  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 11/01/2013 Gr 7 Up—Narrated by Hermione, daughter of Helen of Troy and King Menelaus of Sparta, this story chronicles several years in her life, starting when she was 11. The novel transpires from the time Helen leaves for Troy with Paris, through the Trojan War, and ends when Hermione marries Orestes. Hermione grows in strength and deals with atrocities to women such as arranged marriages to brutes or concubines being beaten. She also deals with the fact that she has an absent mother who is known as the most beautiful woman in the world, and that she looks nothing like her. Though not told in verse, the story is reminiscent of the style of the well-known epic poems, and many tales of Greek mythology are interwoven throughout. This title would make a great pairing for students studying Greek mythology or reading the Iliad or Odyssey and will appeal particularly to students interested in ancient history.—Adrienne L. Strock, Chicago Public Library - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 01/01/2014 As Hermione, Helen of Troy’s daughter, notes in this title’s prologue, this is her chance to tell her side of her mother’s story. It is also, however, a recitation of the many stories found throughout Greek history and mythology, with Hermione inserted, often somewhat clumsily, as observer and narrator. For instance, having stowed away to accompany her father, Menelaus, to battle in Troy, she wanders through the camp, overhearing Achilles boasting of his prowess, Odysseus lamenting how much he misses his home, and an unnamed warrior describing his invention of dice for gaming and predicting the future. The narrative is largely plot-driven, so that Hermione’s character, particularly her adolescence, is given short shrift since the story elides the tedious details of the ten years of the Trojan War during which Hermione grows from preteen to young woman, skipping from Helen’s kidnapping and the lead-up to war to its dramatic conclusion. After that the story does become more properly Hermione’s, as she is given in marriage to the brutal Pyrrhus but escapes to pursue her true love, Orestes, but here again, the events of the plot are always foregrounded over emotional development or exploration. Fortunately, these particular stories have captured the imaginations of readers for millennia, and they hold up well here even without the kind of emotional investment and development one might expect from Hermione’s initial insistence that she would be at the center of this tale. For readers intimidated by the language of the Iliad, this makes a fine companion piece, highlighting the soap opera of relationships among the key players and the interventions of the gods into their daily affairs. KC - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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