Hippolyta and the Curse of the Amazons

I enjoyed this...not quite as much as Odysseus in the Serpent Maze, but still, it's a highly entertaining and action packed read! We Join Hippolyta, an Amazon Princess as she is out teaching her younger sister how to hunt. Rather quickly she is called home and discovers that the birth of her newest sibling...who happens to be a boy, the second one born to her mother, puts her entire family in dire straights, due to a prophesy which says that any second son born to an Amazon must be sacrificed to Artemis rather than be turned over to it's father as is normally the case. Hippolyta sees no problem with this, but her mother refuses and is forced to step down as queen. From her prison cell, she orchestrates the baby boy's rescue and asks show more Hippolyta to take the child to his farther in Troy...a task that she does out of love for her mother, not out of any love for the child, which she reluctantly takes on a journey that turns into a rather thrilling and dangerous journey to remove a curse from her tribe and ultimately tests her to her to the very core of her beliefs.

Yolen and Harris give is a truly wonderful look at the mythic figure Hippolyta as she might have been in her youth, complete with a bratty, superior and very arrogant young teenage attitude. We are shown a girl, on the verge of womanhood, who starts out the story very sure of her superiority as a woman and feeling put upon for having to take her unworthy infant brother to his father, clearly thinks all men are beneath her and is, at least at the start, something of a brat. This works for me, because you're taking a young woman thoroughly indoctrinated in the ways of the Amazon and thoroughly sure of their superiority over men (and hers by extension) and who learns some valuable lessons as the tale wears on, truly a well woven coming of age tale as there ever was. I think that her character will be appreciated by young readers and adults alike, who can recognize just a little bit of themselves in her.

As she travels, we are introduced to a selection of supporting characters that are deftly drawn and which tweak just the right nerve necessary to catapult the story along at a pace just fast enough to do the story justice, and not bore us with extended descriptions. We are lucky enough to meet her Amazon rival, Molpadia; the quite just Captain of the Guard, Dares; the beautiful but arrogant and selfish King Laomendon; the ever so talkative Tithonus; and so many more...in addition to the slew of human characters, Hippolyta must also face down a sea monster, gryphon's and ultimately Artemis herself. How will Hippolyta come out of all this and which God makes a special appearance, teaching her that men may not be all that bad? You'll have to read to find out... Truly, a wonderful tale, full of excitement, adventure and lessons that must be learned...simply wonderful! show less

I loved this book.

I love Greek mythology and the intertwining of historical people/places and fiction.
I don't want to give the plot away, but the story was so well written, that it will bring Ancient Greece and the pantheon to life for young readers.

Even as a (middle aged) adult I enjoyed this book very much. It was a great read.

I loved this book.

I love Greek mythology and the intertwining of historical people/places and fiction.
I don't want to give the plot away, but the story was so well written, that it will bring Ancient Greece and the pantheon to life for young readers.

Even as a (middle aged) adult I enjoyed this book very much. It was a great read.

I loved this book.

I love Greek mythology and the intertwining of historical people/places and fiction.
I don't want to give the plot away, but the story was so well written, that it will bring Ancient Greece and the pantheon to life for young readers.

Even as a (middle aged) adult I enjoyed this book very much. It was a great read.

cute, but not really all that much substance. there are some rather heavy handed morals/life lessons peppered throughout the book as well. overall a fun enjoyable read for kids a little too young for the Percy Jackson books.

About the Amazon princess Hippolyta trying to save her new baby brother and the rest of her family because of her mother's unwillingness to give him as a sacrifice. Part of the Young Heroes series.