katreadsalot's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book when I was younger and I really enjoyed most of it upon rereading it! The ending is sadder then I want it to be but it fits the story.
jillselwyn's review against another edition
5.0
Ugh, the ending never fails to make me cry. Bittersweet but goddamn. If this book isn't still one of the best I've read. Honestly, I love the idea rooted in the novel that you don't have to stand up to monsters or slay a dragon or wield a sword to be brave, and doing all those things doesn't necessarily make you brave either. That just knowing the stakes are high and fighting anyway, with Meryl and the Grey Death and Addie and finding the cure - they are both incredible proof of this. I was shocked that this book was less than 300 pages, and I thought that I would feel like it needed more fleshing out. But it works perfectly within its length and details and occurrences. Meryl and Addie's bond is so well written that I can't help but imagine if something like this happened to me and my little sister, which honestly, probably doesn't help when I get to the ending. I also like that there were real stakes. Yes this is a "children's book" or "middle grade" but as usual I feel like anyone of any age can enjoy a Gail Carson Levine book. I liked that Addie technically failed. She was successful for everyone else in the kingdom, but her sister. I like the explanation of how her sister was alive anyway, and almost in a way, feels more painful than Meryl simply dying. Yet another time I wish that the Ella Enchanted adaptation had done better because maybe this book would have been adapted at some point too. I believe there is a somewhat recent either sequel or prequel, which I own and am excited to hopefully read soon!
aemkea's review
4.0
I am a big Tamora Pierce fan. I met her books when I was twelve.
Who was my favorite author before Ms. Pierce? None other than Gail Carson Levine. I loved The Wish and Ella Enchanted, but this book. The Two Princess of Bamarre. I adored this books with my little 11-year-old heart.
I have not read it in years, but still have a fondness for it. The next time I get home from college, I will pick up my old copy. :)
Who was my favorite author before Ms. Pierce? None other than Gail Carson Levine. I loved The Wish and Ella Enchanted, but this book. The Two Princess of Bamarre. I adored this books with my little 11-year-old heart.
I have not read it in years, but still have a fondness for it. The next time I get home from college, I will pick up my old copy. :)
orionoconnell's review against another edition
4.0
One of my favorite books from childhood, and a fast-paced easy read with a likeable main character and heroine. The book features mostly on finding courage and bravery, but also on sisterhood, only after which comes love.
A bittersweet end that leaves you mourning, but a fulfilling story all in all packed with all the elements that make a good fairytale worth reading and available to any audience.
To the heroes of the world.
A bittersweet end that leaves you mourning, but a fulfilling story all in all packed with all the elements that make a good fairytale worth reading and available to any audience.
To the heroes of the world.
mslessthan3's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
hckilgour's review
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The opening and the part with the dragon were a little slow. But the rest of the story was a nice pace.
It wasn’t rocket science to figure out how the story was going to end, but for kids it is still fun.
I do think this has a moral story opportunity. You can overcome your fears and do some amazing things.
It wasn’t rocket science to figure out how the story was going to end, but for kids it is still fun.
I do think this has a moral story opportunity. You can overcome your fears and do some amazing things.
shieldbearer's review
5.0
This is a book I remembered fondly as a child, and I am delighted to say that it holds up just as much in my adulthood as it did in my childhood. Sure, some things in the story bother me a bit now that I am grown, but all of them are minor. The most grating of them was the way Vollys was able to tell Addie had royal blood. Certainly some poor people would dress in royal robes and finery if they got the chance, but I cannot believe that all of them would choose a long, heavy, bejeweled train over a simple, easy-to-run-in garment when trapped in a dragon's lair. It also bothers me a little that Addie never fully engaged with the idea that you can't just will a disease away. Then there's the out of nowhere romance between Meryl and Drualt. They knew each other for like two days and he still isn't over Freya, yet we're supposed to believe they fall in love? Yeah, no.
Those minor complaints aside, the world that Levine builds in this book is creative and refreshing. her take on dragons is particularly well-thought out and clever. Vollys is one of the most engaging characters in the story, and it's a bit of a shame we don't get to see more of her. The other fantastic creatures of Bamarre- particularly the specters and the sorcerers- are yet more demonstrations of Levine's creative skill with worldbuilding. She truly breathes new life into some of the well-known monsters of myth.
Her characters are just as well structured. Addie herself makes a flawed but complex heroine who has a strong voice, even with her timid nature. The dichotomy between Addie and her sister reflects the themes of the novel well. Addie's love for her very different sister is nice to see in the face of "sibling versus sibling" trend in today's media.
It is also really nice to see embroidery and declaimation take front and center as skills of worth in a fantasy novel. Both skills were shown as sources of strength, as things that bring people together. That is another theme that makes the Two Princesses such an endearing read. Strength isn't just skill with arms, or one's fearlessness in the face of a dragon or a flock of gryphons. Strength is timid step following timid step, strength is love for your family and for those you call friend. And that's a theme we don't see enough of today.
Those minor complaints aside, the world that Levine builds in this book is creative and refreshing. her take on dragons is particularly well-thought out and clever. Vollys is one of the most engaging characters in the story, and it's a bit of a shame we don't get to see more of her. The other fantastic creatures of Bamarre- particularly the specters and the sorcerers- are yet more demonstrations of Levine's creative skill with worldbuilding. She truly breathes new life into some of the well-known monsters of myth.
Her characters are just as well structured. Addie herself makes a flawed but complex heroine who has a strong voice, even with her timid nature. The dichotomy between Addie and her sister reflects the themes of the novel well. Addie's love for her very different sister is nice to see in the face of "sibling versus sibling" trend in today's media.
It is also really nice to see embroidery and declaimation take front and center as skills of worth in a fantasy novel. Both skills were shown as sources of strength, as things that bring people together. That is another theme that makes the Two Princesses such an endearing read. Strength isn't just skill with arms, or one's fearlessness in the face of a dragon or a flock of gryphons. Strength is timid step following timid step, strength is love for your family and for those you call friend. And that's a theme we don't see enough of today.
swissmunicipal's review
3.0
This is a fun quick story full of good ideals and a fairly simple plotline that still has a twist at the end. I would say it falls closer to middle grade than YA, but that might not be quite right.
_sol's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Meryl and Addie? Absolutely adored them
Addie and Rhys? So cute alzlfkslgj
but. the dragon? THE DRAGON?! I AM *ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED* WITH THIS AUTHORS DEPICTION OF THE DRAGON. i've never seen it in a way quite like this before and it is so so cool. In my opinion some of the best art is the one that inspires you to create your own. and that dragon accomplished this single-handedly
also did not expect to get teary-eyed. and yet. what the hell. good book 👍
Addie and Rhys? So cute alzlfkslgj
but. the dragon? THE DRAGON?! I AM *ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED* WITH THIS AUTHORS DEPICTION OF THE DRAGON. i've never seen it in a way quite like this before and it is so so cool. In my opinion some of the best art is the one that inspires you to create your own. and that dragon accomplished this single-handedly
also did not expect to get teary-eyed. and yet. what the hell. good book 👍