Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Beauty's Daughter (2013)

Beauty's Daughter. Carolyn Meyer. 2013. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 352 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Beauty's Daughter is the story of Hermione and Helen of Troy. I'll be honest, Helen of Troy is more of an afterthought. The book has very little to do with her directly. Indirectly, I suppose, there is plenty having to do with Helen. The story follows Hermione and her father during the Trojan War. She goes with the armies. She befriends some of the other women. She falls in love. After they win the war, her father arranges a marriage for his daughter. She is angry but submissive. The novel then follows her through this mess of a marriage. She cannot forget her first love, Orestes, and when she learns the mess he's in, she sets out to rescue him. Accompanying her are a few of her best friends. The journey won't be easy, of course, but with the help of a god, perhaps they will succeed.

Beauty's Daughter makes Greek mythology accessible. I enjoyed it for that reason alone. Hermione may not be beautiful like her mother. But she is strong-willed and brave. She is not a particularly emotional heroine. The book isn't so much about how she feels at any given time as what she does.

Beauty's Daughter is not my favorite Meyer novel, but it is a good read. 

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

4 comments:

Kailana said...

hm. Not sure if I want to read this or not. I want to say it sounds good, but I have hesitations!

albetro said...

Hi
Nice one! I like the outfit of the characters. Wish i could do the same thing too but im not that techie.i like the outfit of “from farmer to warden”.. really interesting.

Sherry said...

So, what is your favorite novel by Ms. Meyer? I really like the one about Cynthia Ann Parker (can't remember the title right now), maybe because of th Texas connection.

Becky said...

Sherry, have you read White Lilacs? That is probably my favorite Caroline Meyer book! I love the Royals series too.