Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Synopsis:
Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.

Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.

Quick Review:
Princess Academy is a great story to read. I thought the whole story was cute and sweet. Shannon Hale is such a talented writer that I have never been disappointed by her books. The voice she gives her characters just shines through. I would say Princess Academy is aimed at a younger audience (middle school), but I still enjoyed it. Miri is a great character. As a young girl, she is strong and tough despite her small stature. I loved that she used what she learned in Princess Academy to help her village. Princess Academy is a wonderful fairy tale. It is the kind of book I could not put down.

Rating: 4/5

Swords are for fighting,