Hale, Shannon. (2005). Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN: 1582349932
Plot Summary: Miri is small, motherless and aching to join her father and sister in their daily work of culling linder stone from the mountains. When the village is notified that the Prince of Danland will choose a bride from their region, Miri is sent with other teenage girls to the impromptu Princess Academy to prepare for a potential life as royalty. She befriends Britta, a quiet, withdrawn girl that others assume is snobby. She wins over the older girls by helping them with homework and offering genuine support as a friend. She defies the injustice meted out by their teacher, Tutor Olana, but later negotiates better relations between teacher and students. Her own world expands, her reading skills improve and she learns about business and how to avoid unfair trading practices.
Mount Eskel is a peculiar place, as the villagers share an ability to communicate through “quarry-speech.” When a dangerous group of bandits enter their remote classroom to hold the women for ransom, Miri and her classmates use their unspoken power to scare away the criminals. During this time, Miri is elected as princess academy leader. She finds out that Britta’s opportunistic father forces her to live on Mount Eskel in order to be chosen by the Prince. Miri understands Britta’s embarrassment and facilitates her eventual meeting with the Prince. He declares his love for her as his long lost childhood friend and he selects Britta as his bride. Miri is happy as she returns to her village to become a teacher of younger women and the town’s trade officer.
Critical Evaluation: Shannon Hale evokes a mystical yet comforting world in Mount Eskel that transports readers to a magical place. Through the adventures of the novel, we see Miri become an unexpected heroine as she faces challenges, hardship and the prejudice against her proud community of hardworking people. Like most characters of Shannon Hale books, Miri is honest, generous and spirited. She learns the value of friendships, despite the gossiping and backstabbing of other teen girls. She also learns how to value of her village’s unique culture. By the end, Miri emerges as a mature young woman who contributes greatly to her community after all and finds romance with her own childhood friend, Peder.
Reader’s Annotation: Imagine this: A handsome prince is selecting his bride from your town and all teenage girls are required to learn history and etiquette lessons at a special school. You go along with it, but end up finding out more about your own family history, your town’s special talent for communicating without actually speaking and how to have the best adventures with your friends. It’s a magical place that you won’t ever want to leave…
Information About the Author: Shannon Hale is the author of more than ten books for adults and teens. She has received much critical acclaim and Princess Academy was a New York Times Bestseller and a 2006 Newberry Honor Book. Her books have become popular with teens and she is currently experimenting with graphic novel formats that visually retell folk tales such as the story of Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk. As a practicing Mormon, Hale has served as a missionary in South America between her studies at University of Utah and University of Montana. She currently lives in Salt Lake City with her husband Dean, son Max and daughter Magnolia. In addition to her unique story plots, Hale has been praised for her writing style. Kirkus Reviews state, “Her language glimmers like firelight, like sunshine on water as she propels readers along a river of wonderful writing to the tumultuous and heart-tugging climax.”
Genre:
Teen Issues: Outsiders
Contemporary Life: Coming of Age
Heroes and Heroines: Magic
General Fantasy
Historic Novels: Unique Settings
Curriculum Ties: English Class, Book Clubs, Social Clubs, Recommendations for Young Adult Female Readers
Booktalking Ideas:
1.) Discovering a love of your people, your community and yourself
2.) Possessing and cultivating special personal powers
3.) Finding friendship with unlikely people
4.) Life in boarding school and other institutions
5.) Fairy tale plots and how they relate to today’s situations
Reading Level/Interest Age: Ages 13-19
Challenge Issues/Defenses:
Potential Challenges: Shannon Hale books are often recommended as acceptable to watchful communities, as they take place outside of our real world and present wholesome characters with exemplary values who make good choices. Her novels are sometimes criticized for having religious values, though none of these qualities are overt within her novels. If any issues were challenged, perhaps it would be these:
• Portrayals of teachers as evil
• Depiction of defiant and outspoken teen girls
• Violent episode illustrated
Defense Strategy:
• Provide our Collection Development Policy (which includes Young Adult scope): http://ww2.cityofpasadena.net/library/collection.asp
• Refer to awards and reviews regarding this book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Academy#Awards_and_nominations
CommonSense book reviews that state the minimal amount of offensive content: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Princess-Academy.html
Amazon.com Reader Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Academy-Shannon-Hale/dp/1582349932
Science Fiction Reader website: http://www.sfreader.com/read_review.asp?book=840
Why This Book Was Included: It’s interesting how Shannon Hale is able to create engaging, exciting books that teens can relate to, yet without including controversial topics and heavy-hitting characters that is typical of a lot of today’s YA fiction. Rather than presenting the true reality of today’s often harsh world, she presents a more ideal, focused, magical and ultimately rewarding world filled with intrigue, humor and comfort. It’s a place where teens are faced with huge challenges, yet somehow always manage to find some inner courage that allows them to succeed and survive. Hale’s books are always fun, uplifting and optimistic which is a nice offering to today’s often beleaguered teens.
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