Children's Book Reviews

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Child X by Lee Weatherly
David Fickling Books, June, 2002
Hardcover, 156 pages
ISBN: 0385750099
Ages 8-12
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

Child X
by Lee Weatherly

It has happened to many people. Things are proceeding in a predictable way and then something happens that changes everything. For thirteen year old Juliet Chency life is all right, but far from what she would really like. Uncle Derek has the same red hair that Jules has and he is a well-known actor. Jules enjoys talking to him. There are possibilities. She decides that being in a play adaptation of her favorite novel will bring some new experiences, so she tries out; to her surprise she is accepted in the role she had sought. Mother is always away at work, but Dad, who has a different kind of career, is always there to cook, clean and listen. Jules really loves her Dad. Then one day Dad is no longer there, and Jules cannot find him. Everything has changed.

The theme of people not being quite what one has perceived them to be runs through this riveting story. Jule honestly recounts her first hard lessons in the realities of human nature. To find that her beloved father is not really her biological father and that he is suing her mother for child support is shocking enough. To find that the world has a ravenous appetite for hearing all the details of other people's personal tragedies is indeed painful, especially when reporters and photographers are camped in the front yard. Jule finds that the newspaper reporter who sought her out and seemed to understand so completely had actually used her as the subject of a featured story in a national newspaper with wide circulation. To learn that one cannot necessarily depend on long standing friendships when things go terribly wrong is even more unsettling. On the positive side, Jule learns that a friendship that she had previously scorned is still offered and that those who have betrayed can be forgiven.

First time novelist Lee Weatherly, who was born in Little Rock, Arkansas now lives with her husband in the UK. After trying many occupations, she has settled on writing. Her sensitive narrative about the issues and pain that many teens face is certain to be enjoyed by young readers.

--Sarah Reaves White

Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney
Delacorte Press, June, 2002
Hardcover, 263 pages
ISBN: 0385729456
Ages 12 and up
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

Goddess of Yesterday
by Caroline B. Cooney

There is no better doorway into Bronze Age Greece than this exciting novel for young readers by Caroline B. Cooney. From the first page when this spunky girl, Anaxandra, is taken from her parents and her home by pirates when she is only six years old to the last page, when she is in no man's land during the Trojan War, the reader has to admire this girl who tells her story in a matter of fact way with neither self-pity or self-aggrandizement.

The reader is immediately plunged into a brutal age with viewpoints and attitudes that are totally foreign to the twenty-first century reader. Fear of offending the gods rules the lives of all citizens of this bronze age society, but it is perfectly all right to burn and pillage other islands and carry off citizens to be sold into a life of slavery. The gods are by no means united into a common religion; instead, two gods may be supporting opposing armies or kings. Through her very thorough research into The Iliad and other ancient writers, Ms. Cooney makes all of the characters come alive as we observe their personalities through their actions.

Anaxandra begins her story on a small island in the Aegean Sea where she lives happily with her mother and her father, a chieftain of the island. One day when she is only six, ships filled with soldiers arrive. They demand a tribute and little Anaxandra as a hostage. The leader of the soldiers, King Nicander, decides that Anaxandra will make a good playmate for his crippled daughter, Callisto. Anaxandra is taken into the new family and she gains many useful skills as time passes. Then one day again pirates come to plunder and the entire island is soon in flames. Anaxandra escapes, but her new family is killed. It is when a new fleet of ships arrives that Anaxandra must take advantage of mistaken identity and claim to be Princess Callisto so that she can survive and not be sold into slavery. King Menelaus takes her home, saves the treasure taken for her dowry and treats her well. But Queen Helen is suspicious of a princess with red hair. Like all Greeks of this period, she knows not only her own ancestry, but is familiar with the ancestry of the late King Nicander. Helen is suspicious that Anaxandra is not Princess Callisto. One day two Trojan princes, Aeneas and Paris arrive. Paris and Helen are strongly attracted to each other, and when Menelaus leaves to attend a funeral, they plunder his kingdom and Helen sails away with Paris. Anaxandra must go with them to care for Helen's infant son. Anaxandra's adventures in Troy and her final meeting with Menelaus are exciting, and upon finishing the story the reader can really feel that a trip through time to Bronze Age Greece has occurred.

In case the reader would care to review his or her knowledge of the Trojan War with all its famous personalities, both human and divine, Ms. Cooney has provided a very enlightening discussion of the various issues surrounding this fascinating novel. She points out where she has altered a few facts to fit the literary demands of the story. Her insights are both entertaining and informative.

--Sarah Reaves White

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Children's Book Reviews

Child X by Lee Weatherly

Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney