reviews
Aug 21, 2008
Chelsea
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
13 comments
like
(13 people liked it)
May 19, 2010
Valerie
rated it: 
Picked this up at a B&N while waiting for others to finish shopping. I only finished a little over 50 pages but by then I was into the story, so I put a hold on it at the library. Going back to the world of Just Ella was nice and she even pops up in this story as well. It reminded me of when I was still a new reader and that was nice.
Cecilia can be a bit self-important but then again she is the 'true princess.' She is good if flawed but I didn’t dislike her at all. Cecilia does lear More...
Cecilia can be a bit self-important but then again she is the 'true princess.' She is good if flawed but I didn’t dislike her at all. Cecilia does lear More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 19, 2009
Jessie
rated it:
The princess is named Cecilia-I couldn't resist :)
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 03, 2009
Callie and Jackie
rated it: 
Cecilia was always brought up to be a princess. She did not live or do what you would think a princess would do. She was in hiding from her enemies while the fake princess, Desmia, was sitting on the throne. Cecilia is an adventurous, smart and brave girl. Her best friend, Harper, is strong and brave as well. When Cecilia reveals her secret to him they set off to the palace to tell Desmia she has arrived and is ready to take her rightful place on the throne. It was not as easy as Cecilia th
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Dec 02, 2008
Kyra
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 30, 2012
Clarisse
rated it:
"You are the true princess. We will protect you. We will keep you safe until the evil ones are vanquished and the truth can be revealed..." (Palace of Mirrors, pg 1)This is the secret that Cecilia has had to keep all of her life and in the book Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix. On a mission to protect herself when danger to her strikes in her own villae, she along with the help of her best friend Harper must take a dangerous and risky journey to protect herself and maybe C
More...
Aug 19, 2011
Sharon
rated it:
Wow!
Well my favorite part was Harper, to be honest. I'll get to him in a second.
Writing style--4/5. Really good. Every now and then I got a little distracted because Cecilia would discuss something to the reader for a couple pages and I would get bored. But I was still very impressed.
Age choice--2/5. Cecilia was fourteen. Fourteen! Seriously! Just the way she acted and thought, the stuff that happened to her, it all spoke sixteen to me. She was one of the most More...
Well my favorite part was Harper, to be honest. I'll get to him in a second.
Writing style--4/5. Really good. Every now and then I got a little distracted because Cecilia would discuss something to the reader for a couple pages and I would get bored. But I was still very impressed.
Age choice--2/5. Cecilia was fourteen. Fourteen! Seriously! Just the way she acted and thought, the stuff that happened to her, it all spoke sixteen to me. She was one of the most More...
Jul 02, 2011
Maggie
rated it: 
I picked this up, hardcover, at my local used bookstore because I loved Just Ella. I've read the blurbs for many of Margaret Peterson Haddix's other novels, as well, and I've always been intrigued. Which is why I'm sorry to say that this book was a HUGE disappointment for me. Maybe my expectations were too high - it's aimed at a younger audience than Just Ella, I think - but I'd really hoped for more from somebody who shook Cinderella up for me even more than Gail Carson Levine did with Ella
More...
Apr 12, 2011
Lotusgirl
rated it:
Why I bought it? My daughter and I were book shopping and I thought she might enjoy it. I like Haddix. I especially enjoyed her "Among the Hidden" series. This is sort of a sequel to Just Ella but not really. Ella is in it eventually. I had enjoyed that book too, so I thought it could be a fun read for me as well.
Synopsis: Cecilia is a princess in hiding. A knight comes and gives her classes in ruling and Latin, etc. Desmia, a commoner is in the palace as a decoy to keep her More...
Synopsis: Cecilia is a princess in hiding. A knight comes and gives her classes in ruling and Latin, etc. Desmia, a commoner is in the palace as a decoy to keep her More...
Jan 02, 2010
Rosie
rated it:
This was one of the books assigned to me as a reader for the Garden State Teen Book Awards. When I picked up the book from the library I immediately noticed the pink cover with a picture of a princess on it and instantly let out a groan. This did not look like a book I would ever choose to read. But that is one of the benefits of being on the Garden State Teen Book Awards Committee, you read books you normally wouldn’t read. Despite the horrible cover of this book, I surprisingly enjoyed this fa
More...
Jun 09, 2009
Ms.
rated it:
this book is full of surprrises on every page. it all happens when Cecilia and Harper go to see the princess, but everything goes wrong when they get locked in a tower because Princess Desmia heard a different story.
-Kimbra
As she gets older, Cecilia finds it harder to study statesmanship and palace protocol secretly at night and then pretend that she has nothing on her mind other than scrubbing the gruel stains out of her best apron by day. Cecilia knows that it is time to take More...
-Kimbra
As she gets older, Cecilia finds it harder to study statesmanship and palace protocol secretly at night and then pretend that she has nothing on her mind other than scrubbing the gruel stains out of her best apron by day. Cecilia knows that it is time to take More...
Jul 29, 2011
A surprisingly quick read. I probably would have enjoyed it far more had I actually remembered what on earth happened in Just Ella, which I have not read in four years. I didn't realize until after finishing that Ella was...well, Ella, which made her seem like an extremely random and somewhat jarringly out-of-place character. Still, it was fairly enjoyable even as a standalone novel, apart from the prequel. I absolutely loved Harper. Sweet, funny, a musician (albeit a very reluctant one), n
More...
Jan 24, 2011
Leilani
rated it:
very confusing book but once u rach the climax everything falls together!!!!
May 23, 2010
Rosalyn
rated it:
This was a cute YA fantasy book about a young woman Cecilia, who is a princess in hiding. Because of political turmoil in her country, Suala, she is being raised as a peasant, but she has princess lessons in secret. The current princess is only a decoy, bravely acting as a princess to spare Cecilia's life (or so Cecilia has been told). When mysterious strangers start showing up in town, Cecilia decides to take action into her own hands and flees with her friend Harper toward the capitol, there i
More...
Feb 06, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
Following the adventures of a young girl trained to be a princess and her best friend, Harper, The Palace of Mirrors is an engaging tale. How can a young woman taught to be a princess but raised as a farm girl make it to the capital and prove that she's the real princess? Dirty and poor, the friends must battle all odds in order to find out who is trying to kill them, who's trying to help them, and of course - who is the true princess?
Character interactions are endearing and strong. Ch More...
Character interactions are endearing and strong. Ch More...
Jun 21, 2011
Yaribel V.
rated it:
Haddix,Margaret.(2008). Palace of Mirrors. New York: SCHOLASTIC INC.(297 PP.)
Have you ever been told that you are the true princess. Well a girl named Cecilia has been told that she is the true princess in hiding from the evil forces that killed her parents. While she is studying everything she needs to know about the kingdom and its rules there is a commoner named Desmia who is on the throne as a decoy.The author of Palace of Mirrors, Margaret Peterson More...
Jun 03, 2010
Holly
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 22, 2009
Hannah
rated it:
This book is one of the best books i'v ever read
what i'v learned from this book is that
" its not always what it seems to be"
in this book the main character named ceclia knows shes the
the real princess in hidding and that desmina the one on the throne
is a frod and when ceclia and her best friend harper go from thier little village to the palace of mirrors thier in for a surprise harper More...
Aug 17, 2010
Christine
rated it:
This book is cute.
There's not a real sense of danger...ever...but nonetheless, I can feel the struggle. So...this book is cute.
Cecelia has been told her whole life that she's the princess, but has been raised in humble circumstances. For this reason, she is dually annoying and er...not annoying. Example: I felt like every thought she had began as such: When I am reinstated as princess...
This would sometimes be followed up with: I'll wear silk, so my dirty, rough clothes don't m More...
There's not a real sense of danger...ever...but nonetheless, I can feel the struggle. So...this book is cute.
Cecelia has been told her whole life that she's the princess, but has been raised in humble circumstances. For this reason, she is dually annoying and er...not annoying. Example: I felt like every thought she had began as such: When I am reinstated as princess...
This would sometimes be followed up with: I'll wear silk, so my dirty, rough clothes don't m More...
Oct 08, 2009
Julie
rated it:
In this companion book to "Just Ella," Cecilia believes herself to be the true princess of her country. However, she is living in hiding because her parents (the king and queen) where killed the year she was born. In fear, one of the most trusted knights took her and fled. Fourteen years later, she and her best friend Harper (a harpist who wishes to be a soldier) make a trip to the palace in order to save the girl who sits on the throne protecting Cecilia (Deisma). But, will Deisma jus
More...
Jan 20, 2009
Fluxbrarian
rated it: 
Disguised as a peasant and hidden in a rural town, Cecilia has always known that she was the kingdom’s true princess. While war rages in the land, a fake decoy princess, a commoner named Desmia, sits on the throne to keep Cecilia’s identity safe from the conspirators who murdered her parents. When Cecilia and best friend Harper journey to the capitol so she can take her rightful place, they discover that Desmia understands the situation differently. Desmia always has been warned to beware of oth
More...
Feb 07, 2012
Paulina
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 08, 2011
Emilie
rated it:
The main character in Palace of mirrors is Cecilia. Cecilia knows that she is not just a peasant girl, she knows that she is the true princess, in hiding. Cecilia was hiding from the people who murdered her parents, the king and queen years ago. She has hid in a small town all her life expecting the moment when she can reclaim her throne. When her enemies that killed her parents came looking for her, Cecilia and her friend, Harper, escape to the palace. They do this, so that Cecilia can go re
More...
Jul 19, 2009
Chris
rated it:
Thank goodness for the self-checkout at the library. Even my wife scoffed when she saw the cover of this book, which consists of a photograph of two teenage princesses, including one who's wearing too much lip gloss. My wife stopped scoffing, however, once I explained the premise behind this prince(ss) and pauper story, and that's when I realized Palace of Mirrors is a book that's going to reel in an awful lot of females. So, laugh if you'd like, but I've decided to give this one my tenth and
More...
Apr 08, 2011
Miriam
rated it:
Palace of Mirrors was entertaining and the main characters were believable. I liked the surprises strung throughout the book, leading slowly to the conclusion--which was also a surprise, though I had guessed part of it. I enjoyed the way the author works through and against those princess cliches!
The theme of Ordinary People trumping the Big Wigs was wonderful--it could've been developed better if the characters had had a chance to mature. I wanted to see more thematic and character de More...
The theme of Ordinary People trumping the Big Wigs was wonderful--it could've been developed better if the characters had had a chance to mature. I wanted to see more thematic and character de More...
Jan 11, 2012
Carol
rated it:
If you're looking for a book similar to other titles by Margaret Peterson Haddix, then Palace of Mirrors may not be what you are looking for. Unlike Among the Hidden and the other books in the Shadow Children series which are futuristic and political, Palace of Mirrors takes place in a medieval/fantasy setting.
Although I found that this book started slow, the story of a peasant girl who is raised believing that she is the "True Princess" develops interesting twists wh More...
Although I found that this book started slow, the story of a peasant girl who is raised believing that she is the "True Princess" develops interesting twists wh More...
Feb 10, 2012
Kimberly
rated it:
I liked this book more than I expected to. It was a fun little story about a girl who has been raised to believe she is the true princess of her country-- in hiding to save her life, while a decoy sits on the throne. Imagine Cecelia's surprise when she goes to reclaim her throne, and discovers that there are twelve other girls who have been told the same thing!
Cecelia's determination and persistence make her a fun, strong heroine-- not just some fairy-tale princess who sits around an More...
Cecelia's determination and persistence make her a fun, strong heroine-- not just some fairy-tale princess who sits around an More...
Jul 07, 2010
Paige
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Apr 12, 2009
Samantha
rated it:
This book is one of the best books i have ever read! it is filled with all the great things a book should have. there is a girl, Cecilia, who is hiding for her safety. she thinks she is the true princess- along with 11 other girls. you have to read it to see who is the true princess, who wants to have them killed, and how cecilia gets to the palace with her best friend, Harper. that isn't his real name, he plays the harp, just like me! you have got to read this book! there is a fake princess, D
More...
Aug 04, 2011
Denae
rated it:
This book kept me guessing. I can honestly say I guessed most of the ending, but I guessed so many different scenariors that that is obvious.
I did think the main charwcter had a great personality, but she wasn't very smart. I mean, it took her awhile to figure out certain things and she rarely asked as many questions as she needed to. Basically, she was a typical MC.
I did like the conclusion and the relationships and the societies. I also like the action and voice and way things we More...
I did think the main charwcter had a great personality, but she wasn't very smart. I mean, it took her awhile to figure out certain things and she rarely asked as many questions as she needed to. Basically, she was a typical MC.
I did like the conclusion and the relationships and the societies. I also like the action and voice and way things we More...
