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Tuesday, August 08, 2006

The Princess Academy


by Shannon Hale (read August 2006)
Another fabulous YA novel by the author who wrote Goose Girl. My teenage daughter read Goose Girl and encouraged me to. While I read that, she started on the sequel, Enna Burning. I tried to catch up so I could read that with her, but she finished it too fast. Then she started on Princess Academy. I abandoned Enna Burning and Gentlemen & Players which I was well into so I could read Princess Academy with K. We bought a copy and checked a second out from the library. It was fun reading it together.

The prince is going to choose a wife in a year and the priests have determined that the princess will come from the mountain. The mountain girls are not fit to be princesses so they have to go away from their families to the academy to learn.

Hale's books have obstacles that young girls have to learn to overcome. Usually the girls are dubious about their abilities, but they make the effort to conquer after careful consideration, education and positive action. I rate this book 4.75 out of 5.

5 comments:

Myke Weber said...

You should have seen these two gals giggling their way through these books. I love that they love reading together.

Suzan Abrams, email: suzanabrams@live.co.uk said...

Dear Booklogged,
In your heart too, a child is skipping...
love

Bellezza said...

I haven't read this book, but I do love books which encourage overcoming obstacles.

Also, I love to read with my child like you. My man-child is now 15, and not that interested in reading together aloud, but at least we will sit together with our books while our feet share the same ottoman. I think we may have passed our love of reading to our children, booklogged, which is an awfully lovely thing to teach. And share.

Come to think of it, my mother and I share a lot of books together. We are in the same book club which meets the third Wednesday of every month. The only small problem is that I have a reluctance toward letting my mother borrow my books. She tends to crack the binding when she lays it face down, and I CAN'T STAND THAT! I think books need to be honored.

Are you a person who doesn't mind a well-worn book, or do you like to keep them pristine?

Booklogged said...

Myke, next book you should join us.

Susan, there is definitely a little child tucked inside. She shows her preferences regularly.

Bellezza, we don't read out loud. It's more like you and your son. With Princess Academy we tried to stay in the same proximity or pages. I do NOT lay my books upside down and I don't fold over the pages. Definitely agree with you there, but I don't mind buying a used book in good condition.

Carl V. Anderson said...

I'm not big on letting just anyone borrow my books either. I too will buy something used but it has to be in really good condition. I have friends who have similar obsessions for keeping their books nice and we trade regularly.

I like to read aloud to both my wife and daughter. The best benefit of which is that I get them to 'read' books that they might not otherwise pick up but inevitably enjoy.