Goddess of Yesterday: A Tale of Troy

Goddess of Yesterday: A Tale of Troy
by Caroline B. Cooney

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Book Summary Information

Author: Caroline B. Cooney
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-11-11
ISBN: 0440229308
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Laurel Leaf

Book Reviews of Goddess of Yesterday: A Tale of Troy

Book Review: Vicki's Review
Summary: 5 Stars

Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney is a great book for all readers 11 or 12 and up. It is 244 pages (in very small print) and has a nine-page epilogue that tells what really happened in the time the story takes place, which is the beginning of the Trojan War. It is a historical fiction book with some but not a lot of fantasy. I would compare it to the book about the Trojan war, the Iliad, because it takes place in the same time and mostly the same place, and it is about the same subject.
Anaxandra is the favorite child of her father, who is a pirate and in charge on their tiny island on the Aegean Sea. When she is six, she is taken by King Nicander and Queen Petra of Siphnos to be a friend to his crippled daughter, Princess Callisto. As soon as Anaxandra adjusts to her new life, Siphnos is attacked by pirates. All the men are killed, and all the women and children are taken as slaves, except for Anaxandra. She is found a few days later by King Menelaus of Sparta, who mistakes her for Callisto, and Anaxandra must pretend to be her to survive. Menelaus takes Anaxandra back to Sparta with him, and he plans to take care of her, and to have her befriend his daughter, Princess Hermione. But his wife, the half-goddess half-mortal Helen, does not believe that this healthy, red headed girl is the sickly, black haired Queen Petra told her about. Fearful of the beautiful and fierce Helen, Anaxandra manages to stay out of harms way, until Paris, the Trojan prince arrives. But when Menelaus leaves to go to his grandfather's funeral, Helen leaves with Paris to go to Troy and become Paris's wife, which plunges Troy and Sparta into war. Then Anaxandra has to assume the identity of someone else... if she wants to live.
My favorite part of the book is when Anaxandra goes to Siphnos because it is one of the most desriptive and readable parts of the book. It introduces lots of new characters, and if you don't read this part of the book, you will not understand any part of the book.
I liked this book because it is one of those books that you can't put down. You need to know what happens to a character, what a character did, or what crazy thing Anaxandra is doing. It has a lot of action, adventure, mystery, history, and humor packed into one book. Also, I like longer books and this book is long and has very small print. It is definatly a must-read for history, humor, and adventure lovers.

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Summary of Goddess of Yesterday: A Tale of Troy

Caroline B. Cooney brings to life this epic tale of one girl?s courage.

At age six Anaxandra is taken by King Nicander to be a companion to his crippled daughter on the island of Siphnos. Anaxandra has adjusted to her new life when, six years later, Siphnos is sacked by pirates, and she is the sole survivor. When a fleet of ships stops on the island to investigate, she assumes the identity of Princess Callisto to survive. The ships belong to Menelaus, king of Sparta, and he takes her back to Sparta with him. But Helen, wife of
Menelaus, does not believe that this child is Princess Callisto. Anaxandra manages to stay out of harm?s way?until Paris and Aeneas arrive. When Menelaus and his men depart to attend his grandfather?s funeral, Paris and Helen?s passionate affair plunges Sparta and Troy into war.

Winner of the Josette Frank Award
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
An ALA Notable Book

The dramatic and bloody siege of Troy is one of the oldest and best of human stories, and in Goddess of Yesterday Caroline Cooney tells it afresh through the eyes of Anaxander, the daughter of the king of a tiny Greek island. As a child she is taken as a hostage to the island of King Nicander. When she is 13, marauding pirates sack the palace, killing everyone but her. Anaxander frightens them off by pretending to be the goddess Medusa, with the help of an octopus as a hairdo. When she is rescued by the ships of King Menalaus, she assumes the identity of a princess, Nicander's daughter, and becomes a royal guest. When Menalaus's cold and vain wife, Helen, runs off to Troy with her lover, Paris, Anaxander goes along to protect Helen's baby son. Within the walls of Troy, she is torn with conflicting loyalties as the bronze-clad warriors of Menalaus land their ships on the plains below the city and war is imminent.

The characters of the Iliad come vividly alive in this action-filled novel: the shallow and amoral Paris, the wailing prophetess Cassandra in her tower prison, and especially Hector, a big, straight-talking sweetheart. Fans of Cooney's contemporary novels like The Face on the Milk Carton will find this story of ancient Greece every bit as irresistible. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

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