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adareads13's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
x0pherl's review against another edition
2.0
My daughter and I were both pretty disappointed with the follow up to Princess Academy.
The story is too ambitious, and lacks the charm and warmth of the first book. For the first half of the book, little was going on of real interest (this book took us a llllooooonnnng time to get through) and the entirety focuses far too much on politics and the responsibilities of the monarchy to the poor.
By the second half of the book, the plot picked up enough to be interesting again, but the book had already mostly lost us.
I don't strongly recommend this book.
The story is too ambitious, and lacks the charm and warmth of the first book. For the first half of the book, little was going on of real interest (this book took us a llllooooonnnng time to get through) and the entirety focuses far too much on politics and the responsibilities of the monarchy to the poor.
By the second half of the book, the plot picked up enough to be interesting again, but the book had already mostly lost us.
I don't strongly recommend this book.
emblue1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the_story_girl389's review against another edition
5.0
Oh. My. Gosh. I liked the first book, I LOVED the second. And thank you Shannon Hale for putting Miri with Peder. That's all.
leebee1776's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was my favorite book in 7th grade, this and Enna Buring are the Shannon Hale books that spoke the most to me in middle school. I vididly remember being in a beach in cape cod in 2012 when it first came out and reading it! I was so excited that princess academy had a sequel since Princess Academy was one of the books that made me fall in love with reading.
Another memory I have of this book is one time I found it in Barnes and Noble in the children sections maybe in 2013ish? And I thought this book was so mature since it had guns and kissing that I was just so shooked that someone placed the book in children’s and not the YA section. But I think part of the beauty of Shannon’s writing is that it for all ages (mostly, though there is violence) like how fairytales are for everyone.
One funny reason why I think I loved the book so much was that I was in the middle of Les Miserables phase when I first read it and this book take so much inspiration from that time in history!
Reading this book again after going to college for history was so interesting! I got to reflect on the importance of record and Storting keeping and making sure history is not big man history just having important peoples name in books.
I am so sad that book 3 is not in full cast, but I’m so excited to reread the forgotten sister, since I actually don’t believe I ever have given it a full reread before!
Another memory I have of this book is one time I found it in Barnes and Noble in the children sections maybe in 2013ish? And I thought this book was so mature since it had guns and kissing that I was just so shooked that someone placed the book in children’s and not the YA section. But I think part of the beauty of Shannon’s writing is that it for all ages (mostly, though there is violence) like how fairytales are for everyone.
One funny reason why I think I loved the book so much was that I was in the middle of Les Miserables phase when I first read it and this book take so much inspiration from that time in history!
Reading this book again after going to college for history was so interesting! I got to reflect on the importance of record and Storting keeping and making sure history is not big man history just having important peoples name in books.
I am so sad that book 3 is not in full cast, but I’m so excited to reread the forgotten sister, since I actually don’t believe I ever have given it a full reread before!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Classism
lesserjoke's review against another edition
4.0
Much like the first book, this Princess Academy sequel seems like a great title for readers transitioning between the middle-grade and young adult publishing categories. It's a tough act to balance the atmosphere of class consciousness and fermenting revolution against a lighter preteen tone, but overall author Shannon Hale manages it quite nicely. I also like how she takes a love triangle that could easily feel perfunctory and instead illustrates the different choices more broadly facing her heroine, which is a great use of that genre trope for this sort of coming-of-age story. I'm not sure if the next novel is intended to close out the series as a trilogy or if Hale will go on to publish further volumes, but I'm looking forward to reading on and finding out.
revrebeccatankersley's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyable sequel full of wonderful examples of women in leadership, peace-seeking, equality, and love.
peytonm's review against another edition
4.0
No small thing, a bee's sting
When it enters the heart
Not so benign, the growing vine
When it tears stone apart
The adventure continues and gets more complicated as Miri and the girls from the Princess Academy visit Britta in the capital for a year. This is a lot more grown up than the first book. Miri goes to the Queen's Castle and meets revolutionary types who want to overthrow the king. While Miri shows herself to be naive, I think it is well done and she learns who she can trust. Shannon Hale uses linder to good effect in this book, and Britta is given more depth. I think the ending is satisfying.
estanceveyrac's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant!
So smart!
I was thinking earlier, this book is to the Selection by Kiera Cass what Gossip Girl is to Anna Karenina by Léon Tolstoï.
By which I mean it's a very good book.
So smart!
I was thinking earlier, this book is to the Selection by Kiera Cass what Gossip Girl is to Anna Karenina by Léon Tolstoï.
By which I mean it's a very good book.