I received this great ARC from Book Expo America a couple months ago. I decided to put it off until right before the release date. 'Troy High' is a book written by Shana Norris and published by Amulet, an imprint of Abrams. It's a really good story, a light read despite it's relation to Homer's Iliad. Here's what the Product Description says: 
Cassie, a shy outsider who fears that an epic high school rivalry is about to go up in flames, tells the story about 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.
The Trojans and Spartans pull wicked pranks on each other as homecoming approaches. And the Spartans’ wildcard football star, Ackley, promises to take down the Trojans’ offensive line. But the stakes are raised when Cassie is forced to choose between the boy she loves (a Spartan) and loyalty to her family and school.
I'm a total sucker for mythology. I admit that I even watched Hercules on TV as a kid. I'm also a sucker for retelling an old story. For example: totally loved 'She's the Man,' the retelling of 'Twelfth Night.' Putting both mythology and retelling of a story together led me to expect a lot from 'Troy High.' The good thing is, Shana Norris did the research and gave us a great story.
I always hated Helen in Homer's 'Iliad.' That hatred completely transfered to Elena of Troy High. The split feelings I had for the Spartans and Trojans also came across.
However, the story of Elena transferring high schools, and the warring football teams wouldn't be half as entertaining if an insider was explaining the whole story. Cassie is a wonderful character that puts her own spin on the whole tale and sees through all of the facades like so many outsiders do in high school. I was a little frustrated that her story took so long to unfold, but the ending didn't disappoint me, that's for sure. Some scenes didn't sound right in the high school setting as I think Norris attempted to stay true to the original story by emphasizing the 'let's kill them!' mentality present in the Trojan war, but they didn't bother me too much because I was enjoying the well crafted writing and entertainment value. Overall, I would recommend reading 'Troy High' no matter what age group you're in because it's a well developed concept in a humorous, modern day setting that provides a few good laughs and smiles along the way.
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