Princess Academy: A Review

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Recommended for: Girls, grade 4-8
Pages: 314

Princess Academy is not breaking any new ground, but it's a solid read, especially for its sweet spot of young girls ages 8-12. Author Shannon Hale tells a story of a young girl, Miri, living in a pre-industrial society. Everyone in her village works in a quarry mining a precious marble-like stone, but Miri's father keeps her home because he fears she is too small and slight to handle the rigors of quarry life.

The quiet village is turned on its ear when dignitaries from the low-lands come to inform the people of the village that their prince will choose a princess from the village in spring, and all the young girls must attend a mandatory training season at the Princess Academy. Miri becomes a leader of the girls against a stern taskmistress at the academy.

I won't give away any more of the plot, but there is nothing too threatening or surprising about this book. You can give it to your young girls with certainty that they will not encounter anything you wouldn't approve of, and they will probably enjoy reading it too.

Push by Sapphire

Review: Push by Sapphire
Suggested Age: High school and up with parental guidance
Cultural/Social references: Harlem, Louis Farakhan, rape, incest, Down's Syndrome, HIV, homosexuality
Recommended: Highly, with guidance/maturity

I was afraid to see the movie Precious, afraid I would be too upset by it. So I decided to read the book Push, on which the movie is based, instead. And yes, it was upsetting. However, the book was also impossible to put down. I read it cover to cover in one night.

The main character, Precious, has been sexually abused by both her father and mother since the age of three. She has borne two children to her own father. Her earliest memory of her mother is being forced to perform oral sex on her. Disturbing stuff.

Still, Precious has a will to live, and she finally encounters a teacher who gives her the tools to learn to read and write. A path emerges through the darkness.

This book uses very explicit language and describes incestuous sex in quite graphic detail. However, I do not feel the writing ventures into exploitational or gratuitous sexuality--instead, the writing quite beautifully illustrates the heroine's inner life.

The White Darkness

Review: The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Age suggestion: High School and adult
Cultural references: Antarctica, Symmes's Hole, Deafness/Disability
Recomended: Highly

The White Darkness is one of the most original books I have read in a long time. The narrator is a 15 year old girl who is willingly abducted by her eccentric uncle to go along on an expedition to the South Pole. The book is quite masterful in its characterization of the narrator in that only slowly does the reader realize that the narrator herself is both unreliable and eccentric, if not quite as crazy as her uncle. The book is suspenseful and fun to read. I suggest it for high school and above because I think most middle schoolers will miss some of the subtle ways the author introduces the foibles and self-delusions of the narrator.

Book of a Thousand Days

Review: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

306 pages

Age suggestion: middle school and up

Cultural references: Ancient Mongolia, Grimm's Fairy Tales

Recomended: Highly

Okay, I could not put this one down. Very compelling young heroine, Dashti, is a "mucker maid"--a peasant who has sworn to serve her "lady"--a member of the elite gentry in this pre-medieval story set in an imagined version of the Mongolian Steppes. Dashti and her lady are bricked up in a tower for seven years when the young lady refuses to marry the cruel lord her father has promised her to. Dashti must find a way to keep them alive in the face of starvation and poor treatment by gaurds. Eventually, the girls must find a way to escape the tower and make their way to the land of the lady's true love. Of course, our heroine finds love of her own along the way.

What is cool about this book is that while it is a kind of "princess in the tower" story, the "princesses" and "princes" do not fall into any preconceived stereotypes. I found the characterization and plotting fairly original, and the voice of the narrator, Dashti, is powerful and likeable.

Undoubtedly, girls will like this more than boys, but it is not an overly feminine book.

Highly recommended!

Evil Genius

Review: Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

496 pages

Age suggestion: Middle school and up

Gender suggestion: Boys will like this more than girls

Recommendation: Mixed

I read this book back in October, but I haven't been sure what to say about it. It's definitely popular right now, and it is a good read. But here's my problem with it: there is not a single redeeming adult character in the whole book. Instead, the adults are corrupt, morally bankrupt, or absent. Sure, there are plenty of books out there in which adults are largely absent or ineffectual--that's okay--children feel that way about adults, no doubt. But books in which adults are actively evil and with no good counterpoint leave a bad taste in my mouth.

So, I will not fully endorse this book. However, I will admit it is well written and kids will probably enjoy reading it.

Peak

Review: Peak by Roland Smith
Age suggestion: Upper elementary and middle school
Gender suggestion: Both boys and girls will like this book
Recommended: Yes

Wow, it's been forever since I posted on this blog! Shame on me. Anyway, I just read a fun book, clearly geared toward boys, called Peak by Roland Smith. It's about a 14 year old boy who gets a chance to climb Mount Everest. I'm kind of a Mount Everest freak--I read John Krakauer's book Into Thin Air at least 3 times, and I've read several other books about that same disastrous climbing season. I've also seen all the movies and documentaries about it. This book, Peak, uses some very accurate climbing detail in the context of an engaging story with interesting characters, a likable protagonist, good writing. Suggested age group--middle school.