I'm no classicist, but I flatter myself that I know a bit more about ancient Greek history than the average Joe. But Cooney gave me a completely new perspective on the character of Helen, Paris and Menelaus. They became, for want of a better word, believable. As is so often the case, a wonderful book has been relegated to the YA shelves just because the protagonist is a young girl. Don't let that label keep you from reading this excellent tale. [Audiobook note: At first, I thought the narrator's voice was too deep for a young girl's. But once I got used to it, it did not impede my enjoyment. She does a first-rate narration.] ( )

YA fantasy (minimal but seemingly real involvement of the gods) with a heroine who ends up pretending to be two different princesses in the course of surviving the violence of the Greek peninsula. Helen is a monster here: beautiful but careless of others at best, terrifying and fascinating. I found it very enjoyable. ( )

Read this as a kid and it's one of my favorite historical fiction books and probably a catalyst for my lifelong interest in Greek mythology and history.

Content warning for mentions of rape and some gnarly deaths...which now makes me question why this book is in the juvenile fiction section of the library...but I guess I read it as a preteen and I'm mostly fine so ( )

From School Library Journal

Anaxandra is six years old when she is taken as tribute by King Nicander. He is kindly toward her and takes her in to live with his own daughter, Callisto. Anaxandra leaves her former life behind, taking with her little more than her treasured statue of her patron goddess, Medusa. Then tragedy strikes-a band of pirates attacks her new home, and Anaxandra, hiding, is the only survivor. King Menelaus happens by soon after, and takes her to his island, thinking she is the Princess Callisto. His wife, Helen, does not believe this, and tries to prove it, but Anaxandra (now Callisto) becomes friends with Helen's children. When Paris arrives and takes off with Helen, "Callisto" protects her new friend by pretending to be Hermione, Helen's daughter, and is taken to Troy along with Helen's youngest son, Pleisthenes. Of course the ruse is later discovered, but not until they reach Troy, where Callisto determines to save Pleisthenes from certain death at the hands of Paris. Cooney has taken the basic facts of a well-known Greek myth and turned them into a grand adventure with a heroic girl at the center, creating a fictional situation and characters inside the known story. Lesser-known elements fill in her tale; the "Goddess of Yesterday" helps Anaxandra through many tough times, and Medusa in this form is the goddess of female wisdom. The characters, though many and varied, are complete and believable. A fine-tuned adventure that may leave middle-schoolers asking to read Homer.
Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, OR

Inspired by the Trojan War. Anaxandra was taken away from her family by King Nicander to be a companion to Princess Callisto on the island of Siphnos. Years later, pirates sack the island and Anaxandra is the only survivor. When Menelaus, king of Sparta, and his crew come upon the destruction, Anaxandra takes on Callisto's identity in order to survive. She is taken in by the king and brought to Sparta. His beautiful wife Helen does not believe that Anaxandra is Princess Callisto. Soap operatics ensue and war is launched against the Trojans.