![]() I was not immediately drawn into Daughter of Sparta by Claire Andrews. The story started slowly for me, and I was not immediately drawn to the protagonist, Daphne, but I stuck with it, and am glad I did because I ended up enjoying the book. The novel tells the story of Daphne who has spent her seventeen years of life working and training towards becoming a Spartan warrior, although she is not accepted by the Spartans. She is tasked by Artemis to find the nine items which have been stolen from Olympus and to return them before the gods of Olympus lose their powers and the world falls into ruin. Fans of Greek Mythology will recognize many of the cast of characters and may learn of some new ones while following Daphne's journey. You may also recognize the novel as a new interpretation and representation of the Greek Myth Daphne and Apollo. If you enjoy this read, there is also a sequel, Blood of Troy. Approximate Grade Level - (9th+) As with many Greek Mythological stories, this one contains some bloody fight scenes, betrayal by the gods, and some romantic longing (plus a spicy kiss scene). If you are not familiar with Greek Mythology, you may struggle with this one.
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![]() Takedown by Laura Shovan is one of the novel choices I gave my students this school year. From a teacher perspective it contains some concepts I wanted to highlight - point of view, dynamic characters, figurative language, a male and female protagonist, and different perspectives; plus, it is a good story, Overall I feel like my students enjoyed this read that highlights two wrestlers (Lev and Mikayla) who become training partners and form a strong bond as they learn to stand up for each other and themselves while navigating the often difficult world of becoming a teenager. I also enjoyed that this novel highlights a sport that is not often presented in fiction - wrestling. My students seemed to be interested in learning about the sport and the moves mentioned within the book. They also related to the characters and the difficult decisions they had to make for themselves. As an added bonus, Lev is Jewish while Mikayla is not, so the reader was introduced to some religious and cultural elements of each protagonist. Approximate Grade Level - (5th-7th grade) Although students younger than 5th grade can most certainly read the book, I do not feel they will yet be able to fully relate to the eleven/twelve year-old-protagonists who are on the cusp of becoming teenagers. Be forewarned that there is a lot of "girl power" in this novel, as well as, some religious references (to people in the Bible and Jewish customs). |
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