. The author actually used the word Diaper. While I am no expert or historian, I am pretty confident that babies in ancient Greece probably didn’t have diapers as we know them, and certainly wouldn't have used that word. This was only a minor irritant anyway.
• The “history” skipped over an important fact. That at approximately 12 Helen was kidnapped by a prince. There is a scene towards the end of the book, where the prince Theseus tried to kidnap her on the street, but this by no means was not a proper kidnap as described by history.

Overall

I think this book is a wonderful introduction to the story of Helen of Troy and the historical period of “The Age of Heroes”. Teenage girls will probably enjoy this book the best as it would resonate with them (rebelling against authority and adults, going on adventures, and competing with men at their level). Not sure if I will read the next book or not while the book was enjoyable it didn't make we want to rush out and pick up the next book. But if you are looking for something fun and easy to read this will fit the bill.

Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary: December 23, 1787, Portsmouth.

14 year-old John Jacob Turnstile is about to be sent to prison when an offer is put to him - a ship has been refitted and is about to set sail with an important mission. The captain's valet has been injured and a replacement must be found immediately. The deal is struck and he finds himself on board.

The ship is HMS Bounty, the captain is William Bligh, and their destination is Tahiti.

Review: When you mention Mutiny on the Bounty to most Australian’s we can all say we know exactly what you are talking about. However for a lot of Aussies press deeper for details and you would get a response along the lines of “Well there was a boat called Bounty, Its Captain was called Bligh, um the crew mutinied….Oh and there was that movie, the one with Mel Gibson”. I know that probably would have been my answer and most of my friends would have been the same. I enjoy history and learning about it and even I never really knew the details or how this tale related to Australia.

I have been unable to find any reference to a John Turnstile being on the ship so it would appear that his character was created to tell the story, which works really well here. He is brought on board as the Captain’s servant so by default knows a lot of what is going on and is best placed to tell the tale.

"When daylight came on the second day I was able to take full account of the predicament we found ourselves in."

What I really liked is that the author did not portray any of the characters in a particularly negative light. He showed that they were all just men really who each made some mistakes. I liked that I was able to form my own opinions of the characters and not be swayed by the authors writing. Turnstile’s views of the people are expressed but there was never a feeling that you were reading the authors views, jut the view of a fourteen year old boy.

From what I can tell this book is very close to the actual account of what happened during the voyage. For me having the actual events portrayed in this way made it all come alive and more real. Boyne was able to really convey the conditions on the boat and the journey. There was not a point in the book where I did not learn something new like bathing on a boat, superstitions of sailors, and that if a Captain lost his ship in the 1700’s he was put on trial.

I was particularly interested to learn that Bligh was not in fact a true Captain he was for lack of a better word only acting in the position. Also that later on in life he became the Governor of NSW. At the end of the book John Boyne mentions all the reference material he used such as the trail transcripts and diaries written by Bligh, Boyne clearly did his homework and it shines through the book.

Also Boyne cleverly wove old cockney language with modern language so that the reader was able to feel like they were really were on a ship in the 1700’s, while making it easy to follow.

This was a really enjoyable book and I will be definitely picking up another of his books. A good book for anyone wanting to learn some history in particular about the Mutiny on the Bounty.