Many of you have probably seen the awesome The Age of YA: A Timeline of Historical Fiction on Epic Reads. It’s WAY too big to upload onto my blog, but definitely go check it out because it’s all kinds of awesomeness. Anyway, I thought that I’d do a series of posts based on some of the time periods in the timeline and give my own recommendations in addition to those featured on the timeline.
Historical YA #1:
Ancient Greece
Nobody’s Princess
Nobody’s Prize
by Esther Friesner
I read this duology way back in middle school and absolutely loved it. I was completely obsessed with Greek myths and legends back then (and still am!), so these were the PERFECT books for me. I loved reading about Helen of Troy–before she was Helen of Troy. It’s nice to read a story where she isn’t just the pretty face that cause the whole war, but instead is a complete badass.
Dark of the Moon
by Tracy Barrett
An absolutely fabulous take on the Theseus myth! I read this one ages ago as well, but I remember loving it so much, especially after reading the Nobody’s Princess series. Another badass heroine that’s been completely overshadowed in the myth, the story is told from Ariadne’s perspective. Well, it actually alternates between Theseus and Ariadne. But definitely preferred this Ariadne than the Ariadne from the myth.
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I’m sad that there aren’t too many young adult or middle grade books actually based in Ancient Greece, despite the huge amount of books based on Greek mythology. Epic Read’s timeline actually doesn’t feature any books from Ancient Greece, surprisingly! Other than the three I’d featured I would say that beyond YA or MG there are two more books–or rather, plays–worthy of mention: Antigone by Sophocles and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Both are set in Ancient Greece (the former was actually written during this time period). Definitely worth the read if you don’t mind the format and stage directions now and then.
Do you have any recommendations for books set in Ancient Greece?
You know, despite seeing the first two all the time in the library, I never read them! When I was younger (elementary, middle, and high school), I practically lived in my public library, and checked out hundreds of books a year. Dark of the Moon was one of those books I read! I think I liked it? It might have been a 3-star for me, I remember not LOVING it. Have you read Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassins series? Super kickbutt medieval historical fiction series!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!