Skip to main content

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers)
Young girl along with all other girls in her age range (12 to 17) from a small rural land (mountain village that mines the fictional stone linder) are required to attend an academy to prepare them for the prince of the kingdom, who will be choosing a bride from their village.

Category
Fiction, YA

Why I chose this book
The author was recommended to me

My personal opinion (the review)
I loved it. The characters were real. The academy taught not only the expected poise and etiquette the title implies but also history and diplomacy and other real life subjects. The overall message of the book was one of growth and change and self reflection, learning to be better, not dreaming of a magical ending. (Although there is one small magical element to the story, among the miners.) It focused on education and family, which I really like.

All of the character development was great, but the main character especially was something I'd not only be comfortable with my daughters reading but that I will recommend to my daughters. (My oldest is almost 10 and is an avid reader. I feel she is level enough to understand the book.) Miri (the young girl the story is told through)  feels treated unfairly, weak, and without potential, but realizes her own inner strength and her ability to contribute to her family and village/community in other ways throughout the story.

Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.)
None that I can remember. The main character's mother is deceased before the story begins.
Any other death that I may have forgotten was not to a character I was attached to.

Movie rating equivalent
G

Protagonist description
Physically weak, emotionally strong. Thoughtful of others. Determined.

Point of view of story
3rd person, focused on Miri 
(*disclaimer - I procrastinated writing this review and now I can't remember - alternate: 1st person through Miri)

Book length
a week

Story flow
great - not too slow or too fast anywhere

Grammar and spelling issues
None or rare

Character connection (no spoilers)
none

For series:
Princess academy, palace of stone is the sequel

Independent or integral (stand-alone or back story dependent)
Stand alone

Series review as a whole
Loved it. I'll review the sequel next.
The second book might be too difficult in subject matter (politics of the kingdom) for my 10 year old to understand, but both books are well written and give characters that are worth admiration. They also give characters that are not what they seem, illustrating the need to understand the true character of someone.

If you only have time for one, read: (which one)
This one (the first)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happily Ever After Kiera Cass

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Short novellas and after stories from the perspective of other main characters from The Selection Series. Includes: -The Prince (with the two bonus chapters), Maxon’s novella -The Guard, Aspen’s novella -The Queen, Amberly’s novella -The Favorite, Marlee’s novella -Three scenes from Celeste’s POV -Lucy’s scene (bonus scene from The One) -The bonus epilogue -Where are they now? Category: YA Why I chose this book: Selection of novellas filling in gaps in The Selection series.  My personal opinion (the review): Of the entire series this was by far and away my favorite. I loved getting to hear parts of the stories from other perspectives. There was also additional details not found in the original story. All my questions or things I wondered about where answered through these stories.  Warnings Language: None  Violence: None "Adult" situations: As with the other novels, a few scenes with more description than I would have liked. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

By
Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Game by Terry Schott

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) What if this life is just a simulation? What if our bodies are in another world, plugged into a virtual reality game, and our entire life is just one play in that game? What would our real life be like, if we could experience several full simulated lifespans, in our teen years, and then enter adulthood? That is the premise of this story. Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book It was either free or discounted on Amazon, and sounded interesting My personal opinion (the review) Too many inconsistencies. For example: The real world is able to view the players in the game in "real time", but time in the game is sped up, so that a week in real life is worth a decade in the virtual world. How do real world people have enough time to experience the virtual world, in real time, while still being accelerated? Danielle enters the game 3 days behind Trew, but she only ends up being 1 year younger. If a week is a decade in the game, then 3 days should have be...
Post a Comment
Read more