Goddess of Yesterday

by Caroline B. Cooney and Caroline B Cooney

Book Overview

Anaxandra is taken from her birth island at age 6 by King Nicander to be a companion to his crippled daughter, Princess Callisto. Six years later, her new island is sacked by pirates and she is the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385729456
• ISBN13: 9780385729451
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Length: 263 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Wonderful novel that brings the Trojan War to life.

Anaxandra is the only daughter of the chieftain of a small, unnamed island in the Aegean Sea. When she is just six years old, she is taken as a hostage by Nicander, king of Siphnos. She ends up being companion and friend to his crippled daughter Callisto. Six years later, Siphnos is raided by pirates, and Anaxandra is the only survivor. When Menelaus, king of Sparta, stops his fleet of ships at Siphnos to investigate, Anaxandra lies to save herself. She takes on the identity of the dead princess Callisto. Menelaus takes her home with him to his palace, where she befriends his children, in particular his daughter Hermoine and his baby son Pleis. But she is also terrified by his wife Helen, who knows the truth, that Anaxandra is not Callisto. When Helen runs off with her lover, Prince Paris of Troy, and determines to bring her two younger children along, Anaxandra disguises herself and goes in Hermoine's place, to save her friend, and protect Pleis. She manages to get herself and the baby safely to Troy -- where a great war is about to begin, and they are in more danger then ever before. I absolutely loved this book, and I highly recommend it book to young adult readers with an interest in the Trojan War, or Greek mythology in general. Anaxandra is a wonderful character, and her narrative brings the world of Ancient Greece and Troy to life.

Troy and Sparta from a young girl's point of view

Anaxandra, the female heroine of the story, tells from her point of view about the clash between the Trojans and the Spartans, when Paris of Troy went to Sparta and kidnapped King Menelaus' beautiful wife Helen. Anaxandra, who was pretending to be a princess from another city, was there to witness this, and then, disguised as Helen's daughter, returned with the kidnappers in their ships to Troy, in order to protect Helen's baby son. But Helen, who had been willingly kidnapped, hated Anaxandra, and when she discovered that Anaxandra had sneaked along, punished her by having her head shaved. Anaxandra is a wonderful heroine. Though she lies about her identity, she is just trying to keep herself and the little prince Pleis alive. This is not a soft and fluffy girls story, rather, Anaxandra witnesses some bloody horrors of war, is constantly in danger, is treated unkindly, and ultimately attempts to rescue Pleis from being murdered, and to escape from Troy.Her other adventures include danger from a storm at sea, falling in love with a foreign king, meeting up with the strange prophetess girl Cassandra, who is locked up in the king's tower, and disguising herself like a boy in the marketplace. Her "goddess of yesterday" is the goddess she prays to, and on whom she relies to get her out of her troubles. I appreciate the author's afterword, in which she explains which details of the book came from the stories passed down by the ancient writers, and which parts she made up. She also explains that it is not known if the story of Helen and Paris is fact or myth, but that if it did really happen, it would have been about 1250 B.C. This is a great book for young readers/teens who love Greek mythology, or who are just being introduced to it.

I coudn't put it down

I usually find at least one thing wrong with each of the author's books, but Goddess of Yesterday was perfect. It tells the story of a young girl named Anaxandra, taken as a hostage to the island of Siphnos where she is a companion to the Princess Callisto. When war comes, she must pertend to be Callisto in order to save herself. Before the books is over, she has to pretend to be even more people. The villain is Helen of Troy, who I hated ( I mean that in a good way), but one of my favorite charaters was Paris, who was equally as mean as Helen. And the main character, Anaxandra, was so real. Goddess of Yesterday was easy to undersaynd, good Historical fiction, detailed Greek Mythology, and very exciting. I couldn't put the book down, and I wish it had gone on longer. And, unlike a lot of Caroline B. Cooney's other books, the ending to Goddess of Yesterday was complete.

I hope there will be a sequel!

Goddess of Yesterday is a great novel telling the story of the Trojan War in a way that teens and pre-teens can enjoy. I am really into Greek mythology, so I loved this book. It did seem to drag on for quite a while before Anaxandra actually sets foot in Troy, so I think this book would be most enjoyed either by fans of Caroline B. Cooney's work, and/or fans of Greek mythology/history.While the novel ends well, and could very well conclude Anaxandra's story, there are possibilities that Ms. Cooney could continue writing about; does Anaxandra ever see her parents again? What happens when she gets to Lemnos? I really hope Caroline B. Cooney continues the story of such a great heroine.

A Masterpiece

I am an avid reader of Greek Mythology and I really enjoyed this book for its different perspective about Helen of Troy. Anaxandra is six years old when she is taken from her small island home by King Nicander to be a friend to Callisto, King Nicander's sickly daughter on the island of Siphnos. There Anaxandra dwells for six years. When she is tweleve her island is raided by pirates and every one on the island besides her is killed or taken captive. When King Menelaus of Sparta comes to the island to investigate, Anaxandra assumes the identity of Callisto (who is presumed dead) so that the King will take her to Sparta with him. But Queen Helen, Menelaus's dangerously beautiful but cruel and self-absorbed wife, does not believe that red haired Anaxandra is dark haired Callisto and seeks to be rid of Anaxandra. When handsome Paris comes to carry Helen off, Anaxandra poses as Helen's daughter so she will be able to go to Troy with them and take care of Helen's only son. She must use all her wits to survive in Troy with Helen and Paris seeking to rid themselves of the only heir to the throne of Sparta and the young Anaxandra taking care of him. I really enjoyed this book because it is such a great retelling of the "kidnapping" of Helen from a young girl's perspective. Caroline B. Cooney does a great job of rendering the personalities of both Helen and Paris and it makes a great read.