Levine does not disappoint in any of her books, and Sparrows in the Wind is an incredible MG book for lovers of Greek Mythology.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A mash-up of the high energy of Rick Riordan's popular take on Greek gods with the classic Greek and Roman myths as seen from a female perspective.

I understand that this is a young reader book, meant for a much younger audience than me, but I was not impressed with this one and ended up DNFing it fairly early on. The concept was great (I’m a sucker for anything with Greek mythology), but the writing just wasn’t good. It’s not that it wasn’t descriptive or as colorful as a more adult book, the writing was just bad. I’ve read other young reader books where the writing was great, so I know it can be done.

Sparrows in the Wind is the latest in the popular genre of mythology . There are two narrators, Cassandra of Troy, and Shirin (Rin), who will become the Amazonian queen. Cassandra is a seer who is cursed that no one will believe in her prophecies. Here we learn about why she was cursed, how she tries over and over to convince people that her prophesies are true, how people try to explain away what she says.

The second half of the book is told by Rin, who is an Amazonian mercenary hired to protect Troy from the Greeks after he kidnapped Helen, who is a vain, selfish, arrogant woman whose main concern is making sure all everyone, especially the men, like her.

I would have preferred for the perspectives to jump back and forth instead being done with two separate halves. It would have been more impactful if they had alternated stories. The book is for the middle school readers, so it felt a bit light to me, but I think it is a good entry for that age group.

Sparrows in the Wind
by Gail Carson Levine
Pub Date 25 Oct 2022
HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books
Children's Fiction | Historical Fiction | Middle Grade


I am reviewing a copy of Sparrows in the Wind through HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books and Netgalley:


I am reviewing a copy of Sparrows in the Wind through HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books and Netgalley:


In the Latest novel from Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine about two princesses battling against their fates in the middle of the Trojan War is a must-read for anyone who loves Greek mythology or the Percy Jackson books!



Cassandra is a Princess of Troy and a follower of Apollo. She's delighted when the God himself appears to her. Apollo asks to love her in exchange for giving her future sight, and she agrees—but recoils when he kisses her. Enraged, the god transforms his gift into a curse: Cassandra’s visions will never be believed.


When horrifying images of an impending war and death pour into her mind, and with no one to heed her warnings, Cassandra risks her safety again and again to avert the disaster awaiting Troy.


The problem is it will take years as well as the friendship of an Amazon warrior Princess named Rin, for Cassandra to find hope of success in reversing the course of the war.


I give Sparrows in the Wind five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I have always loved Gail Carson Levine and found the synopsis and premise of this book to be super interesting.

I would recommend this book to people who love mythology and hopefully this will help get middle readers interested in mythology.

I would have liked to see a little more depth but this was a good read. I absolutely love the cover art.

Sparrows in the Wind is a retelling of the Trojan War from Cassandra’s perspective. Cassandra has the gift of prophecy but was cursed by Apollo that she will never be believed. She sees the future of her city burning. She teams up with a wind god and an Amazon princess to save her city. I really enjoyed this novel. I love both Cassandra and Rin. They are very clever, spunky, and strong. The novel had many fun surprises in store. The only I did not like was that I found the story to be rushed and did not take the time to develop the other characters. Nevertheless, the friendship between Rin and Casandra is the best aspect in this book. I recommend this for fans of Beauty’s Daughter, No Need for Heroes, and Nobody’s Princess!

I'm going to start this review by acknowledging that my dad is a classicist and so I have seen The Oresteia MANY times. This book reminded me a lot of Ambery & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz -- both of them are rich, literary usages of classic myths for young readers, but both may have a hard time finding their audience.

For me, I liked getting to know Cassandra well in the first half of the novel and then seeing how she was perceived by others in the second part of the novel. Many commenters have noted that this book isn't as readable as Percy Jackson -- because it's a very different kind of book. For the right reader, I think this book is a slam dunk.

This is great for fans of Greek mythology though perhaps a bit niche and advanced for the typical reader.

Sparrows in the Wind is an entry into the developing genre of novels based on mythology - in this case, Greek mythology. This is a novel in two parts, the first told by Cassandra of Troy, and the second by Shirin (Rin), heir to an Amazonian queen. As in the original myth, Cassandra is a seer who is cursed so that no one will believe her prophecies, but in this novel, there is so much more - why she was cursed to begin with, how people explain away things when Cassandra's prophecies are correct, and how her repeated attempts to convince people she is foretelling the truth leave her somewhat outcast by those around her. This is the first half of the novel, told from Cassandra's point of view. The second half is told by Rin, who, as part of a group of other Amazons, is hired as a mercenary to help protect Troy from the Greeks who are attempting to rescue Helen.

So much of mythology is lost to time, and there is no way to know if this interpretation is any more or less correct than any others. I found some of the variation interesting - Helen, for example, is portrayed as selfish, self-centered, and desperate for others to like her, men and women alike, but not necessarily more beautiful than others, only more able to attract and hold the attention of those around her. The true variation, however, comes in the ending, which is totally different from the standard myth of Cassandra, which I won't give away here.

This was a fun middle grade read. While it might not have been for me personally, I do think that younger readers will enjoy the connections to Greek mythology. I also think that this is a good lesson in empathy as we get to see both sides of the battle. Interesting read overall.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this work. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

The Sparrows in the Wind, is as all of Gail Carson Levine’s books I read as a child, engaging, hopeful, and full of strong girls leading with their heart. As soon as I saw the premise for this book, I knew I had to read it- Cassandra of Troy and her Amazon bff??? Conceptually, outstanding. I enjoyed this re-telling of some of the Trojan war from the perspective of a lesser-addressed participant as she tries her best to save her family and people when the odds are against her. I ESPECIALLY love that Levine took something that is usually treated as a footnote- the Amazons assisting Troy- and used it to enhance the narrative and simultaneously drop some interesting information about the Amazons.

Overall, this made for a delightful middle grade adventure. I would definitely recommend for anyone who enjoyed GCL’s other books, as well as those who enjoy authors like Rick Riordan and Roshani Chokshi

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins children's books, and quill tree books for the E-ARC. This story is based on the mythology of Cassandra, Apollo, and the trojan war. The first part of the story is from Cassandra's perspective. She becomes Kanephoros (leading lady who leads the people to do sacrificial rites at a festival) for Apollo. Apollo grateful and enamored by Cassandra, he gives her the gift of prophecy. Cassandra then gets cursed for rejecting his advances. When Cassandra would prophesy no one would believe her — even though they would come true. In the story, I really enjoyed the way the author conveyed some of the character's thoughts and actions when they didn’t believe Cassandra. They would be in such denial even after Cassandra proved them right. Trying to justify the circumstance as a coincidence. When Cassandra realizes the fate of troy she befriends a lesser-known god of the east wind Eurus. She tries everything in her power to stop the war. Her efforts become futile. In part two the story shifts to an amazons perspective a girl named Rin. Trojans recruit her band to fight the trojans. Cassandra as always, lets her trophies be known, and as usual, Rin doesn’t believe her. Until Hera bypasses apollos' restriction and lets Rin and her band of amazons believe Cassandra. Towards the end, Cassandra, Rin, and Eurus's efforts prevailed. Cassandra decided to join the band. Overall, I really loved reading the story. I enjoyed the author's note on their research of Greek customs in order to write the book. The role of Kanephoros and the amazonian lifestyle were very intriguing. We not only get the worship of greek gods but also amazonian gods, and their customs. Also, I love the fact the author implemented a minor god to have an important role in the story. I think we need to hear more about lesser know deities. Helen and Paris weren’t really likable In this story. But that's justified seeing as they were the cause of the war. Paris was gullible and stupid, although I did enjoy reading about his first wife she too had the gift of prophecy and he didn't believe what she would say (she wasn't even cursed). Helen was a people pleaser and didn't have much else of a personality. Also, there's a bit of suspense building up during part one. Some of Cassandra's efforts to stop the war to the reader seemed like she ended the war, but there was always a solution to the problem. This review will be posted on GoodReads on 11/18/22.
this review was posted on amazon on 11.19/22

I read a lot of Gail Carson Levine books when I was a kid, so I requested this one knowing I'd enjoy her writing style, which lends itself to this type of fantasy. Also, having just read Song of Achilles, I was eager to read more about the cast of characters involved in the Trojan War.

I appreciate that she stipulates in her Author's Note which material she researched and which she imagined for the story. Rin and Cassandra are both depicted as strong young women with a decent amount of agency for the time, and I think middle-grade readers will appreciate that. While the second part seemed less robust than the first, I enjoyed reading about both characters and the way their stories intertwined.

This is a welcome addition to any middle-grade library (or for adults who love Greek mythology).

I am a huge fan of anything Iliad, so I like to think of myself as an 'amateur connoisseur' of any fiction that is a spin-off of the Iliad during the Trojan War. I have to say, this was an excellent young adult book set during the Trojan War, and especially because it finally redeems poor Cassandra (one of my favorite characters who deserved her own book and happy ending). This book is FULL of girl power and taking charge of your destiny, and fighting for yourself - all good messages for teens no matter their gender/identity, I have read this author before, and she is an excellent writer that knows how to create a world that you can fall into. This was such a great book and I am so grateful to have read an ARC of it! Thank you!

I love Gail Carson Levine, and this was very much her voice. I am not sure it was entirely successful for me- the split between the two protagonists was completely unexpected and I'm not sure it worked. However I do think this was a really interesting perspective on Cassandra and myth, and offers a fairly strong-handed advocation of choosing your own path, no matter how certain your fate seems to be. I am not sure this is the strongest of Levine's books, but a student who loves mythology or history might find it a fascinating look into a Troy the jumps off the page.

I think there are middle grade readers who will really like this one. The writing style was a bit too on the juvenile side for me, even though the content was not.

Two Princesses, one from Troy, one of the Amazons, both give their perspective of the events that unfold leading up to and during the fall of Troy.

Part 1: Cassandra's POV, past tense.
Princess Cassandra of Troy wins the attention of the God Apollo and he grants her the gift of prophecy. But when Cassandra spurns his advances he curses her gift so that no mortal will ever believe her. Unfortunately what she sees is the distruction of her Kingdom.

Part 2: Rin's POV, present tense.
Princess Rin of the Amazon's gets injured on her way to Troy, as the Amazons join up to fight the Greeks. She befriends Princess Cassandra while recovering, and tries to do her part to save her friend.

I found this story to be really interesting and I formative as I only had a passing knowledge of the fall of Troy and any of the characters of the story.

As a middle grade children's book I found it to be a sweet story of family and friendship. How much one would sacrifice and do for the bonds of families and friendships despite how we are viewed by them.

As an addendum to the novel, the author has also written a blurb explaining her research. She tells what parts were authentic myth and which parts she made up to make the story her own fantasy.

My one complaint was my own inability to enjoy the second half of this story to it's fullest because of the switch from past tense narrative to present tense narrative. I really dislike a present tense narrative. That's just personal preference though.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's book for sending me this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's book for sending me this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Greek Mythology is one of my favorite things to read about, especially stuff about the Trojan War. What drew me into this book, to begin with, was that it told Cassandra's perspective on the events leading up to the Trojan War. I have always enjoyed tales of the Trojan princess, who foretells her and her family's eventual demise and is not believed in her predictions. Cassandra's plot in this book is quite intriguing. Her main goal is to try and prevent the events of the Trojan War. I wish that the story was written differently.

I was not too fond of the book being divided into two parts, the first being Cassandra's and the second an Amazon princess named Rin. Going into the book, I assumed it would be from Cassandra's perspective. It is fine that it wasn't, but if we were going to get another perspective, I think it should have been formatted differently. The book should have switched back and forth between the girls' perspectives. I believe that this would have helped the plot feel not so disjointed.

I enjoyed the friendship between the girls, but I can't say that I enjoyed Rin's perspective much. Cassandra's was much more interesting to me. In most books about the Trojan War, we get very little of Cassandra; what we get is usually from other people's perspectives of her. I liked how we got to see her in a different light at the beginning of this book. That is what I went into this book wanting, and I’m sad to say it was lost in the middle of the book.

*Thank you, NetGalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*