Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed Beauty's Daughter: The Story of Hermione and Helen of Troy on + 380 more book reviews
Summary:
Hermione is the daughter of King Menalaus and Queen Helen (Helen of Troy). When Helen falls in love with Prince Paris, she runs off leaving her daughter but taking her son, Pleisthenes. When Sparta goes to retrieve Helen, Hermione hides away on a ship to travel with the soldiers. She is there to witness the beginning of the Trojan war. During the war, she lives in the camps and learns to care for those around her. She also grows up into a great beauty, which works against her after the war. Instead of returning home after the war to grow up as a princess, she is married off to Pyrrhus, a warrior. He is a horrible man and she lives through more miseries than she can account for.
My thoughts:
I enjoy Carolyn Meyer's novels. I read through all of her Tudor novels (Young Royals series) and enjoy her style. She blends aspects of known story with her thoughts seamlessly and that intrigues me. Because of the way she writes, I almost feel like I am learning more about the actual history or myth. In this novel, the gods are very much a part of the novel. They are key characters that mess with battles and cause chaos, but also favor those that praise them. They are unpredictable and add an element of magic to the tale. Hermione is a strong character. She learns to deal with love, death, and betrayal as she grows up. Since this is written as an autobiography, we really get to learn about Hermione as she grows up. She is a very different woman at the end of the novel than she is when her mother runs off. While I would recommend this for high school (especially 9th grade when they read "The Odyssey"), I will warn that it is including prostitution, murder, and child marriage. Because of the time period that it is focused upon, and the obvious theme of war, teachers and parents should pay attention to what they think would be best for the reader. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving this to someone younger than 13/14.
Hermione is the daughter of King Menalaus and Queen Helen (Helen of Troy). When Helen falls in love with Prince Paris, she runs off leaving her daughter but taking her son, Pleisthenes. When Sparta goes to retrieve Helen, Hermione hides away on a ship to travel with the soldiers. She is there to witness the beginning of the Trojan war. During the war, she lives in the camps and learns to care for those around her. She also grows up into a great beauty, which works against her after the war. Instead of returning home after the war to grow up as a princess, she is married off to Pyrrhus, a warrior. He is a horrible man and she lives through more miseries than she can account for.
My thoughts:
I enjoy Carolyn Meyer's novels. I read through all of her Tudor novels (Young Royals series) and enjoy her style. She blends aspects of known story with her thoughts seamlessly and that intrigues me. Because of the way she writes, I almost feel like I am learning more about the actual history or myth. In this novel, the gods are very much a part of the novel. They are key characters that mess with battles and cause chaos, but also favor those that praise them. They are unpredictable and add an element of magic to the tale. Hermione is a strong character. She learns to deal with love, death, and betrayal as she grows up. Since this is written as an autobiography, we really get to learn about Hermione as she grows up. She is a very different woman at the end of the novel than she is when her mother runs off. While I would recommend this for high school (especially 9th grade when they read "The Odyssey"), I will warn that it is including prostitution, murder, and child marriage. Because of the time period that it is focused upon, and the obvious theme of war, teachers and parents should pay attention to what they think would be best for the reader. I wouldn't feel comfortable giving this to someone younger than 13/14.
