Being that this is a kids' series, we can't have the actual events of the Trojan War happening. No one's dead. Hecuba and Priam got divorced. Hector is still in Troy with him. Hecuba took Laodice and the twins Cassandra and Helenus with her to live at the Immortal Marketplace and run a bakery. Cassandra isn't happy because her life is so different and because when she was a child, Apollo cursed her. Both she and her twin prophesy, but Apollo cursed Cassandra so her prophecies are never believed. Cassandra's friend Andromache also lives in the Immortal Marketplace, staying with her aunt and uncle, who run the magic shop. Andromache and Cassandra both harbor grudges against the immortals. Andromache had a crush on Hector and she resents having to be away from him.
Anyway, the pair hatch a plot to send some fortunes up to MOA that will wreak a bit of havoc. They lead to Zeus building a carousel in the Immortal Marketplace as part of Homer's book signing for The Iliad. So Cassandra ends up meeting the immortals and blah blah blah, predictability ensues. Apollo ends up with a crush on her and tries to remove the curse, but he can't because it's too old and he can't remember the words. Homer is a dumbass. With blue hair. Another mortal with weird-colored hair. I don't like it. Cassandra helps Athena out, because she and Poseidon are working against each other in Hero-ology with things involving Odysseus. Then Apollo and Cassandra discover their crush is mutual.
This isn't one of my favorites from the series. It glosses over too much. Like Poseidon turns a ship of sailors that helped Odysseus into a rock and it's not really addressed. Athena calls him mean and Cassandra realizes everything that happens is based on the whims (and class assignments) of the gods. AND SHE JUST ACCEPTS THAT. Poseidon just KILLED A SHIPLOAD OF PEOPLE AND NO ONE MENTIONS IT. That whole scene should have been cut from the book. Apparently, we can't have people dying in a war, but it's okay to kill off a bunch of people during a class assignment. It's just not good writing. I think most of the writing in these books is great, because it's light-hearted fun, but that totally crossed the line and was completely unnecessary. It added nothing to the scene except questions as to why no one reacted more strongly than they did and it made Poseidon look like a heartless douchebag.
I like Cassandra as a character. I think she's one of the prettiest when it comes to cover art designs. Love that lime green chiton with her red-blonde hair and brown eyes. But the rest of this book, I could just forget exists and I'd be happy. Actually, the cover is a big disappointment, too. Have Apollo and Athena on one side, but put Andromache and Homer on the other side. There was a missed opportunity to show new characters there. I don't think any physical description of Andromache is ever given. Hector and Andromache are my two favorite Trojans so meh to that.
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