Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

Growing up as a princess with three other siblings in Sparta can be intimidating. For Helen, the 3rd child of 4, it meant that she would someday rule Sparta as their queen. Instead of her older brothers ruling, it will be her as the Queen of Sparta rules with her husband by her side.

When Helen found out that she was to be Queen, she at first didn't want to. It was too much responsibility and she had no idea how to rule a kingdom.

However, at the age of 10, she decided to take her own fate in her hands and become a leader. Women were supposed to learn how to weave and spin gold into gowns.

Instead, Helen confronted the weapons teacher who taught her older brothers, Glaucus, that she wanted to learn to fight. Helen started training, running barefoot into the woods to get faster, hunting meat with her mother for dinner, and learning how to handle a sword and spear.

Helen did this in secret, since it was not allowed for women to do these events. When her twin sister, Clytemnestra, traveled for her wedding ceremony at age 14, Helen went with to comfort her.

Little did Helen know, though, that she would be on an adventure of a lifetime, hunting boars, visiting holy cities, and running around town dressed as a servant boy to follow her brothers on yet another adventure.

Life is definitely not boring for Helen of Sparta.

My Thoughts/Reflections
I love mythology stories! This one is about Helen of Troy before she could add the "Troy" to her name. This is when she was a little girl who was just trying to found out who she really was. Everyone always called her the "pretty" sister, which Helen was not flattered by.

Instead, she wanted to take care of herself. The thought of having to have a husband for that purpose did not settle too well with Helen.

Helen was a great character, I thought. She was tough. Even when she was sweating, panting, and had rubber arms, she did not give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her quit. She pushed through everything her trainer gave her and finished what she started.

I was a little shocked at how young she was at the beginning of the story - around 9 or 10 years old. However, as the story continued the reader was able to see how mature Helen became and just how responsible she was - which is why she became such a great ruler when she got older.

This is the first book of a two book series. We are left with Helen on another adventure to catch up to her brothers - Helen doesn't like to be left behind when there is more to see and experience. I'm excited to see what will happen in the second, and final, book of Esther Friesner's books.

I would definitely recommend this to any young girl who wants to read about a girl who takes chances, doesn't take no for an answer, and is willing to learn. It's a great adventure and I think any teen girl will enjoy it.

BED4 Day #9: Top 5

After reading Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner, I was very easily reminded of the Disney movie Mulan. A girl dressing up as a boy to go to war, go on an adventure, etc.

So that got me thinking about my top 5 favorite Disney (or Animated as one of my "Disney" movies isn't from Disney) are (and not in any particular order as I can't figure out which is my top favorite):

• Anastasia 
• Mulan
• Beauty and the Beast (a girl who reads books - definitely!)
• Tangled (long hair? check! frying pan fights? check!)
• Hercules

Of course, I have other favorites, but I think these would qualify as my top 5 favorite.

I have 3 out of the 5 on DVD as of right now and I'm hoping to get Beauty and the Beast since it's currently at the stores before it goes back into the vault.

What are your favorite Disney movies?

BED4 Day #8: Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is having a great Easter today! We don't have any young kids on either side of my family, so today is a low key day where we occasionally eat candy. If you are with extended family, I hope you have a wonderful time visiting and celebrating Easter!

I enjoy the Easter Monday one the most :)

BED4 Day #7: BEDA feels like Homework

But it's not the homework that I dread. It's when you get back from summer break and you feel the "ambitious and ready to learn" feeling.

Today I felt the need to get this blog post finished so it will be done and I won't be racking my brain for an idea to write about at 11:50 p.m. - like procrastinating on homework.

That being said, I don't have anything to write about - topicwise.

I think I've been away from school/homework too long, but at the same time, I'm very, very happy to not be a student anymore.

It's a very complicated world... Oh well, off to other things! Have a great day!

Upgrades on the blog

I've done a few upgrades on my blog! Actually, there's only 2 new things, but I think it will be helpful for everyone to find posts that I've wrote in the past. Here are the two things:

1. Search box! I've been practicing with it and I believe it works. You can now search for a title or author that you've heard of and want to see if I've done a review of it yet or not. 
2. Labels! I went through all of my posts (which took some time, I tell ya) and labeled all of my blog posts with the author, genre, and main theme. So if you're looking for "Contemporary", you can click on that link and all of the blogs I've listed as Contemporary will come up. That way if you don't like Supernatural stories, you don't have to go through them, and etc. 

I hope these help you to find what you are searching for, and please let me know if something doesn't work so I can try to use my non-technology brain to fix it :)

BED4 Day #6: Upgrades

Hey BEDA participants! I was just wondering if I could get some feedback, either good or bad, about the two upgrades I've done to my blog.

I don't have many friends who look at this or use it so I was just curious what you thought of it. Do you think I should change anything or add another feature? Should I make the labels by frequency or alphabetical like it is now?

I'd appreciate any feedback, and thank you in advance! :)

BED4 Day #5: TILT

So I didn't read a book for a book review last night/today. I watched the series finale of "One Tree Hill" last night and then today I woke up with a rash on my face and legs so I went to the doctor.

I decided since I became a slacker, I'd do "Things I Love Thursday" (a.k.a. TILT). Here it goes:

• My sister. Even though she didn't have to, Chelsey went to the doctor's with me :) 
• Ice cream. The little ice cream shoppe in my hometown opened recently and I've been going there frequently. Not good for me, but it makes me feel better with this allergic reaction. 
• The Book Rack. It's a little used bookstore in town and I pay 1/4 of the original book price. Let's me save money while still getting books!
• Great weather. With great weather comes days where I actually exercise and go for a run. I've been successful all this week. 
• Movies. I saw "Hunger Games" at the theatre. I enjoyed it, though not as much as the book (that's usually the way it goes, though).

This isn't a long list, but it is the things I could think of right now. Hopefully I'll be able to say "Started volunteering" or something next week!