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173rd out of 301 books
—
1,974 voters
The Thirteenth Princess
by
Diane Zahler (Goodreads Author)
Zita is not an ordinary servant girl—she's the thirteenth daughter of a king who wanted only sons. When she was born, Zita's father banished her to the servants' quarters to work in the kitchens, where she can only communicate with her royal sisters in secret.
Then, after Zita's twelfth birthday, the princesses all fall mysteriously ill. The only clue is their strangely wor...more
Then, after Zita's twelfth birthday, the princesses all fall mysteriously ill. The only clue is their strangely wor...more
Hardcover, 243 pages
Published
February 2nd 2010
by HarperCollins
(first published September 9th 2009)
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The story of the twelve dancing princesses isn't one of the most popular fairy-tales to be retold (i.e. Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty) but definitely isn’t one of the most neglected either. This take on it adds a thirteenth princess which was appealing to me. Zita is also a servant while her sisters are just regular princesses-until the enchantment starts taking its toll on them.
The book had the same feel of the Once Upon a Time Series books; the writing style of it anyway....more
The book had the same feel of the Once Upon a Time Series books; the writing style of it anyway....more
I have come to realize that I will always read fairy tales. It's what I always reach for when I need a comfort read. They are all almost easy to read and sweep you away with their magic. That's why these stories stand the test of time.
People know the story of the twelve dancing princesses, but do they really know the whole story? The answer would be no. Unbeknownest to most people there was a thirteenth princess named Zita. Zita is named after the saint of servants, and unlike her other sisters...more
People know the story of the twelve dancing princesses, but do they really know the whole story? The answer would be no. Unbeknownest to most people there was a thirteenth princess named Zita. Zita is named after the saint of servants, and unlike her other sisters...more
This story does not seem like its title. It’s not all about fairy god mother, or seven dwarfs. It’s a story that includes magic, weird dreams, and a witch. There are also Kings, Queens, Princesses, And Prince’s. The setting takes place in a royal palace, and a wonderful kingdom. The King of this wonderful Kingdom marries a wonderful Queen. The Queens name is Amara. The King loves her so much that he decides to name all there children with the first initial “A.” When the 12th princess comes, the...more
Zita is the thirteenth princess of a king who desperately wants a son. When his wife dies giving birth to Zita he doesn’t want to see her and she is raised as a servant in the castle. When she learns she is a princess on her twelfth birthday, she begins to sneak up to her sisters bedroom to get to know them. They are thrilled to accept their wronged sister. When the 12 princesses become seriously ill, Zita, with the help of Breckin, Milek and a witch, must save them from certain death.
This fairy...more
This fairy...more
The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses (and yes, this is probably the fifth retelling of this tale that I've read, I can't get enough). In this retelling the star is Zita, the thirteenth princess who was raised as a servant after her mother died during her childbirth. Zita has to solve the mystery of her sister's illness and has a little romance on the side as she grows up.
I loved this retelling. It was sweet and romantic (in a way that was very appro...more
I loved this retelling. It was sweet and romantic (in a way that was very appro...more
I love this book with a passion and fervor that maybe only a book read during a cold could provide. I've spent the past four hours curled up under a pashmina, utterly charmed by this fairy tale. I was a little hesitant to read this so early in my Cybils work, since the cover has more sparkles on it than a Blingee. Seriously, this is one of the poorest covers I've come across this year. It doesn't do the middle grade market any justice by going for a cartoony effect and it doesn't match Zahler's...more
Review originally posted here
The Thirteenth Princess reads with the charm and magic of the original fairy tale. All of the original components are here, including the lowly soldier who finally breaks the spell. The twist in this tale of the added princess gives the story a little more hint of desperation. If Zita loses her sisters she will have no family to speak of. There are a couple of other twists in the tale that make it different enough from the original while still maintaining the well kn...more
The Thirteenth Princess reads with the charm and magic of the original fairy tale. All of the original components are here, including the lowly soldier who finally breaks the spell. The twist in this tale of the added princess gives the story a little more hint of desperation. If Zita loses her sisters she will have no family to speak of. There are a couple of other twists in the tale that make it different enough from the original while still maintaining the well kn...more
This retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses intriguing twist is that there were actually 13 princesses. When the 13th, Zita, was born as her mother died her son seeking father and grief stricken father was so upset that he banished her to the kitchen. In yet another twist everyone in the castle, from the other princesses and Zita down to the lowliest of the servants, is aware of her noble birth, but fear of her father keeps them from speaking out. Zita contents herself by spending Sunday eve...more
Most people who have enjoyed fairy tale-based fantasies by Gail Carson Levine, Donna Jo Napoli, and others will find this a pleasant and well-written diversion. Although not as funny as Levine's tales or as psychologically insightful as Napoli's, there is plenty of substance here. Zita is as plucky a heroine as one could want, yet her father's failure to love her fills her with both puzzlement and despair. The twelve princesses remain unsurprisingly interchangeable, for the most part, but their...more
So, I went to the local Barnes and Noble to use a gift card that I got for Christmas (this was actually quite characteristically
unlike me to be using a gift card so soon after receival. I'm lazy. And forgetful.) mainly for the purpose to purchase House of Many Ways by Diana Wynn Jones. But of course, who can resist the urge in a big book store to look at every interesting looking book that you pass? I wasn't having much luck in the Young Adult/Teenager section, as it seems almost every book ther...more
unlike me to be using a gift card so soon after receival. I'm lazy. And forgetful.) mainly for the purpose to purchase House of Many Ways by Diana Wynn Jones. But of course, who can resist the urge in a big book store to look at every interesting looking book that you pass? I wasn't having much luck in the Young Adult/Teenager section, as it seems almost every book ther...more
I was really hoping this would be good. I kept seeing it on the shelf and meaning to read it, and I finally picked it up last week. It wasn't badly written, it was basically okay, but it had some incredibly stereotypical gender roles and by the end I was just fed up with them. I just don't want to read about how obsessed all the girls are with marriage and how sad they are to be single and how badly the men can treat the women and how aging and beauty fading are such terrible fates, etc etc, unl...more
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An interesting "reimagined" twist on some very familiar fairy tale tropes - but this story still strays pretty far into "Disney style" princess cliches. While the heroine is raised in more sympathetic circumstances (for modern readers, that is) - working in the stables and kitchens - there's still an awful lot of emphasis placed on the lure of being a princess, which seems to involve nothing but picking flowers, drinking hot chocolate, and dreaming about what prince you'll get to marry. (Don't t...more
Also here: http://thedailyprophecy.blogspot.com/...
Short.
This story is all about Zira, who finds out that she is the thirteenth princess. She is the one who can save her sisters when the princesses all fall ill. Together with Breckin, Babette en Milek, Zira must try to find a way to break the curse before it is too late.
Long.
Zira is raised in the kitchen by Cook, until she finds out that she is no servant girl. In fact, she is the thirteenth princess and that's a nice suprise for her.
Aurelia is...more
Short.
This story is all about Zira, who finds out that she is the thirteenth princess. She is the one who can save her sisters when the princesses all fall ill. Together with Breckin, Babette en Milek, Zira must try to find a way to break the curse before it is too late.
Long.
Zira is raised in the kitchen by Cook, until she finds out that she is no servant girl. In fact, she is the thirteenth princess and that's a nice suprise for her.
Aurelia is...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I love "novelized" fairy tales, written from an alternative perspective. This was a good effort at retelling the Twelve Dancing Princesses. Zita is the 13th child, banished to the servants quarters after queen dies giving birth to her. The king had been deeply in love and happy with his queen until she started producing only girls. After 12, he was done with her and then an experience with a neighboring monarch - one with four sons - prompts him to invade his wife's chambers, demanding a son. Th...more
This is a adaptation of Brothers Grimm's 12 Dancing Princesses. It's told from the perspective of the youngest Princess, the "13th Princess" Zita who is banished to being a servant and for not being the son her father, the King, wanted. What's refreshing is that when she learns this she isn't bitter, but excited! Her sisters intead of being mean to Zita (which I expected) they were delighted that she knew that they were her sisters and were very nice to her. I enjoyed that it's not just Zita who...more
Things I Liked:
This is a sweet and original retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale. I liked how the first half of the book was focused more on introducing us to Zita her life than the usual story line. It gave us some nice background information on the family and on her personality before we even got to that familiar story of enchantment. It had a lot of fun details from the castle on the lake to the stable boy. This is a nice introduction for tweens and younger girls to fairy tal...more
This is a sweet and original retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale. I liked how the first half of the book was focused more on introducing us to Zita her life than the usual story line. It gave us some nice background information on the family and on her personality before we even got to that familiar story of enchantment. It had a lot of fun details from the castle on the lake to the stable boy. This is a nice introduction for tweens and younger girls to fairy tal...more
Oct 23, 2010
*MystGrrl*
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of re-written fairy tales
Shelves:
tales-of-magic,
remade-fairy-tales
Another tale for lovers of Fairy Tales with a fresh twist.
Zita works in the kitchen with the palace cook and is known for baking delicious pastries but anyone who'd look at her would not consider her more than a palace maid. With flaming curly hair and green eyes, you wouldn't think she was related to the pale blond & blue eyed beauties, the princesses of King Arician & Queen Amara. Being the 13th and last born girl in a long line of daughters of a king who only wanted sons, she was name...more
Zita works in the kitchen with the palace cook and is known for baking delicious pastries but anyone who'd look at her would not consider her more than a palace maid. With flaming curly hair and green eyes, you wouldn't think she was related to the pale blond & blue eyed beauties, the princesses of King Arician & Queen Amara. Being the 13th and last born girl in a long line of daughters of a king who only wanted sons, she was name...more
- I admit to judging this book by it's cover. I saw it sitting on the shelf at the library, and I was like "oh pretty!" I took it home, but it didn't disappoint.
- This was a really fun and cute re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
- I love the cover!! The art is fantastic, and I love the colors. I also love how the title is big and pretty.
- I really enjoyed this twist on the tale. It was different from all the others I've read.
- I really liked Zita. She was a fun character, and I almost...more
- This was a really fun and cute re-telling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
- I love the cover!! The art is fantastic, and I love the colors. I also love how the title is big and pretty.
- I really enjoyed this twist on the tale. It was different from all the others I've read.
- I really liked Zita. She was a fun character, and I almost...more
This is exactly the type of book I've been looking for to recommend to my 10 year old daughter!! Well written, with just enough puzzle and just enough clues for her age to figure out. A good tale of making friends and overcoming your own fears, and a fresh looki at an old fairy tale to boot! What I really liked, is that even though it does end with a "Happily Ever After" it wasn't PERFECT. There is still a bit of heartache and a good reminder that life isn't fair, and nothing wraps up perfectly,...more
This is my favorite expanded retelling of a classic fairy tale since Ella Enchanted. Very well done and enchanting story based on a bit lesser know tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
The storyteller is Zita, the thirteenth and yongest sister of the famed dancers. She has a clear and honest voice. Zita is a very likeable character. She handles her life challenges with dignity, grace and courage. With lots of plot twists this is a well told story that keeps the pages turning.
The copy I read was a...more
The storyteller is Zita, the thirteenth and yongest sister of the famed dancers. She has a clear and honest voice. Zita is a very likeable character. She handles her life challenges with dignity, grace and courage. With lots of plot twists this is a well told story that keeps the pages turning.
The copy I read was a...more
I needed a light read to break me out of a depressive spiral and this book fit the bill perfectly. Today's fairytale retellings fall into 2 categories: those that ring true to the original story while still providing a fresh perspective, and those that try too hard to be "original" or complex and end up as unsatisfying disappointments. I'm happy to say that, for me, this book fell into the first category. I felt Zita's joy and anguish with her sisters and found the descriptions to be delicious i...more
Once again the 12 Dancing Princesses take a turn and I think this one does the story justice.
Zita is a spunky princess, she has been raised as a servant (long story, read the book if you want to know) which serves her well when the sisters are enchanted and imperiled by the irresistible impulse to dance each night with the princes below the castle. It is up to Zita to discover the source and find the cure.
Lots of friendship, family love, magic and ultimately remorse and reconciliation as the c...more
Zita is a spunky princess, she has been raised as a servant (long story, read the book if you want to know) which serves her well when the sisters are enchanted and imperiled by the irresistible impulse to dance each night with the princes below the castle. It is up to Zita to discover the source and find the cure.
Lots of friendship, family love, magic and ultimately remorse and reconciliation as the c...more
This was a great twist on the 12 Dancing Princesses fairy tale. Zita, the unexpected and unwanted 13th daughter of the king and queen, finds out her name means "seeker," which she lives up to in this book. She seeks out her true parentage, which she didn't know for the first several years of her life. She also seeks out and finds the love of her sisters, then seeks a way to save her sisters from the curse of being forced to dance all night, every night. Mingled with all this there is a little ro...more
My sister passed this book onto me, and I really liked the story and throughly enjoyed the characters (especially Zita). A little more polishing would make this a fantastic book- there were a few parts that seemed awkward and out of the blue (i.e. the part where she seems to randomly steal a key to go into the ballroom), and a few slight inconsistencies (at one point her Mom is described as having silver hair, and later they call it gold). Still very good though. I'm hoping she continues writing...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I've read few other retellings of The Twelve Dancing Princesses; Wildwood Dancing, Entwined, and Princess of the Midnight Ball.
The Thirteenth Princess is a nice retelling with a unique twist. It's fairly predictable, but still enjoyable. Zita is sweet, kind, and doesn't loose her head when things go topsy turvy. I wish the story had fleshed out the princesses a bit. Even Cook is more dimensional than the princesses. Entwined also failed to give its princesses any differentiating character. Wildw...more
The Thirteenth Princess is a nice retelling with a unique twist. It's fairly predictable, but still enjoyable. Zita is sweet, kind, and doesn't loose her head when things go topsy turvy. I wish the story had fleshed out the princesses a bit. Even Cook is more dimensional than the princesses. Entwined also failed to give its princesses any differentiating character. Wildw...more
Aug 13, 2012
Elevetha Houre
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Lovers of fairytales retold, reimagined, or twisted on it's side
A retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. What if there were 13 not 12 princesses? What if her mother died at childbirth, having the thirteenth princess and the king was so devastated he never wanted to see her. What if one of them grew up as a servant watching her sisters from the kitchen? What she found out and realized she had to help save the family she never knew she had? I loved how the writing flowed. I loved how her 12 sisters took her in as their sister right away and were so sweet...more
THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS is a re-telling of THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESSES. Set in a place which sounds which sounds vaguely German in a time that sounds vaguely like the Middle Ages, we meet Zita, the charming and delightful heroine of this tale. Red-haired Zita is the youngest (and 13th) daughter of the King. But he banishes his daughter to the kitchens because her birth caused the death of his beloved wife. Zita toils in the kitchens, learning to cook, and learning to hunt for plants that she n...more
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
The Thirteenth Princess retells the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses from the point of view of a youngest thirteenth sister. Disregarded by the King after her mother dies in childbirth, Zita is relegated to work as a servant in her father's palace. She shares a clandestine but loving relationship with her twelve princess sisters, who sneak her into their room every Sunday night and try in other small ways to show their sympathy for her. W...more
The Thirteenth Princess retells the story of the Twelve Dancing Princesses from the point of view of a youngest thirteenth sister. Disregarded by the King after her mother dies in childbirth, Zita is relegated to work as a servant in her father's palace. She shares a clandestine but loving relationship with her twelve princess sisters, who sneak her into their room every Sunday night and try in other small ways to show their sympathy for her. W...more
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I grew up reading children's books and never wanted to do anything but write them. Then I got a contract for THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS and A TRUE PRINCESS, and then PRINCESS OF THE WILD SWANS and, coming in August, SLEEPING BEAUTY'S DAUGHTERS. Magic does happen! I live in the country with my husband in what is aptly nicknamed the Bug House. Visit my website at www.dianezahler.com.
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“Boys were so proud - you always had to let them think they were good at things.”
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“My dear, my dearest dust; I come, I come.”
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