Another hilarious tale of when real people face unusual circumstances, Esther Friesner writes a unique story about how summer jobs aren’t what they seem, especially when you have the Greek Gods involved! The lady of the story is Ilana Newton who is getting a hard time finding a job where the employer doesn’t get frightened at the permanent marker-ed skull on her cheek. Yea, that will scare. To make things worse for Ilana, she has to go through the trifles of the wedding of her dramatic sister.

To introduce the Greek gods and goddesses mentioned are some of the more not mentioned ones. You have the Fates (Clotho [Tabby], Lachechis [Dimity], and Atropos [Georgette]), Circe [she keeps her name], Athena, the Furies, Eros, Arachne, and Dionysus. To introduce the mortal characters, Ilana Newton (the heroine of the story who works for the Fates), Dyllin Newton (the crazy sister getting married), Heather (best, also crazy, not idealistic friend), Corey (Ilana’s opposite, works with her in the line of godly assistants [Fun Fact Alert!: Circe turned him into a pig!], Max, Jamie, and Sophie, among other lesser important characters. The typical crazy cast of characters in a tale where myths is reality.

I have a preference to stories that have myths and tales. So I guess this is one of those mix-ups where mythical drama meets the modern world. Yes! Definitely a nice mix. What are the Greek gods considered in modern days? They remain in hiding but secretly controlling everyone. Wait, who plays Zeus? Ahh, forget that one, but the story is really nice when the characters are messing up trying to deal with each other’s worlds. Try to get used to a spider as big as a baseball! Oh, by the way, that’s Arachne, the weaver that got cursed by Athena. Let’s not forgot an endless room filled with spindles which represent everyone’s lives. But modern elements like a frantic wedding are also included. Dyllin, I can’t say is a spoiled brat, but is more just a little pressured (too bad her groom turns out to be Eros in disguise, that dork).

So I recommend this to anyone who has a wonderful sense of imagination! You’re going to have to adore the Greek Gods, you’ll never know when Zeus is listening in. You don’t know when he’ll hear something bad and throw a lightening bolt at you. But also remember to use your imagination to figure out what Ilana is going through. Life’s tough, yet hilarious! A must-read for anyone who is interested in reading a tale of laughs and magic!

A LITTLE ON THE AUTHOR

Esther M. Friesner was educated at Vassar College, where she completed B.A's in both Spanish and Drama. She went to on to Yale University; within five years she was awarded an M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish. She taught Spanish at Yale for a number of years before going on to become a full-time author of fantasy and science fiction. She has published twenty-seven novels so far; her most recent titles include Temping Fate from Penguin-Puffin and Nobody's Princess from Random House.

Nobody's Princess
- Esther Friesner