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glowfish36's review against another edition
5.0
I thought I would hate this book when I first picked it up (don't ask me why I read it).... and then I fell in love with it.
It's a very sweet and simple story that reads almost like a fairytale. At times my feminist taste buds tingled: some bitter, some sweet. I officially fell in love with the book somewhere after the Princess Ball and when these wonderful little Mountain Girls fight off bandits to protect their mountain.
What a cute and adorable tale of strength, curiosity, and a village teaming together to protect itself! Teenage me would have loved this novel as well :).
(P.S. Some undiscussed and problematic classicism, which added a particular interesting note to the novel).
It's a very sweet and simple story that reads almost like a fairytale. At times my feminist taste buds tingled: some bitter, some sweet. I officially fell in love with the book somewhere after the Princess Ball and when these wonderful little Mountain Girls fight off bandits to protect their mountain.
What a cute and adorable tale of strength, curiosity, and a village teaming together to protect itself! Teenage me would have loved this novel as well :).
(P.S. Some undiscussed and problematic classicism, which added a particular interesting note to the novel).
baebae135's review against another edition
4.0
Another book from my childhood…(yes i know I’ll read something new now😭) she was cute… the story was nice, lessons were learned, the character development was sweet for a select few characters so that was nice, and all and all it was a nice read. I’m giving her 4 and not 5 stars just because she didn’t have the 5star feel fr… like she was cute just not life changing or thought provoking.
burningupasun's review against another edition
4.0
Setting/World Building: 4/5
Main Character: 5/5
Other Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 4.1 out of 5, rounded to 4.
Even though I really love Shannon Hale, I was a bit hesitant to read this book... mostly because the premise sounded like something that would drive me nuts. Basically, whenever the Prince of this country is ready to marry, the priests divine the location of his future wife. Then all the girls from that region are sent to "Princess Academy", and at the end of their lessons he chooses one of them. When I read the premise, it unfortunately reminded me of The Selection, and I was fully dreading it.
This was a pleasant surprise, though. It was everything the premise should be, frankly. Sure, there was some cattiness among the girls, and there were some moments when I was a bit annoyed by it. But the real story ended up being about the main character, Miri, finding herself and growing confident, and the "Prince finding a wife" plot was really very much in the background. It was a bit of a young read, but it was written to be so that was alright. I saw a lot of the "twists" coming, but the writing was good enough that I didn't care. Frankly, it was just refreshing seeing the girls all working together and none of them being bashed unnecessarily or the competition ramping up more than would be normal, etc.
It took a bit to get into, but in the end I really enjoyed it, and I loved the main character, Miri. She was a delight and it was brilliant to watch her grow.
Main Character: 5/5
Other Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Triggering/Issues: 5/5 (None)
AVERAGED TOTAL: 4.1 out of 5, rounded to 4.
Even though I really love Shannon Hale, I was a bit hesitant to read this book... mostly because the premise sounded like something that would drive me nuts. Basically, whenever the Prince of this country is ready to marry, the priests divine the location of his future wife. Then all the girls from that region are sent to "Princess Academy", and at the end of their lessons he chooses one of them. When I read the premise, it unfortunately reminded me of The Selection, and I was fully dreading it.
This was a pleasant surprise, though. It was everything the premise should be, frankly. Sure, there was some cattiness among the girls, and there were some moments when I was a bit annoyed by it. But the real story ended up being about the main character, Miri, finding herself and growing confident, and the "Prince finding a wife" plot was really very much in the background. It was a bit of a young read, but it was written to be so that was alright. I saw a lot of the "twists" coming, but the writing was good enough that I didn't care. Frankly, it was just refreshing seeing the girls all working together and none of them being bashed unnecessarily or the competition ramping up more than would be normal, etc.
It took a bit to get into, but in the end I really enjoyed it, and I loved the main character, Miri. She was a delight and it was brilliant to watch her grow.
makalakm's review against another edition
4.0
Okay this is one of my favorite books. I couldn't put it down! I haven't read the sequel yet because I'm waiting for it to come out in paperback, but I'm very excited too.
emily_gaynier's review against another edition
4.0
This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was still really good.
It's a fantasy that is only a little fantastical. I really liked the story. I actually got really nervous when the year was up and I had to put the book down for a few minutes. I thought Miri was really smart and badass and cool. Some of the girls really suck, but this book has really excellent female friendships. And even though this book is about the girls learning to become princesses, it's really not romance heavy.
Side note: This book saved the job interview I had the day I read it. I was applying to a library in a town I really haven't spent much time in. I went to the library and checked out this book and while chatting with the librarian I learned that the town has two libraries. Turns out that I thought I was applying to the wrong library and was able to do well in my interview.
It's a fantasy that is only a little fantastical. I really liked the story. I actually got really nervous when the year was up and I had to put the book down for a few minutes. I thought Miri was really smart and badass and cool. Some of the girls really suck, but this book has really excellent female friendships. And even though this book is about the girls learning to become princesses, it's really not romance heavy.
Side note: This book saved the job interview I had the day I read it. I was applying to a library in a town I really haven't spent much time in. I went to the library and checked out this book and while chatting with the librarian I learned that the town has two libraries. Turns out that I thought I was applying to the wrong library and was able to do well in my interview.
arsmagicalibrorum's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
krichardson's review against another edition
3.5
Cute, loved the messages about unionization and education
champers4days's review against another edition
2.0
Points for having multiple smart female characters, but Hale doesn't explain this new world she creates in Princess Academy AT ALL, and her plot ties together far too neatly. Not that books with 'everything is right in the world' endings are necessarily bad, but the author is clearly invested in creating a spunky female lead, so why not go a step further and write a mildly realistic ending?? In this case, we're talking about the literary equivalent of a powdered sugar pastry -- no nutritional value!
sydnethy's review against another edition
4.0
the selection but for elementary schoolers lol
i used to check this book out of the library at the start of every year in middle school because i loved it so much. i’m actually surprised how well it’s held up over the years ! main character is almost a mary sue but i love her so it’s okay. i remembered some plot points and forgot others but i enjoyed reading this again !
there are two other books in this series that i didn’t even know about so looking forward to reading them!
i used to check this book out of the library at the start of every year in middle school because i loved it so much. i’m actually surprised how well it’s held up over the years ! main character is almost a mary sue but i love her so it’s okay. i remembered some plot points and forgot others but i enjoyed reading this again !
there are two other books in this series that i didn’t even know about so looking forward to reading them!
annesophie_ballerina's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn’t finish the book. Obviously, everyone is going to have a different opinion, but personally I strongly disliked this book.
1) Nothing really happened. There were a couple events, but the rest was very boring and childish
2) It was a very standard middle grade read, and I couldn’t really find anything special about it.
3) This is similar to point 1, but I just felt the book had no plot.
Don’t mean to hate on the author of this book or the book, and obviously if you like it keep on liking it, you own opinion is going to be different from other people’s :). But personally, I didn’t enjoy this book and don’t really recommend it.
1) Nothing really happened. There were a couple events, but the rest was very boring and childish
2) It was a very standard middle grade read, and I couldn’t really find anything special about it.
3) This is similar to point 1, but I just felt the book had no plot.
Don’t mean to hate on the author of this book or the book, and obviously if you like it keep on liking it, you own opinion is going to be different from other people’s :). But personally, I didn’t enjoy this book and don’t really recommend it.