Princess Academy
by Shannon Hale
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| I loved this book | 8 | 03/27/2008 07:01AM |
| Dishonesty Rewarded | 9 | 03/15/2008 06:11PM |
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Nola by:
Sesikarecommends it for: Young adults, girls
After hearing a number of people recommend Shannon Hale's The Princess Academy, I couldn't resist trying it out myself. I found it to be a delightful read, perfect for children and young adults, and rather engaging even for us 'big people.' More than your average fairy-tale, the novel creates a protagonist that exceeds the usual boundries.
The premise of the novel is fairy-tale typical. When the priests of Danland determine that the prince's bride will come from the slopes of Mt. Eskel, an ac...more
The premise of the novel is fairy-tale typical. When the priests of Danland determine that the prince's bride will come from the slopes of Mt. Eskel, an ac...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommended to bookbutterfly by:
Amazon.comrecommends it for: those who are trying to discover who they really are—whether a preteen, teenager, or adult
Everyone who has been or is a teenager has to admit it: one of the most trial times of your life is in your mid- and early teens. If you think about it, these are the times when you have the most conflicts in your life--those with family, friends, neighbors, and probably the greatest, with yourself. Young adult fiction writer Shannon Hale takes a look at these same conflicts. Though the main character of the novel Princess Academy lived in an entirely fictional, made-up time...more
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Read in September, 2007
Literary academics love to debate definitions. When did the Victorian era of literature really start? To which nation should an ex patriot’s writing be accredited? What is young adult fiction? Stephenie Meyer, one of the most recently popular young adult authors, noted her opinion that young adult books merely have young adult protagonists, while adult books have adult protagonists. That may be true, but YA plots also usually involve some kind of bildungsroman.
Princess Academy is no except...more
Princess Academy is no except...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
4th-7th grade girls
I listened to the Full Cast Audio version of this book on my way to and from school this week. I liked it. I didn't looove it, but I did like it--somewhere between just plain "liked it" and "really liked it." Three-and-a-half-stars-ish. (Is this a professional-sounding review, or what?) I was always eager to get back in the car and start the story up again, so that's good.
Miri was a terrific heroine: intelligent (though she'd never realized it before), resilient, resource...more
Miri was a terrific heroine: intelligent (though she'd never realized it before), resilient, resource...more
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Read in July, 2007
Another great one from Shannon Hale. This one received a Newbery Honor in 2006. It is a coming of age story but once again, Shannon Hale presents the story in a unique way combined with a little bit of fantasy. It is recommended for grades 5 and up. Here is the plot summary from Amazon.com:
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 5-9–The thought of being a princess never occurred to the girls living on Mount Eskel. Most plan to work in the quarry like the generations before t...more
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 5-9–The thought of being a princess never occurred to the girls living on Mount Eskel. Most plan to work in the quarry like the generations before t...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Women and girls from the age of adolescence and up, those who enjoy adolescent fiction
Overall, the book was well written and appropriate for a young adolescent audience. It was certainly not written for someone in my demographic!
I enjoyed a number of aspects of this book and also a few disappointements. Specifically,
1) The resolution of the primary conflict (who gets to be the princess) felt too much like a plot-device (I can't say more without giving away the ending) that the author threw into the story to avoid a painful conflict between the characters.
2)The cultu...more
I enjoyed a number of aspects of this book and also a few disappointements. Specifically,
1) The resolution of the primary conflict (who gets to be the princess) felt too much like a plot-device (I can't say more without giving away the ending) that the author threw into the story to avoid a painful conflict between the characters.
2)The cultu...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Middle School girls
An interesting title that I chose because my twelve year old refused to let me read the copy she'd borrowed from her BFF.
This Newbery Honor book is the tale of Miri Larendaughter, misunderstood and misunderstanding, a girl who loves her mountain home and family, harvesters of a rare, marble like rock called Linder.
A prophecy is made that the Prince's future wife will come from their home, and all the girls from 13 to 17 are rounded up and forced to go to school under an awful teacher. Fa...more
This Newbery Honor book is the tale of Miri Larendaughter, misunderstood and misunderstanding, a girl who loves her mountain home and family, harvesters of a rare, marble like rock called Linder.
A prophecy is made that the Prince's future wife will come from their home, and all the girls from 13 to 17 are rounded up and forced to go to school under an awful teacher. Fa...more
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Read in May, 2007
So the latest books I’ve read … I haven’t exactly enjoyed. I mean, I do finish them and everything, so they must have been okay, but it’s not like I was ever reaching for my book multiple times a day, binging on pages. I’ve kind of missed that.
But all that changed with Princess Academy! Seriously — I loved this book.
(I should probably only admit this through the relative anonymity of the Internet. Seriously … Princess Academy? What am I, eleven?! Oh well.) :-)
This boo...more
But all that changed with Princess Academy! Seriously — I loved this book.
(I should probably only admit this through the relative anonymity of the Internet. Seriously … Princess Academy? What am I, eleven?! Oh well.) :-)
This boo...more
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Read in April, 2006
recommends it for:
newberry honor
From School Library Journal Starred Review. Grade 5-9–The thought of being a princess never occurred to the girls living on Mount Eskel. Most plan to work in the quarry like the generations before them. When it is announced that the prince will choose a bride from their village, 14-year-old Miri, who thinks she is being kept from working in the quarry because of her small stature, believes that this is her opportunity to prove her worth to her father. All eligible females are sent off to atten...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
mothers and daughters
I enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting to. Shannon Hale keeps surprising me and I think this the best of all her books I've read. Of course, Austenland has a different target audience, so...really, I can only say that this outranks Goose Girl.
I hate the title. It reminds me of a Disney movie that stars Amanda Bynes or Anne Hathaway or somebody that little girls want to grow up to be like. The title actually kept me from reading this earlier. It sounded silly. In reality, however, t...more
I hate the title. It reminds me of a Disney movie that stars Amanda Bynes or Anne Hathaway or somebody that little girls want to grow up to be like. The title actually kept me from reading this earlier. It sounded silly. In reality, however, t...more
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Read in May, 2008
Miri is a girl who lives in a tiny village on the top of a mountain. The people in the village work in a stone quarry and that's what they do. Everyone in the village does the same thing. So when they are told that their village has been "foreseen" to be the place the prince has to pick his bride from, they are all shocked. Miri, along with 19 other girls from the village are ordered to attend the Princess Academy, and at the end of it, meet the prince ... he will choose his bride from...more
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Read in May, 2008
Miri lives on Mount Eskel with her father, sister and close-knit community. She is a girl who has always been small her her age and that bothers her. The entire town works in the quarry to harvest linder, the precious stone that is their only crop. Everyone except Miri, that is. She is not allowed in the quarry and no matter her protestations, her father will not budge. Everyone's lives change the day a representative from the king visits and announces that the next queen shall be chosen from am...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Annalisa by:
Melinda
I think this is Shannon Hales best work. The protagonist is a strong girl in a slight body, someone who's had to fight for all the respect she's earned and is not subject to the typical whims of fancy that befall a lot of girls, particularly those starring in young adult fiction. What I love most about Shannon Hale is her ability (and probably initiative) to write strong women.
In this story, Mira as well as the other girls from her mountain village are send to a royal academy because the pri...more
In this story, Mira as well as the other girls from her mountain village are send to a royal academy because the pri...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
ages 9 and up
Miri is a mountain girl. Even though she doesn't work in the quarry like the others on Mount Eskel, the linder is as much a part of her as her own blood. When the lowlander priests decide that the prince's new bride must be from Mount Eskel, Miri and the other village girls are hauled away to the princess academy, where they will learn to be (ahem) princess material and not the fairytale equivalent of hillbillies. Miri encounters quite a bit at the academy - a shrew of a teacher, jealous gir...more
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1 comments
Miri is a mountain girl. Even though she doesn't work in the quarry like the others on Mount Eskel, the linder is as much a part of her as her own blood. When the lowlander priests decide that the prince's new bride must be from Mount Eskel, Miri and the other village girls are hauled away to the princess academy, where they will learn to be (ahem) princess material and not the fairytale equivalent of hillbillies. Miri encounters quite a bit at the academy - a shrew of a teacher, jealous girls, ...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Young Girls
(warning: spoilers)
Ok, so I hate it when people hype up a book so much that there's no way you can ever enjoy it. That's what happened to this book. Everyone told me I would love it so much, and so when I read it I was, I couldn't help but be...disappointed. It was good, don't get me wrong! I enjoyed it. I read it fast, it was a book that I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. But I found it to be very predictable and it felt very confining. She mentioned that the mountai...more
Ok, so I hate it when people hype up a book so much that there's no way you can ever enjoy it. That's what happened to this book. Everyone told me I would love it so much, and so when I read it I was, I couldn't help but be...disappointed. It was good, don't get me wrong! I enjoyed it. I read it fast, it was a book that I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. But I found it to be very predictable and it felt very confining. She mentioned that the mountai...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Joanna by:
King's English Bookstore dedicated employeerecommends it for: Below age 8 read aloud readers up to 11
I read this book aloud to my six-year old. She liked it a lot and I think she "got" most of it. There's nothing too intense for this age group, just some vocabulary and a few concepts that are bit advanced for someone that young.
I like Shannon Hale's sensibility and as a Utahn, feel I'm picking up on subtle cultural references common in this part of the country. The character, Miri is funny, assertive, smart and democratic.
My few complaints are these: one cliche scene,the...more
I like Shannon Hale's sensibility and as a Utahn, feel I'm picking up on subtle cultural references common in this part of the country. The character, Miri is funny, assertive, smart and democratic.
My few complaints are these: one cliche scene,the...more
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Read in June, 2008
I wasn't too impressed with Goose Girl by Hale, but I decided to read this book. Mostly because the preteen girls I work with at church were talking about it. I wanted to know what was up, be cool, and understand. Turns out one of the girl's baby sister is named after the main character Miri. I was impressed with this book, because I didn't have a high standard for Hale, especially after Austenland. It was better written in my opinion, which is ironic because its her first book....more
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Read in March, 2008
A young girl's mining town is invaded but royal guards announcing the fact that a prophecy has been made that the prince would marry a girl from her town. Immediately the girls in the appropriate age category are taken to a makeshift academy up in the mountains above their home. They are to be taught proper etiquette and learn just how to behave around a prince. The girl learns more than she thought she would when she stumbles on a book about commerce and learns how to help her whole village. ...more
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Read in February, 2008
Don't ignore this book because of that prissy P-word in the title! I put it off too long and denied myself the joy of a wonderful, timeless, feminist tale. It's shorter on descriptive details than a lot of modern children's fantasy (Harry Potter, Eragon, etc.) and instead leaves a lot for the imagination, evoking an old world, folk-art flavor which is complemented by the cover art. (Come to think of it, it would have made a great illustrated novel--but alas, there are no other illustrations.)
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