[BookReviewEditor]

Goddess of Yesterday
Caroline B. Cooney
Madison
Goddess Of Yesterday, written by Caroline B. Cooney is a historical
fiction book written about a young girl named Anaxandra, who, at the age of
six, is taken as a hostage, and raised by her captor, King Nicander and his
wife Petra. Raised as if she was their daughter, she is a happy, thriving
young woman until the day the pirates came and burned her home. Orphaned,
and left alone, she builds herself a shelter until king Menelaus comes and
takes her with him. Assuming the identity of a princess, she is safe, until
she meets Helen of Sparta who knows she is not a princess. When Paris of
Troy robs the city, Anaxandra poses as Helen's daughter while the real
princess escapes. Now what can she do? Should she assume the identity of
another in order to survive?
I recommend this to all girls about the ages of twelve to sixteen,
although older girls might enjoy it also. On a scale of 1-4, with 4 being the best, I
would rate this book a 3. It will help to know a bit about
Greek mythology when reading this to help you understand how early Greeks
based their behavior on their belief in the gods. This is a wonderful story
that can take you right into the life of this struggling teenaged girl, who
is caught in the middle of a war. Cooney puts so much description, and
character building into this book you get caught up in it and forget you are
not really aboard a ship during a storm, or watching Queen Helen at a feast.