Xanthe and Marpessa may have been on the sidelines during the famed Battle of Troy, but they are front and center in this richly detailed young-adult novel that begins ten years into the war that was the subject of Homer’s epic The Iliad. The two adolescent sisters work within the walled city of Troy, Marpessa as a maid to the infamous Helen and Xanthe as a nurse who cares for wounded soldiers carried in from the battlefield, as well as for Hector and Andromache’s infant son. From this vantage point they not only see the destructive effects of the war but they also have frequent encounters with the Olympians, Aprohodite in particular, who constantly interfere in the lives of mortals. True to the spirit of the Greek classics, the lives of many are intricately interwoven in a complex tapestry set against the backdrop of history and featuring mature themes. (Age 16 and older)