Goddess of Yesterday--Young Adult Literature
I don't seem to have as much time to read each day as I do time in the car, so I read many of the young adult books by listening to books on tape. I've just finished Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney.
This is a wonderful story of a pirate's daughter taken as a hostage because her father hasn't paid enough tribute to the local king. At nine years old, this child accidentally tells the king where her dad hides all his plundered treasure. So the king sails away with both the treasure and the pirate's daughter, who is to become a companion to the king's own invalid daughter. Within three years, as things went during that time in history, this king's island is sacked, burned, and plundered, and this young captive is the only one left alive to bury the murdered king who had taken her from her parents. Because she feels a sense of loyalty to the murdered king, she buries him and stands guard by his grave until the king of the conquering army finds her. Thinking her to be the dead king's daughter, and seeing how valiantly she's guarded the dead king's grave, the conquering king takes her home with him, where she's honored as a guest in his palace by everyone except the queen--Helen (soon to be) of Troy. Even after all of this, however, this young lady's adventure is only just beginning. And it's delightful to travel with her from one land to another, one king to another, through childhood and puberty and into early womanhood.
I loved the ending of this book and the heart of the young lady who struggles through all the circumstances that are thrown at her. She's valiant. The only thing I would have liked to see done differently is for the book to have another 100 or so pages more that continued on where the story actually ended. Oh well for me, the reader, but that's a sign of a very good story.
The version of Goddess of Yesterday that I listened to was on CD from Recorded Books, LLC.
This is a wonderful story of a pirate's daughter taken as a hostage because her father hasn't paid enough tribute to the local king. At nine years old, this child accidentally tells the king where her dad hides all his plundered treasure. So the king sails away with both the treasure and the pirate's daughter, who is to become a companion to the king's own invalid daughter. Within three years, as things went during that time in history, this king's island is sacked, burned, and plundered, and this young captive is the only one left alive to bury the murdered king who had taken her from her parents. Because she feels a sense of loyalty to the murdered king, she buries him and stands guard by his grave until the king of the conquering army finds her. Thinking her to be the dead king's daughter, and seeing how valiantly she's guarded the dead king's grave, the conquering king takes her home with him, where she's honored as a guest in his palace by everyone except the queen--Helen (soon to be) of Troy. Even after all of this, however, this young lady's adventure is only just beginning. And it's delightful to travel with her from one land to another, one king to another, through childhood and puberty and into early womanhood.
I loved the ending of this book and the heart of the young lady who struggles through all the circumstances that are thrown at her. She's valiant. The only thing I would have liked to see done differently is for the book to have another 100 or so pages more that continued on where the story actually ended. Oh well for me, the reader, but that's a sign of a very good story.
The version of Goddess of Yesterday that I listened to was on CD from Recorded Books, LLC.
posted by Dorothy Cady at
7:21 AM
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