In my search for books to listen to, I sometimes run into duds (recently sent three books back to Libby before I finished them because the narrators were getting on my nerves and the stories were not holding my attention), but sometimes I find some real gems. Recently, I found two audiobooks that were quite enjoyable, both about one of my favorite characters, Diana Prince, Princess of Themyscira, also known as Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, narrated by Mozhan Marno
I read Wonder Woman: Warbringer back in 2017 when it first came out and quite enjoyed it then. Five years later, I decided to try out the audiobook, and I wasn't disappointed. The book is written for teens ages 12 to 17 years old, so Young Adult or YA in nature. There's some violence, but also plenty of teen angst, smart ass repartee, and romantic notions without any romantic situations, really. The story starts on the Island of the Amazons, also known as Themyscira, and is set before Diana has morphed into Wonder Woman. She's about 15 years old, curious, ambitious, competitive, intelligent, and really wants to prove herself. Diana also has a good understanding of the narrow line her mother, Queen Hippolyta, has to walk in serving and leading the Amazons, obeying the strictures placed on the island, and also being a good mother to Diana.
Themyscira was set up by the gods (or several goddesses) to be the final home of women who are heroes and warriors or were wrongfully killed by men. In a sense, this is their Elysian Fields or Heaven. This is where they can practice their arts and skills, from races and horseback riding, to arts, music, and crafts, to hand-to-hand combat, for eternity (At one point, Diana refers to a gun as a coward's weapon because you shoot your opponent from a distance rather than facing them. Also, each sister-warrior is in touch with the others, so what one feels, so do the others, even when they're fighting in hand-to-hand combat.). But the inhabitants are from all over the world and from all sorts of cultures, and don't just worship the pantheon of Greek gods. While I didn't read about any Catholics or Lutherans on the island, I'm pretty sure they'd be as welcome as those who worship the Celtic and Norse pantheon of gods, as well as others. And part of me would love to see a story about the several types of inhabitants and how they got there. Are there any atheists or agnostics? Modern pagans or wiccans? If Themyscira is supposed to be a paradise for woman warriors and heroes, it shouldn't matter their creed, right? Pentacostal or Vodun? A follower of Confucius, Tao, or Buddha? Or maybe Krishna, Vishnu, or Kali? Mithras? I just think that would be fun. Christmas/Saturnalia/Winter Solstice (or Summer Solstice if you're "down under") on the island would be a good setting for it, in case anyone is getting any ideas. 😁 You can read a little bit more about Themyscira and Hippolyta here.
However, back to Diana Prince. While she has a good head on her shoulders, she's still a teenager and still headstrong and impulsive. She breaks several rules to save and help Alia Keralis, who is a direct descendant of Helen of Troy, and could be a harbinger of the apocalypse. Logic dictates that Alia should die to save the world. But Alia is just another teenage girl, like Diana, but more of a NYC 21st century teen than Diana could ever be. Diana befriends Alia and thinks that there is a third way, one that will keep Alia from getting killed, and keep the world from falling into a disastrous war. It's got little to no chance of working, of course, but Diana is determined to try.
Typical of Wonder Woman of later years, Diana, like her mother, seems to know she needs to walk a fine line between worlds. She doesn't know how the "real world" works, really, other than from what she's read in books. She can't talk to anyone about it because she'd sound crazy, and she wants to protect her home. She doesn't even know what she is truly capable of, thinking only that she has yet to become a true hero like most of the citizens of Themyscira. In a very real sense, Diana is in the world, but not of it. The legend is that she was created from clay and given life by her mother, with supposed help from Hades. But she has yet to discover her gifts of speed and strength, among others. Her journey with Alia is as much a journey of discovery of herself as it is a journey to save the world.
Anyone familiar with the Grishaverse series knows that Leigh Bardugo is a great writer and storyteller, and she doesn't disappoint here. I know Wonder Woman is a DC heroine, but I really wish Bardugo could continue writing stories about teenage Diana. Mozhan Marno, who is the narrator, also adds to the story, and is very good at depicting the different characters involved in the twisty-turny plot. This can be a good listen as well as a good read and I highly recommend it.
Diana and the Island of No Return by Aisha Saeed,
narrated by Kristen DiMercurio
After listening to Bardugo's Wonder Woman book, I was looking for something else similar and found this, Diana and the Island of No Return, by Aisha Saeed (you can read more about Saeed here). And guess what? It's the first of three books! Yay! So, I am looking forward to being able to get to the other two books as well.
This book, which came out just last year in 2021, is more Middle Grade than YA, and is for readers ages 8 to 12. Diana is herself about 12 years old in this story. And similar to the Warbringer book, she is intelligent, ambitious, competitive, yet also kindhearted. How she was created from clay is no secret. In both this story and the other, Hippolyta has been honest with Diana as to her origins. It's just with other things about Diana that she's a little more cagey. She knows that there is more to Diana than even Diana knows, especially at this tween stage in her life. But she wants to protect Diana from a wide world that Diana may not understand and that may destroy Diana.
Similar to the Warbringer story, Diana sees someone in need, in this case a boy (no boys allowed on Themyscira!), and jumps in impulsively to help him without telling her mother. Diana learns, through use of the Golden Lasso, that the boy, Augustus, has been sent by a demon to kidnap Diana. If he doesn't do this, his family and entire village (he also lives on an island and the people there design and make chariots for the gods) will be destroyed by the demon. In the meantime, he's put everyone on Themyscira to sleep, and the only antidote is, of course, on the island that he comes from. So, even though she feels pressed into it, Diana decides to come back with him. She also brings with her her best friend, Princess Sakina, and Sakina's pet bird.
Back on the island, Augustus, Sakina, and Diana set to finding the ingredients that will wake up the residents of Themyscira, and also the ingredients for the potion that will defeat the demon. Sakina, who is from the land of the scholars, knows what type demon he is, which helps Augustus figure out what potion might work on him. Again, as in Warbringer, this is a story as much about Diana's own self discovery as it is about catching the bad guy and bringing him to justice. And while the story is brought to a satisfactory close, there's a few tantalizing and dangling threads for readers who want to continue on with the series.
I had never heard of Aisha Saeed before this book, but now I want to read all her books. This was a fun story. Not as sophisticated as Bardugo's, but it's not meant to be. It's action packed and full of fun scenes between the friends as they struggle to save their homes. I wasn't as pleased with the narrator, Kristen DiMercurio, but after the prologue and first chapter, I was able to relax into her style and soon forgot about the awkwardness that I heard in the beginning. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading/listening to the rest of the series.
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