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A review by thebisexualbooknerd
Inside the Walls of Troy by Clemence McLaren
1.0
Ickkkkk. When I put this on my TBR some five years ago, I thought it was YA. I didn't realize it was elementary/middle grade until it showed up in the mail a few weeks ago. I have no problem reading well-written middle grade fic, but this is...not. And the worst part is, it would've been SO MUCH BETTER if it was aimed at a slightly higher age range.
It's just the story of the Trojan War. That's it. I was hoping the unique POV would add a more entertaining perspective, but it didn't. In fact, having the characters removed from the action and simply report back on the literally age-old plot developments made it boring as hell. Plus, none of the characters were developed enough for interesting things to happen to them.
And I could live with that just fine. It's not even 200 pages. I've stuck with boring books longer than that. It was a good idea, poorly executed. Except... that wasn't the awkward part. Oh no.
The awkward part was the constant PG13 sex talk.
I've never read anything like this in my life. It was simultaneously overt bedroom talk and veiled innuendos. I have no idea what the author was going for here. It was already uncomfortable enough marrying off a twelve-year-old to a man in his 30's (I know, I know, historical accuracy, but the beginning of my reading challenge is curiously riddled with pedophilia), why do you have to throw in all this "how to please your husband in bed" nonsense? It's got to raise questions with the 10-12 year olds this was aimed for, and it makes it painful for any adults who happen upon it.
Again, if this was YA, where the sexual and violent overtones could be properly explored, and the characters were old enough to actually HAVE sex, this would be a much better book. As it currently stands, it's embarrassing, messy, and unbelievably boring.
It's just the story of the Trojan War. That's it. I was hoping the unique POV would add a more entertaining perspective, but it didn't. In fact, having the characters removed from the action and simply report back on the literally age-old plot developments made it boring as hell. Plus, none of the characters were developed enough for interesting things to happen to them.
And I could live with that just fine. It's not even 200 pages. I've stuck with boring books longer than that. It was a good idea, poorly executed. Except... that wasn't the awkward part. Oh no.
The awkward part was the constant PG13 sex talk.
I've never read anything like this in my life. It was simultaneously overt bedroom talk and veiled innuendos. I have no idea what the author was going for here. It was already uncomfortable enough marrying off a twelve-year-old to a man in his 30's (I know, I know, historical accuracy, but the beginning of my reading challenge is curiously riddled with pedophilia), why do you have to throw in all this "how to please your husband in bed" nonsense? It's got to raise questions with the 10-12 year olds this was aimed for, and it makes it painful for any adults who happen upon it.
Again, if this was YA, where the sexual and violent overtones could be properly explored, and the characters were old enough to actually HAVE sex, this would be a much better book. As it currently stands, it's embarrassing, messy, and unbelievably boring.