Troy High

by Shana Norris

Overview

Homer’s Iliad, the classic tale of love and revenge, is shrewdly retold for teens in Troy High.

 

Narrated by Cassie, a shy outsider at Troy High, the story follows the Trojans and Spartans as they declare war on the football field. After the beautiful Elena—who used to be the captain of the Spartan cheerleaders—transfers to Troy High and falls madly in love with Cassie’s brother Perry, the Spartans vow that the annual homecoming game will never be forgotten. Off the football field, an escalating prank war fuels tensions between the schools.

 

The stakes are raised when Cassie is forced to choose between the boy she loves (a Spartan) and loyalty to her family and school. Troy High will seduce readers with its cast of mythic proportions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613120149
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	12/31/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Shana Norris is the author of Something to Blog About, a BookSense summer 2008 pick, which Children’s Literature called “an uplifting and quick read” and about which Publishers Weekly said, “Norris’s prose is breezy and playful.” She lives in Kinston, North Carolina, with her husband, dog, and three cats. Visit her online at www.shananorris.com.

Editorial Reviews

Based on the Iliad, Norris’s story trades the animosity between the city-states of Troy and Sparta for a longstanding gridiron rivalry between the Troy High Trojans and Lacede High Spartans. Narrator and Troy student Cassie is best friends with Greg, sophomore class president at Lacede. When school district lines are redrawn, a number of Lacede students, including the beautiful Elena, have to attend Troy. There Elena falls for Cassie’s brother Perry and dumps Greg’s brother, Lucas, who is devastated and swears revenge on Troy. The football teams and cheerleaders engage in a series of pranks (there’s even an exploding horse at the homecoming dance), and Elena befriends outsider Cassie for reasons that are not fully clear, since Elena is a cheerleader and thus immediately popular. Cassie’s crush on Greg and her budding friendship with Elena all progress predictably, leaving little in the way of surprises. Norris’s (Something to Blog About) prose is breezy, and playful references to the Iliad (footballer Ackley has sustained an ankle injury) entertain. But they’re not enough to elevate the story beyond its promising premise. Ages 12–up. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Social outcast Cassie faces difficult choices about friendship, love, and popularity when the beautiful and aggressive Elena is transferred from Lacede High (Spartans) to Troy High (Trojans) and decides to exchange her Spartan football hero for a Trojan one, Cassie's brother. The new Trojan couple use Cassie as their go-between, but Cassie's big problem is whether she should kiss the brother of Elena's former Spartan love. As both girls make their dating decisions, Cassie concludes that Elena, who encourages conflict, is a good friend and that part of her allure is self-confidence. Mired in the schools' rivalry and prank violence, Cassie and her new love weigh their school and family loyalties against their feelings for each other and finally decide that their personal choices trump a herd mentality that endangers futures and lives. The sustained allusion to Homer's Illiad with a bit of Romeo and Juliet fails to produce excitement or grave consequences, even in the predictable exploding Trojan horse scene. Cassie is often whining, naive, and unbelievably forgiving. Elena, the modern Helen, hangs on her new love. The male "warriors," even Cassie's conflicted boyfriend, lack appeal and development. The adult involvement is limited and shallow. The conclusions are didactic: "There are other things more important in life than being remembered by a bunch of high school kids." Romantic-minded, soap-opera focused, junior high girls may be drawn in by the glamorous cheerleader cover but might lose interest in the drama queen dilemmas. Reviewer: Lucy Schall

VOYA - Lucy Schall

Nothing quite depicts the intensity of a high school football rivalry like Greek mythology. Shana Norris has brilliantly recast the entire ensemble of Homer's Iliad to fit the contemporary setting in her novel, Troy High. The battlefield has transformed into the football field, and the beautiful Helen of Troy is now Elena of Troy High. The Trojans and the Spartans are now football teams. Readers will be seduced by the watchful observer, Cassie, who narrates the story with a simply honesty and takes you page by page into this vengeful tale of pride, love, and glory. Reviewer: Matthew Lukach

Matthew Lukach

Based loosely on Homer's Iliad, this novel about high school rivalries takes football tournaments, romantic entanglements, and petty pranks to new depths. The main character, Cassie Prince (her name, an Author's Note explains, derives from Cassandra the Seer, princess of Troy), is a sophomore at Troy High School, home of the Trojans. Her best friend, Greg Mennon (Agamemnon), goes to Lacede High, whose team is the Spartans. Cassie's brothers, Perry and Hunter, butt heads with Greg's brother, Lucas (Menelaus), over the long-standing feud between the two schools as well as over Lucas' girlfriend, Elena (Helen of Troy), who switches her allegiance from Lucas to Perry. Cassie and Greg's friendship, about which each is confused because, without admitting it, they are attracted to each other, becomes further complicated as their siblings demand loyalty to the respective home team. Pranks on either side quickly escalate from toilet-papering to graffiti to lacing the school lunch with laxative to letting chickens loose in the hallway (a witty, LOL scene). The few adults are unusually clueless, even for the genre. Their obtuseness and fecklessness is particularly and unrealistically evident when a Trojan horse, allegedly a peace offering from Lacede, explodes and burns Troy's gym during the homecoming dance—with no repercussions. The teenage characters are similarly flat and unconvincing. Some readers might find the multiple, shifting rivalries riveting. Most will probably find the story, which is so carefully plotted as to feel structured rather than developed, predictable. Reviewer: Cynthia Levinson

Children's Literature - Cynthia Levinson

Gr 6–10—Norris captures the drama of The Iliad by recasting the Greek epic in a modern-day football rivalry between two neighboring high schools. When school districts are reset and Elena Argos is sent from Lacede High (home of the Spartans) to Troy High, an all-out war erupts after she dumps Spartan Lucas Mennon for Trojan Perry Prince. Perry's younger sister, the outcast Cassie, is thrust into the thick of a conflict she doesn't even care about, and she has the awful feeling that things are only going to get worse. Students familiar with the epic will recognize the characters: Hunter Prince as Hector, who leads the battle despite the whole war having been caused by his irresponsible—even cowardly—brother; Greg Mennon as Agamemnon (here, Cassie's best friend); Spartan football star Ackley as Achilles, who seeks revenge for an ankle injury inflicted by Hunter; and more. Like Cassandra, Cassie's protestations go ignored, but her "Can we please grow up and forget this rivalry?" line gets repetitive and seems trite in the face of the escalating pranks. Still, she grows in her understanding of the cost of friendship and love, and unlike her namesake, gets her happy ending. While The Iliad story line lends richness to the narrative, the book stands alone, and readers unfamiliar with the classic will still enjoy the war between high schools, started over a beautiful girl.—Alana Joli Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT

School Library Journal

Norris works in all the major players of the classic tale of Helen of Troy in her second novel. A victim of redistricting, beautiful Elena (Helen) is forced to leave Lacede High and enroll at crosstown rival Troy High. She simultaneously switches romantic alliances from Spartan Lucas Mennon (Menelaus) to Trojan Perry Prince (Paris). From the perspective of Cassie (Cassandra), Norris reduces the battle of Troy into the story of budding teen romance—Cassie's love is Greg Mennon (Agamenmon)—and a football rivalry culminating at the homecoming game and dance. Norris's idea of modernizing the famous tale is an intriguing one, but this reader anticipated a bit more depth in its execution. Unfortunately, none of the clever heft of Homer's sweeping epic shows up in Troy High. Those looking for fun brain candy, however, will not be disappointed. While Cassie, Elena, and Greg show glimmers of slightly better character development than a smattering of lesser players, on the whole they are superficial, wooden, and predictable. Still, Cassie's character, a normally ignored tomboy enjoying a rush of popularity, is credible. Norris's pacing carries the story effectively to a satisfying, if not surprising, finish. Voracious readers will devour this snack-size story quickly. It is a perfect recommendation for busy girls looking for a brief respite between the demands and responsibilities of teen life. Reviewer: Lauri J. Vaughan

VOYA - Lauri J. Vaughan

Norris's adaptation of The Iliad, Troy High is, if not the most original or memorable teen novel, a good poolside book. It moves quickly and sports a cast of generally interesting and likeable characters. Unfortunately, though perhaps fittingly, Cassie, the protagonist and modernized Cassandra of Troy, is a bit overshadowed by Elena Argos (Helena of Troy's modern-day parallel). Though the extremity of the high school rivalry is unbelievable, Troy High is a clever, fun summer read. Reviewer: Isabel Crevasse, Teen Reviewer

VOYA - Isabel Crevasse