A review by shieldbearer
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
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.