On the recommendation of a friend, I just read Shannon Hale's Princess Academy. As you can probably guess since I'm writing about it here, I loved it!It's the story of Miri, a young girl who has lived in a mountain mining town all of her life, but everything changes when a messenger from the King comes to the village and announces that all the girls between the ages of 12 and 17 must attend a "Princess Academy" for a year. At the end of that year, the prince will come and choose his bride from among the girls.
It's actually recommended for grades 5 - 9, but I really enjoyed it. It's a very fast read (took me just over 2 hours) and a pleasant story that doesn't require a lot of thought, but there are some strong messages about the power of education, strength through self-knowledge and self-confidence, the importance and rewards of loyalty and teamwork, and the healing power of love and friendship.
Oh, and there is a type of mountain ESP and telecommunicating that makes things interesting, too!
Highly recommend it!
3 comments:
"...mountain ESP..."
Totally off topic, but that reminded me of "Escape to Witch Mountain" which we watched a few years ago and Cameron enjoyed (if for nothing else but old-time special effects). I remember just loving it when I was about his age!
I really like how you write about the book. You have such a nice way of putting things.
It is a fairly simple story, but like you I found it powerful. I have heard both good and bad about Goose Girl. It is MUCH longer. I haven't had a chance to start it. Let me know what you think.
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