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OLDER FICTION
Levine, Gail Carson

Sparrows in the Wind

352 pp. | HarperCollins | October, 2022 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-303907-0 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-303909-4 $10.99
(2) YA Pleased with Cassandra's offering, Apollo gives her the gift of prophecy, but when she turns down his sexual advances, he curses her so she won't be believed. Cassandra then foretells the sack of Troy and her own enslavement and murder--a grim premise for a novel, but Levine's Cassandra never stops trying to avert the tragic future she sees. Her efforts win her a few crucial allies, including her brother Hector, a minor wind god named Eurus, and (once the Amazons side with the Trojans against the Spartans) the Amazon princess Rin. But all of Cassandra's attempts fail, even barring Paris and Helen from seeking refuge in Troy. Through a clearly evoked Aegean setting, unique customs, and certain poetic turns of phrase, Levine immerses readers in a Bronze Age society, contrasting the strictures placed around Cassandra and other Trojan women with the freedom and agency enjoyed by the Amazons, whose culture is also meticulously portrayed. Cassandra's friendship with the Amazon princess adds another intriguing strand to the narrative. Purists may object to Levine's modifications, but modern readers most interested in grrrl power won't mind. In the end, does Cassandra succeed in saving Hector from death at the hands of Achilles and the city of Troy from the wooden horse outside the gates? I could tell you--but best to read it for yourselves.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

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