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koreydobbert's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book because the author writes about a young Helen of Troy. The book shows a a jounry the young Helen may have taken to become the woman we hear about in Greek Mythology. The author also gives insight into what life may have been like in Roylar halls of the Spartan's ruling family. One of the themes of this book is gender roles, which Helen challenges when she wants to learn how to fight and be trained with her older brother.
If you enjoy Greek Mythology, action, challenging geneder roles, and drama then this is the book for you.
If you enjoy Greek Mythology, action, challenging geneder roles, and drama then this is the book for you.
rinn4's review against another edition
4.0
Helen is a great character, she wants for more out of life than just marriage and is determined to get it. The best part about her though is the fact that she want to be her own person; not a younger version of her brother, not her twin sister, not Atlanta, and not the whoever the Oracle of Delfie sees in her visions. She is Helen, future queen of Sparta, a ten year old who can trained secretly along side her brothers to learn how to fight, sister to the queen of Mykane, and her own person all together. The book is worth the read there are a lot of characters that you will recognize from Greek legends but none of them are quite what you expected them to be. Helen sees the world for what it really is and not through the stories that are made up about her adventures along the way.
cwgoodyear's review against another edition
2.0
This felt more like a modern story in a historical setting than actual historical fiction.
octagonal's review against another edition
1.0
Technically, I didn't even finish this. But I suppose after having it sitting on my bookshelf for a year, I can finally say I'm not going to finish.
chloe_spencer1800's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
paradoxically's review against another edition
2.0
Nobody's Princess is a cute story. Shallow, a wandering plot, meh-ish characterization... it's still cute. That's pretty much all you can say about it. Helen is an interesting character as she grows up, but she comes off rather selfish (which isn't all that bad), and she always gets her way. All of the female characters are rather strong, which isn't a bad thing to see, but it was rather... hm. Like instead of being equal with men, they're written as better, only with added bonus of the men beating them down. Which I get, I really do, but it just rang very shallow to me.
The plot wandered. The first half is about Helen growing up and being cute and spunky and oh so very determined to be able to beat her brothers into the ground (well, learn how to fight, heh). The second half was about her journey to Mykenae, meeting Atalanta, and trying to participate in the hunt for the Calydonian boar. Then it's about the Pythia and sailing off to her next adventure. No central plot line other than Helen wanting to go on adventures like her brothers.
Ah, another thing that bothered me, the glamorization of these adventures. Yes, they're exciting, but they're also hard and dirty and people die. Seems like the author just sort of skips all the bad bits and goes straight for fun and exciting. There are some hard moments, but it never happens to Helen. She pretty much just leads a charmed life.
All in all, shallow. It's cute, but shallow. 2 stars.
The plot wandered. The first half is about Helen growing up and being cute and spunky and oh so very determined to be able to beat her brothers into the ground (well, learn how to fight, heh). The second half was about her journey to Mykenae, meeting Atalanta, and trying to participate in the hunt for the Calydonian boar. Then it's about the Pythia and sailing off to her next adventure. No central plot line other than Helen wanting to go on adventures like her brothers.
Ah, another thing that bothered me, the glamorization of these adventures. Yes, they're exciting, but they're also hard and dirty and people die. Seems like the author just sort of skips all the bad bits and goes straight for fun and exciting. There are some hard moments, but it never happens to Helen. She pretty much just leads a charmed life.
All in all, shallow. It's cute, but shallow. 2 stars.
cereuslyrico's review against another edition
4.0
I read this once as a kid and once as an adult, it doesn't quite hold up to an adult read, but I remember enjoying it when I was young. Makes Helen a relatable figure.
author_d_r_oestreicher's review against another edition
5.0
Helen of Troy was “the face that launched a thousand ships,” but in the 21st-century women are more than just pretty faces. In Nobody’s Princess, author Esther Friesner, asks, “Who was Helen?... Did she know that everyone agreed that she was the most beautiful woman in the world? Did knowing that make her feel proud, or smug, or embarrassed, or bored with all the never-ending compliments?” This Helen fights and rides instead of spinning and weaving, and much more.
A modern revisit to the woman who started the Trojan War, an ancient story with too few female characters.
For my expanded notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2021/11/nobodys-princess-by-esther-friesner.html
A modern revisit to the woman who started the Trojan War, an ancient story with too few female characters.
For my expanded notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2021/11/nobodys-princess-by-esther-friesner.html
oneqdprnjoy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0