Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett

If you like the Dear America Diary series, you might like this historical novel even more.

We first meet Anna, a Byzantine princess, living in a convent. The depressing description of the convent with its "droning reading of the Bible," drabness, and general lack of cheer is appropriate from Anna's perspective since she is involuntarily exiled here after trying to assasinate her brother, the reigning emperor of Byzantium.

We then moves back into Anna’s past to show her passage from designated-heir-to-the-throne to exiled princess.

There is a striking contrast between Anna's mother, a noble lady who tries to teach Anna to rule with virtuous character and humble care and Anna's proud, hard Grandmother who wishes to teach her to lead in a more ruthless and selfish way as well as rule under her influence. Anna herself is deeply ambitious and caught between the two but determined to rule her on her own.

The book is engaging, rich with historical detail, and, generally speaking, content-safe...

Which does not translate into my being completely thrilled with it.

I detect a secular-modernist viewpoint wafting between the pages in a slightly smelly way. Anna is a Christian princess of the empire that literally saved the West from the sweep of Islam for 1,000 years after the fall of Rome. Not only did Islam rapidly gobble up large portions of the geographic map,it virtually never failed to chew up and digest most the remnants of Christian culture caught in its wake. None of this simple historical background is presented.

Two of the most sympathetic characters in the book are Anna’s pagan teacher and her Turkish slave. Anna also manages twice to refer to the Turks as infidels, which is understandable in context but naturally rings poorly in the ears of a modern audience. Since we live in a country with few enough citizens who can put the Middle East or even Greece on a map, it’s unlikely they will understand the context well. Especially, as explained above, with an anemic historical background.

Besides Christian accoutrements and references to priests and churches, the story has little to none of the riches of the Faith. Neither Anna nor any of her family demonstrate any Christianity that appears to reach their hearts or contribute to the robust Christianity that marked the Byzantine empire, although her parents are appropriately appalled at the thought of not being honest about treaties made with other nations. Anna and her pagan (really? A Byzantine princess with a pagan tutor?) discuss the Gods twice: both times with Anna toying with the idea of pagan Gods existing. The closest Anna gets to mentioning Jesus is a reference to the guardian angel that Christians believe every Church/diocese has. Anna likes the idea; she glances hopefully above the church and palace looking... and never sees it. So continues her doubt and skepticism.

Anna's pious mother either loses her Faith in the sin of despair upon the death of her husband, or she's just insane. Either way, conversations between Anna and the mother after the father's death focus on the problem of evil in the world negating the concept of a loving God.

This segues fittingly into Anna's explanation of truth. When asked, she declares truth to be the facts she reads in history about the people who are motivated by greed and selfishness. This may explain the character of a woman who plotted an assassination, but this is not even close to what a classical education offered to a Byzantine Christian of any rank would define as the truth. It's a comment more fitting to a modern mind; though I suppose the real Anna might have been thinking like a modern secular historian.

Then there is the (brief) depiction of the nun who battles wills with Anna and tries to humiliate her. The book makes a point of listing reasons the nuns went into the convent: not a one because of a pursuit of a vocation and holiness. For one nun, it is better than getting beat up at her (supposedly) Christian home. That's a pretty narrow historical lens.

The portrayal of King John is perplexing. He's shown as a petulant, spoiled child who manages to out-manipulate his horrid grandmother. While it helps explain how Anna and her mother might feel desperate enough to attempt his assassination, it doesn't hold up to the historical footnote: John was a beloved king... an example of what a Christian king should be: a ruler known for his good works and care of his people. It's not likely he underwent such a transformation if his formative years were rooted in such a despicable character...

At any rate, Simon, Anna's tutor, teaches her an important lesson in the end at great self-sacrifice. As the Church teaches, God has given reasonable souls to all men, and thus history is replete with men who discover truth without knowing Christ and the Scripture. Simon is a good example of this and his choice of how he helps Anna is a powerful ending.

SAFETY RATING: A cautious 2; needs discussion

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Deep Down Popular by Phoebe Stone

It’s Deep Down Delightful.

Here’s a refreshing, recent novel appropriate to tweens and a rollicking good story to boot.

Jessie Lou loves Conrad-Parker Smith with all the strong emotions of a fifth grader. Except, now she’s too grown up to tackle him and kiss him like she did in second grade.

Besides, that wouldn’t work so well now that Conrad’s a magnificent star of shining popularity and Jessie Lou is the polar-opposite. When you crop your hair down to spiky tufts in a tomboyish rebellion, you’re not going to win popularity points at Jessie’s school.

But then… Conrad’s sports prowess is suddenly hampered by a limp that results in a leg brace, and the popularity fades with typical fifth-grade fickleness. A window of opportunity opens for Jessie Lou and Conrad to become friends.

The wonder of this new friendship is threatened when Conrad undergoes an experimental operation that may result in his return to popularity and exit from Jessie Lou’s world.

One teaching moment occurs when Jessie Lou gladly lets her sister recite a poem she wrote in a beauty pageant. Her sister claimed it as her own with the knowledge of the Jessie’s mom and Grandpa. There was never a discussion of the ethics or consequences involved. (Since her sister lost the pageant, that issue just faded away.)

Also, Jessie Lou lives with her mom and Grandpa (a delightful old character), and no mention of her father is ever made one way or another. It’s rather odd for a girl entering junior high to have accepted her Grandfather in a father’s role with no apparent interest or sense of loss regarding her father.

(Hat-tip to Ranee for another great recommendation!)

SAFETY RATING: 3 Flags

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The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Meet the new Little Women: Skye, Batty, Rosalind, and Jane. Skye is the fiery-tempered athlete (Jo), Batty is an endearing 4 yr. old (Beth). Jane is budding writer (a bit of Jo, not much of an Amy), and Rosalind, the mother-type makes a terrific Meg, (only we get to know Rosalind much better than we ever did Meg).

The girls lost their mother shortly after Batty was born. Their father, a rather free-spirited professor, loves them dearly but grants a lot of independence to his busy daughters. Their adventures in this book take place on their vacation in the Berkshire mountains where they meet up with Jeffrey. Remember the disapproving Grandfather in Little Women? This time, it's Jeffery's snobbish mother they contend with.

We're won over almost immediately by this close-knit, spunky and funny family. Jeffrey's mother is not. They all still manage to forge a childish, spirited friendship that unfolds over simple things like soccer games and birthday parties.

This modern version lacks some of the soap-opera-ish quality of Little Women. Some of us won't miss that. It also lacks any reference to or grounding in God or Christianity. Some us us will miss that.

It's still wholesome, breezy, and a worthwhile read.

Rating: 3 Vatican Flags

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