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. Cassandra should have been blessed by Apollo but instead was cursed with a gift of prophesy that no one will believe. She is desperate to stop what she knows will be a horrible war and the fall of Troy yet there don't seem to be enough ravens and strange animals falling from the sky to get anyone to believe her. She teams up with a friend Rin who is becoming a fierce Amazon warrior and together they might be able to stop this catastrophic event.
Gail Carson Levine has brought us so many tough and smart young female characters who flip their traditional roles and show the world what they are made of. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-arc!

I wanted to like this book, I really did. Gail Carson Levine's books have been there throughout my childhood and early teenagehood-- I wept for Meryl and Addy, wanted to hold Aza and Ella, sympathized and angered for Kezi. And who could forget the Biddle tales? I also loved Greek mythology as a child, and with this new generation of kids loving mythology, had been hoping to recommend more.

Unfortunately, my hopes were unmet. I knew the book would never be sapphic (yet still hoped, for some reason-- no men were mentioned in the blurb!), but I still thought the bond between Rin and Cassandra could be similar. I had thought I'd see their duel perspectives throughout the book, getting to know and watch them grow. Instead, Cassandra is the POV for the first half, then Rin takes over after a timeskip. I feel as if this hurt the story, in that we did not get to see the characters grow as they could have if they'd had the whole book.

I also.... Cassandra's relationship with a wind god felt like a cheaper imitation of Ever. It added nothing new to me, nor was it something I particularly enjoyed. I think the book might had been stronger had they stayed simply friends, with no romance-- it felt again, like Kezi/Olus 2.0, with the only difference that Cassandra could see the future. Rin's head too, felt overly simplistic for middle grade and Gail Carson Levine-- while attempting to show how the prophecies could be seen, heard, and shown true yet still disbelieved? It felt more forced than I would have hoped.

As for others.... I did like the portrayal of Oneone here! Justice for her-- because yes, she's beautiful, and she deserves to be angry. Though Helen was very much viewed unsympathetically by the POV characters, there was some spirit that could be seen-- she wanted to be loved, she loved acrobatics and would often show them off-- it still felt more rounded than other portrayals of Helen.

A retelling of the Greek mythology of Troy revolving around Cassandra, a Princess of Troy, whose only crime was rejecting Apollo's affection after he granted her wish, the ability to see into the future. After Cassandra rebuffed him twice, he cursed her by having everyone dismiss her visions.

Cassandra’s character is beyond frustrated and to be honest, I started to lose interest until she meets Rin, an Amazonian princess. Rin was who made this story more bearable because she suddenly brought the story more to life. I did enjoy the two princesses' evolving and deepening friendship.

It is a fairly good read for the middle-grade audience who are curious or enjoy reading Greek mythology. I personally found the story a bit waning until Rin comes in during the second half of the book and the ending was unsatisfying for me. I give this book 3/5 ⭐ because it just did not grab my attention until halfway through. That is too long for me.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books for this e-digital edition in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited for this book, I love retellings and I love Gail Carson Levine's work, but this one really fell flat for me unfortunately.

Cassandra's story of being able to see the future and be a prophetess but cursed that no one will ever believe her is such an intriguing story and the way that Levine sets up Cassandra's strength and determination is great. But unfortunately I could not stand the way that Cassandra's inner-dialogue was written. I kept starting and stopping because it was so hard for me to continue and I had to push my way through it and the story itself didn't make up for that for me.

I think that this book could still be really enjoyable for younger readers who maybe won't find the same things I did as bothersome, but it made it a really difficult read.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this book. I liked the protagonists. However, I didn't connect with the prose. The ending was also a bit too neat in my opinion.

Thank you to #NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Sparrows in the Wind by Gail Carson Levine. This middle grade novel will be published October 25, 2022. All opinions are my own.

In the middle of the Trojan War, two princesses battle against fate. Cassandra is a Princess of Troy and follower of Apollo. Apollo has fallen in love with her and grants her the ability to see the future. After she spurs his advances though, he curses her gift so no one will believe her prophecies. Cassandra can see Troy fall, but she’s unable to do anything to stop it. Ron is daughter of the Queen of the Amazons. Her band join Troy in their fight against the Greeks. Rin and Cassandra eventually form a friendship that just may turn the tides of fate.

The first half of the book follows Cassandra and is told from her perspective. The last half of the story is told from Rin’s perspective. I think it would have been more impactful if the perspectives alternates between chapters rather than dividing the book in two. Because of the structure used, there was a major time jump between Cassandra’s section and Rin’s section. Additionally, the story itself just wasn’t as compelling as I’d hoped it would be. The characters fell flat for me and there wasn’t really much action sin the story. While the whole idea of the book is to change the fate of Troy, it really feels like not much happened and then the ending came all too easily. This may be a good read for those who enjoy Greek mythology but it’s slow moving in comparison to books like Percy Jackson or those in the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. Some may have a difficult time getting into and staying in the story.

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Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 2.5/5 stars.

I was disappointed by this. I love Greek Mythology and there were some aspects of this I really enjoyed, but for the most part everything fell flat. I didn't like the writing style, the separate POVs were organized weird and didn't assist the story. I think it would have been better to alternate between Cassandra and Rin rather than have the first half of the book be Cassandra and the second half be Rin.

It also just lacked substance. The whole plot is about changing the fate of Troy, but it seems like nothing happened. Cassandra also has a romance with Eurus....a wind god? But not really a romance?

I'm sure there is an audience for this, but I found myself reading to finish it and considered DNFing it SO many times simply because it did not hold my attention.

This book is good for middle schoolers who enjoy reading Greek mythology. I personally found the story somewhat slow and the ending was somewhat unsatisfying for me.

Dramatic, heart wrenching and ultimately satisfying!!! I could not put this book down once I started, I will be looking for more from this writer!

I've been enjoying books by Gail Carson Levine since I was in elementary school and I would read the Tinker Bell books to my sister growing up. So I like to still keep up with Ms. Levine's writing, I was really excited that she was writing a book with Greek Mythology. This book did not let me down, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, the characters were what I was hoping for and the writing was so well done.

"My twin, Helenus, won nothing, but he did better in every competition than our brother Deiphobus, which was all he cared about. Helenus couldn’t stand to lose, and I’d learned early to let him win our little games. I preferred not to endure his angry silences and sometimes elbow jabs, which he pretended were accidental. I loved him anyway. We were always together when we were very little."

Hmmm. I love Gail Carson Levine, and I am so thankful for the chance to read this book early!

However, I felt very disconnected from it. I think that the tone of this book was really light, despite the very heavy subject matter of the Trojan War, and it just felt odd. I liked Cassandra and Rin, the two protagonists, and it was interesting to be with the Amazons!

However, I think even as a kid, this book would have been a little bit too fluffy for me.

Sparrows in the Wind drew me in from the start. The two voices telling the story were perfectly unique, using purposeful language that immediately painted a picture in my mind of each girl. The story continued to keep me on my toes, surprising me at moments where my limited knowledge of the myths woven into the story had tried to predict the outcome. I look forward to bringing this into my classroom, though I feel it may be better suited to middle school students as the language is so rich that my fifth grade students may struggle with comprehension. This would be a great book club or shared text as I can already imagine the passionate conversations that would ensue as they discuss Cassandra and Rin's predicaments.

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gail Carson Levine’s books defined my childhood. Ella Enchanted was the first book I remember finishing and then immediately wanting to reread again. The Two Princesses of Bamarre filled my head with adventures and made me try my hand at cross stitch. The Princess Tales were fast, fun reads that I collected and loved to enjoy. I saw her name on this book and immediately snatched it up. Unfortunately I think I would have been better off it I had actually considered the description fully before diving in.

A novel set around Cassandra is a hard sell. She is cursed to see the future but not be believed. That set up makes following her character frustrating as she battles against this curse and seeing how everyone dismisses the obvious around her. Half way through the novel changes to follow Rin, a young Amazonian princess, which ended up being a much more enjoyable perspective. She is spunky and is trying to prove herself as a full Amazonian warrior.

The only way to make the story satisfying, especially for a middle grade audience, is to change her tragic fate and thereby change the ending of the Trojan War. However the end did not win me over

I would still recommend this book to children, but I would make sure to put it into the right kids’ hands. Ones who know a lot about the Trojan War might find the novel frustrating with its ending. Other kids that need to follow a protagonist that won’t frustrate them might stop reading the book before they get to Rin. However I am sure there are quite a number of kids who will love to follow the adventure of these two girls as they manage to change history and help Troy with the Trojan War.

I am a big fan of Gail Carson Levine. I will read anything she writes. She has a way with taking a story you know and making it new. I wa excited to have a story with mythology. It didn’t disappoint. It is no one of my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: October 25, 2022)

I felt incredibly honored to be selected to read and review an advanced copy of “Sparrows in the Wind” by Gail Carson Levine, because she’s an exceptional writer and storyteller. The moment I saw Gail’s name on this book, I knew I had to read it!

The book is somewhat of a retelling of the well-known Greek mythology stories of Helen of Troy, the Trojan War, and the famous Trojan horse. Part One of the story follows Cassandra – a princess of Troy who receives the gift of foresight from the Greek god Apollo. Unfortunately, when Cassandra offends Apollo when he asks for a gift in return that she refuses to give, he curses her gift so that no one will believe her prophesies.

Cassandra tries to reverse the curse by doing everything she can to make people believe that a terrible war is coming and even tells them how it can be prevented, but the curse is so powerful that even when Cassandra’s prophesies are correct, they’re viewed by everyone as mere coincidences and nothing more. This was exasperating to me, because Cassandra was desperately trying countless times to get someone to believe her only to have no one defend her and, thus, making her an outcast to everyone – including her beloved family.

Part Two of the story occurs a few years later and follows Shirin (known as Rin) – an Amazon princess whose band of warrior women are asked to help fight with the Trojans in the war against the Greeks. Rin’s background and way of life is very interesting – especially how the Amazonian women and men are separated and the women are the warriors. Rin quickly meets Cassandra and the two of them become unlikely friends who will stop at nothing to end the war and stop the senseless killings.

The story hooked me early-on and turned into a much quicker read than usual since I always wanted to know what would happen next! I really liked both of the main characters and how their stories were separate and then combined at times in Part Two.

I also really liked the helpful cast of characters at the beginning of the book, because there are A LOT of characters and Greek gods referenced in the story. Because many of the characters are introduced at the beginnings of the two parts of the book, it’s a little head-spinning trying to keep all the characters straight at first. However, the story took off quickly and any previous confusion I had would almost completely disappear as the story unfolded.

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in a new twist on the Trojan War. The writing is exceptional, the characters are all unique and memorable, and the story will keep you guessing until the very end. A must read!

Sparrows in the Wind is written by one of my favorite authors Gail Carson Levine. The beginning of the story the reader is introduced to Princess Cassandra of Troy. She is the beloved daughter of her mother and father and about to be Troy’s next kanephoros, she will have to responsibility of leading the city in a festival celebrating the god of light, healing truth and prophecy, Apollo. Upon completing her duties as kanephoros Cassandra is gifted with the gift of prophesy from Apollo himself. Apollo unfortunately desires something in return for such a gift when Cassandra refuses his request the god curses the very gift she was given. Even though Cassandra can see the future and sees a very real battle that will take place against Troy and Sparta she is all but helpless because no one will believe her. This book is a race for Cassandra to try to save her beloved Troy and the ones she loves. Another princess is there to help Cassandra, she is not an ordinary princess who is waited upon by servants she is an Amazonian princess named Rin (Shirin). She befriends Cassandra while trying to aid Troy during their battle against Sparta. Their friendship and love for their people help them in defeating their foes.

Gail Carson Levine was one of my favorite writers as a child -- my copy of THE TWO PRINCESSES OF BAMARRE has been read to ribbons! I was excited to get my hands on a copy of SPARROWS IN THE WIND, particularly as I've always been a fan of greek mythology & mythological retellings. Ultimately, I had mixed feelings about this beautifully-written novel. While I found Cassandra a bit difficult to love (more on that later), I was very charmed by the Amazon princess Rin and really enjoyed the deep friendship that grew between the two princesses. The second half of the novel was exciting and picked up the pace in a way that the first half lacked. The struggle here is not in Levine's obvious talent as a writer nor the overall idea of the plot, which is an excitingly fresh perspective on a well-worn tale; rather, the issue is, I think, the conceptual difficulties of centering Cassandra, a prophet who cannot be believed. After Cassandra receives her cursed gift, the reader is quickly frustrated (as is Cassandra!) by her inability to prevent the horrors she foresees and by the inability of those around her to heed her warnings. It is difficult, as a reader, to become overly invested in a plot that is either foretold (both in the sense that Cassandra sees it & in the sense that it's a well-known legend) or will deviate from the source material so much that it loses some of its power. (For what it's worth, the novel manages to take both paths...) I would still certainly recommend this novel to tweens seeking a sense of adventure or mythology-obsessed readers, though SPARROWS IN THE WIND ultimately fell a bit flat for me.

I have always been a fan of mythology, especially works involving Ancient Greece, so the description of Sparrows in the Wind really enticed me -- and I was not disappointed.

While the story does deviate from the traditional Trojan War myths, I absolutely LOVED the relationship Levine developed between Cassandra and Eurus as well as their relationship with Rin in the latter half of the book. I hadn't given much thought to the type of person Helen of Troy was before reading this book but, honestly, I never want to picture her any other way.

I highly recommend this book to anyone out there who enjoys a YA read that incorporates Greek mythology. I can't wait to put this on my classroom shelf!

ARC provided by NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers in exchange for a fair review.