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Miri cannot imagine a life beyond Mount Eskel. For generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. She grew up hearing the stories and the songs and rhythms of the quarry workers and looks forward to the day she can finally join them. Her father always turns her away as if he thinks her too weak or too small for the task, so Miri is determined to prove herself useful in other ways — like trading for enough food to last her family through the harsh mountain winters.
But when word comes with the traders that the king’s priests have divined Miri’s small village as the home of the future princess and that, in a year’s time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the mountain girls, Miri’s simple life is turned upside-down. Now, instead of spending time wishing she could work in the quarry, she’s whisked away to the academy that has been set up on the mountain. Soon Miri finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to marry a prince and find a place for herself in their vast world or to stay in the place she’s always called home and maybe win the heart of her childhood best friend.
Either way, there’s more to being a princess than Miri anticipated, including lessons on dancing, etiquette, reading, and commerce. And when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must find the courage to rally the girls and use a power unique to her people to save herself and her classmates.
Princess Academy is a cute story about courage, friendship, opportunity, and finding out who you are or what you can be or do. Miri is bold, eager to succeed and looking for a place in her world. She’s also stubborn and has a tendency to say what she’s thinking, which only endeared me to her more.
I also love Shannon Hale’s talent for creating magic that feels natural and how every description of Mount Eskel made me feel as if I were coming home to a safe place full of good memories.
Rated: None. There is some mild peril.
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