The Selection series 1-3 by Kiera Cass

I had really, really high hopes for this series. My sister-in-law raved about how she couldn't put them down and just loved them. So I waited a couple years until the trilogy was complete, and then I found out she's working on another partner trilogy. Ugh. I checked out The Selection and The Elite to read on an 8 hour road trip followed by a week of camping, and even with their faults, they were good picks for the occasion. These books are essentially the Bachelor reality show plus royalty plus a dystopian society. Our protagonist is America, a class 5 citizen near the bottom of the ladder. Classes are ranked from 1, royalty, to 8, the homeless. The prince is looking for a bride so they throw a competition where a few dozen girls are picked from all over the country and all different classes to come to the palace to try and win the prince's heart.

My main problem with these books is their lack of content. Everything that happens in the 3 installments could have easily been consolidated into 1 story. There are 3 main conflicts in the story: 1-America holds on to feelings she used to have for her old boyfriend Aspen, who in/conveniently shows up at the palace to work as a guard, making it impossible for America to forget and move on.
2-America has a very hard time deciding how much she likes Prince Maxom, who happens to be an awesome guy, and she keeps flip flopping back and forth between wanting to go back to her old life with Aspen or become royalty with Maxom.
3-There is significant civil unrest and two different groups of rebels repeatedly attack the palace.
The first two conflicts in the stories I find highly annoying. America takes advantage of 2 good guys and leads them on for way too long. I just wanted to smack her upside the head to put some sense in her! So annoying. The third conflict with the rebels was the only thing that I felt gave the story some substance. The author could have developed this far more than she did, but instead focused on America's feelings about boys. I think she missed out on an opportunity to write a compelling story, rather than a fluff-filled teeny-bopper one.

Overall I did mostly enjoy the read, but I was also constantly annoyed at the lack of substance. Perhaps it's just my personality and taste preference; I don't watch the Bachelor and haven't much enjoyed the bits that I have seen; but I do enjoy dystopian stories and princess stories. I had hopes that this would be a truly awesome series. Sadly, it fell short.

3 out of 5

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Let me start by saying how much I adore this movie!! I've made my husband watch it with me once or twice and it was fun to watch him squirm in the girly parts. I love it in all it's cheesy glory.

Now, moving on to the book, which is a completely different beast. Ella Enchanted in it's literary form is far more serious than it's movie counterpart. It still has lighthearted, silly moments, but Ella's struggles are more severe. She is under a fairy curse that makes her obedient to whatever anyone tells her to do. Her spiteful stepsister discovers this weakness and exploits it, making Ella do things like give up her deceased mother's necklace and end her relationship with her best friend. Ella eventually gets herself out of those situations by running away from the boarding school she attends with her stepsisters. She heads off in search of the fairy who gave her this "gift;" on her journey she gets captured by ogres, runs into long-time friend Prince Char, and with his help, manages to avoid becoming dinner. Ella in the book is far more empowered and strong than her movie self. She solves her own problems and makes hard choices. The final conflict in the movie where Ella is battling internally trying to defy an order to kill Char doesn't happen. Instead, a less dramatic scene occurs where Ella has the same internal struggle that leads to her breaking the curse, but it is over whether or not she will marry Prince Char. Not quite as exciting as how the movie does it, but the same ending is accomplished: Ella and the prince live happily ever after.

I very much enjoyed this book. More serious than the movie, but still a lot of fun. Though, I think I might like the movie better. You can't get better than cheesy, all-cast musical numbers. Dancing ogres? Yes, please!

4 out of 5 stars

Ever After High series by Shannon Hale

 So, my favorite author, Shannon Hale, just keeps coming out with awesome stuff. I'm such a fan of fairy tales so naturally I'm going to like a whole series based off them. This is a series based off a line of Bratz dolls. Ever After High is a school where the children of fairy tale characters come to learn how to embrace their destiny. When students come of age they sign their name in the Book of Legends, which binds them to live the story of their parent. Apple White, Snow White's daughter, is eager to sign the book and fulfill her destiny. She finds comfort in knowing that she will have her happily ever after so long as she does what is expected of her. Raven Queen, the Evil Queen's daughter, on the other hand, doesn't want her destiny. She doesn't want to be evil and wants the freedom to choose her own future. When Raven doesn't sign the book, the whole school is thrown into chaos.

In book 2, Raven's best friend Maddie, daughter of the Mad Hatter, is accused of freeing, albeit accidentally, the Jabberwock from it's prison. Raven and Apple must work together to prove her innocence to keep her from being banished from Ever After.

In book 3, the Jabberwock is free and wrecking havoc on Ever After, turning things mad and trying to make it more like Wonderland. Everyone is changed except the 3 students from Wonderland (Maddie, Lizzie Hearts [Queen of Hearts' daughter], and Kittie Cheshire) and Cedar Wood (Pinnocchio's daughter). It is up to them to defeat the Jabberwock and undo the madness with which he is trying to change Ever After.

These books are like the reading equivalent of cotton candy. Light, sweet, lots of fun, but perhaps not as much content as you might imagine. I definitely enjoyed reading them. The narration is very silly and I love the interpretation of the fairy tales manifested in the characters. Maddie is so enjoyable, and really all of the characters have something interesting about them. If I were in about 6th or 7th grade these would probably be my favorite books ever. I have to admit, it was a little embarrassing reading these books on the elliptical at the gym because each page is fringed in hot pink and purple. People might wonder at my reading abilities if I keep bringing books written for children with me... Ha, stay tuned for my next Shannon Hale book; just finished it this afternoon. Only took me about 20 minutes since it's a young children's chapter book. :)

Good reads! Even for adults. Very light-hearted and fun. Especially enjoyable for fellow fairy tale enthusiasts like myself.

4 stars

(I feel like I'm giving a lot of 4 star ratings lately, but I really think it's because I'm almost exclusively reading stuff that I know I'll like. Who wants to waste time reading books they won't enjoy?? I hope it doesn't diminish the value of my 4 star rating.)

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Another book recommended by my friend Stephanie and it was definitely another success. In fact, this might be the best book I've read in months...

The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton, introduces us to a little girl who is left alone on a ship sailing from London to Australia in 1913, sent with nothing but a small suitcase containing a new dress and a book of fairy tales. She is taken home by the dock master and his wife and, unable to learn of any family, is raised as one of their own. On her 21st birthday, "Nell" learns the truth and her sense of identity is shattered. She begins a quest to discover who she is: where did she come from? Why was she abandoned? Who is her family? Nell is lead to the Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and begins to uncover the secrets of the Mountrachet family. Unable to solve the mystery in her lifetime, the search is continued after Nell's death by her granddaughter Cassandra, who is finally able to put all the pieces together.

It has been a long time since I've read a book that is as intelligently crafted as this one. Each chapter contains vital information to the story. To make it even more complex, the chapters are not chronological and are pieced together in the way only a truly gifted storyteller can. The mystery unfolds for the reader gradually by following 3 primary storylines: Nell--abandoned in 1913 and sets off to England in 1975 to find her history; Cassandra--granddaughter who picks up the mystery after Nell dies in 2005; and Eliza Makepeace and Rose Mountrachet--cousins in the late 1890s whose stories hold all the information Nell needs to find out who she is.

I found the characters to be richly detailed and authentic, each with a vibrant personality and voice.
-I loved Cassandra and her personal journey to not only discover her grandmother's past, but to find peace and healing for things that had happened in her past.
-I also loved Eliza; she was an incredibly strong and imaginative individual, the kind of person I would be lucky to be friends with. Though she was also kind of an idiot when it came to those she loved, allowing her affection to blind her to the behavior and feelings of others and getting hurt in the process.
- I like Nell and understand her need to know her past, but I was mad at her when she tossed her adoptive parents and siblings aside when she learned she was abandoned as a child. She became so focused on what she had lost that she was completely blind to all that she had.
-At the beginning of the book I liked Rose well enough but by the end I despised her. She used the people closest to her to get what she wanted. Manipulative and cruel and the worst kind of selfish.
-Though I suppose Rose gets is from her mother, Adeline, who is essentially the reason why there is any mystery story at all. Adeline came from humble beginnings and is obsessed with fitting into society and being a proper lady. This results in an irrational need to cover up anything that might cause the slightest scandal. Her perceived inferiority makes her spiteful and bitter and makes life extremely difficult for those around her, particularly Eliza.
-There aren't as many male characters. Linus, Adeline's husband, is a total creeper and I'm glad there weren't too many details about his incestic obsessions.
-Christian is the only truly respectable central male character and becomes the love interest for Cassandra. Woohoo!

I feel like I could write a pretty thorough essay on the characters and themes of this book. I won't, for all your sakes, but I could. It's that great of a story. I tend to read books that I can breeze through in a few days so I had to remind myself to be patient and allow myself to get truly invested in the characters and the delicious mystery. I absolutely, whole-heartedly recommend The Forgotten Garden! It took a few more chapters than normal to get hooked because of all the year/character jumping, but I got there and I know you'll love this book too.

5 out of 5 stars!

My Fairy Godmother series by Janette Rallison

 It took me a day per book to read these gems. I'm always up for a good teen-lit fairy tale and these didn't disappoint! Chrysanthemum Everstar, aka Chrissy, is a Fair Godmother, not quite good enough to be a Fairy Godmother, which is why her teacher has assigned her to do some extra credit assignments to boost her grade. In book 1, Chrissy is sent to help 16-year-old Savannah who has just been dumped by her boyfriend for her older sister. Unfortunately she's already bought the perfect dress and now needs someone to take her to the prom, only a few weeks away! Savannah gets three wishes and the first two get her sent to the middle ages to play the part of Cinderella and then Snow White. When she wishes a "prince-type guy" will take her to the prom, she learns that a cute but quiet guy from school has been sent to the middle ages by Chrissy so that he can become a prince. Savannah must go and help Tristan become a prince so they can all get home, hopefully avoiding too much trouble along the way.

Book 2, My Unfair Godmother, is much like the first but still lots of fun. Her first extra credit project wasn't enough, so Chrissy is back to help another mortal with their dreary life. When her parents got divorced when she was a kid, Tansy didn't cope very well. She wouldn't talk to her dad on the phone and stopped reading novels because it used to be something they did together. She did things with the sole purpose of annoying her father. So when she is sent to stay with her dad, stepmom, and stepbrother for the summer, she finds Bo, who she believes is just misunderstood. After an already bad date gone wrong, Tansy finds herself in the police station and in a whole lot of trouble. Chrissy comes to grant three wishes, resulting in Robin Hood and his Merry Men showing up in Tansy's town and holding up local convenience stores. Further wishing lands Tansy and her family, plus gorgeous Hudson the police chief's son, in the middle ages. Tansy is forced to spin straw into gold for the king where she meets the manipulative Rumpelstiltskin. In order to get herself and her family home, Tansy must learn the moral to her story before it's too late.

I loved these books. They were witty, fun, had cute romances, and were so enjoyable to read. I love fairy tales and these were very fulfilling. Not too serious, though book 2 had a few serious moments, and perfect for a light and entertaining read. I highly recommend!

4 out of 5 stars

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

This book was....interesting. Not what I expected, but I enjoyed it for the most part. When I was looking for books after my awesome dream I found this on the shelf next to the book I was looking for. The synopsis looked promising so I checked it out.

This is a spin off the fairytale "Donkeyskin", which I had never heard of so I'm guessing many other people haven't. It's about a princess who is the daughter of the beloved and extraordinarily conceited king and queen. Her mother is known to be the most beautiful woman in seven kingdoms, and her father, along with the rest of the kingdom, is smitten with her. She dies when Lissar (the princess) is 15 and her father loses his mind with grief. Lissar grows up to be beautiful like her mother and those around her begin to notice. On her 17th birthday her father declares that he will remarry and that Lissar will be his bride. She is horrified (as well she should be) and locks herself in her room. Her father breaks in and rapes and beats her until she is close to death. She manages to escape with her one friend, her faithful fleethound Ash (who was also injured in her father's attack), away from the kingdom and finds solitude for the winter in an abandoned cabin in the woods. Here she blocks her memory of the horrors of her past and seeks a way to move forward with her life.

This story was a lot darker than I expected (not knowing about the rape/beating beforehand) and I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone without them knowing that it gets, not necessarily too graphic, but very realistic dealing with ugly topics. Overall I enjoyed the story and earnestly wished for Lissar's happy ending, which she got, but perhaps not as happy as I would like fairytales to end. This book had the same problem as Robin McKinley's last book I read, Beauty, in that the main character's journey and life is painstakingly described in detail, but the ending is rushed and left me unsatisfied. When I read a fairytale, I want a mind-blowing, weak-at-the-knee, unforgettable happily ever after, where there is no doubt that the prince and princess WILL be happy together after all their struggles. Lissar had to go through some serious trials and she deserved the best happy ending imaginable, not a wishy-washy, rushed, semi-sweet ending. My only other criticism is that things got a little weird at the end and I found myself not really believing what the characters were doing because it all seemed so far-fetched, but maybe that's just me.

Overall: I would recommend to others, but perhaps not for the faint of heart. It gets a little gruesome.

3 out of 5 stars

Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale, Illustrated by Nathan Hale

 I've never read any graphic novels before and I've always been a little skeptical of them. When I think of graphic novels I think of nerdy, comic book obsessed, acne ridden teen boys, hiding out in their dark and dusty bedrooms. I'll admit I was mildly embarrassed to be browsing the graphic novel section of the library (after I was able to find it). But I must say, these were two of the most fun books I have ever read. I picked these up, of course, because they are written by Shannon Hale, whose books I have reviewed on this blog many times. I love her stories and was certainly not disappointed with these gems. Co-written by her husband with detailed and beautiful illustrations by Nathan Hale (not related), these short stories were captivating and full of action, humor, and a touch of romance.

Rapunzel's Revenge is the story of Rapunzel (obviously) and really gets going once her "mother" (at least, the one who calls herself her mother) puts Rapunzel in a tower for being disobedient. Mother Gothel has powerful magic and can make things grow but uses her magic to enslave the people. Her tower is actually a very, very tall tree. Food grows magically and somehow Rapunzel's hair is affected by the magic and grows super long. She escapes by using her hair as a lasso and soon runs into Jack. Together, Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk) and Rapunzel go on an adventure to stop Mother Gothel's reign of terror, with the help of her trusty hair, and help people along the way, becoming heroes of the west. 

Calamity Jack picks up where Rapunzel's Revenge leaves off and is told from Jack's perspective. The pair heads east to Jack's hometown, where Jack is hoping to reunite with his mother and rebuild her house, since the first was destroyed by a giant beanstalk. When they arrive, they find themselves in a war zone and the city under attack by huge ant people and protected by giants. Jack and Rapunzel discover the giants are behind the ant people threat and fight to expose them to the city. In addition to the adventure, Jack goes through a personal journey of proving to his mother, Rapunzel and himself that he is a "good guy," despite having a shady background of scheming to get what he wanted.

Adjusting to reading a book that depends on the pictures to tell most of the story took a little time, but once I figured it out, the pictures were actually really fun to interpret and added so much to the story. I wish each book was about 3 times as long and I hope they write more sequels, though I haven't heard any reports for more books. I loved these books; they were so funny and easy to read. The pictures were so beautiful and detailed and expressive. Character development was also surprisingly good. Fun, fun stories I would absolutely recommend to everyone! Even those opposed to graphic novels, like I used to be. 

5 out of 5 stars

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

I've always enjoyed Orson Scott Card's books, especially Ender's Game, so I was curious when my sister recommended this spin-off of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.

The story starts in Russia, where Ivan and his family live. Around the age of 10, Ivan's family decides to leave Russia to move to America, but not before visiting Cousin Marek in Ukraine. In the woods near Cousin Marek's home, Ivan encounters a beautiful sleeping woman guarded by a bear. He runs away but is haunted by this image for years to come.

Years later in America, Ivan is a graduate student, engaged to a girl named Ruth, and goes back to Russia to complete his post grad research. Unable to shake his memory of the sleeping woman, Ivan goes back to those woods near Cousin Marek's and frees her from the bear and wakes her from her sleep. Princess Katerina was put under the sleeping spell by the evil Baba Yaga, the witch who torments her kingdom, and Ivan must agree to marry Katerina in order to defeat the witch and liberate her people.

I really, really enjoyed this book. It took a classic fairy tale and threw in modern Ivan and time travel and lots of other great stuff. It was fun to learn about Jewish Russian history and about the differences between Russian fairy tales and American ones. The character development in this book was fantastic; all of the main characters get to tell their perspectives, which really lets you get in their heads; and the love story between Ivan and Katerina was wonderful. I would definitely recommend Enchantment!

4.5 out of 5 stars

(I'm only not giving a 5 star rating because I can't see myself reading this over and over again, even though it was great.)

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C Wrede were recommended to me by my good old friend Diana. There are 4 books in the series: Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, and Talking to Dragons. I must say that all of these books were absolutely delightful!

Dealing with Dragons introduces us to our heroine Cimorene, a princess who is unlike ordinary princesses. She finds normal princess behavior and topics of study very boring, so she goes out and becomes a dragon's princess. She cooks and cleans for a dragon named Kazul while uncovering a plot by wizards to steal magic from the dragons.

In Searching for Dragons we meet the king of the Enchanted Forest, King Mendenbar. He goes off one day for a walk in his forest and discovers that part of the forest is dead and has been completely stripped of it's magic. He decides to go speak with the king of the dragons (who is now Kazul) which is where he meets Cimorene. Kazul is missing, so Mendenbar and Cimorene go off to find the dragon king. They discover that wizards have captured Kazul and are again trying to plot to steal magic and take over the world. By the end of the story Mendenbar and Cimorene fall in love and get married.

Calling on Dragons is told from the perspective of a witch named Morwen, to whom we were introduced back in the first book. She is good friends with both Kazul and Cimorene and helped rescue Kazul in book #2. In this story the wizards have stolen King Mendenbar's magic sword, an extremely powerful tool that protects the forest from the wizard's repeated attempts at thievery. Morwen, Cimorene, a magician friend named Telemain, Kazul, 2 of Morwen's cats, and a giant-blue-donkey-with-wings-that-used-to-be-a-rabbit set off to find the sword. Meanwhile the wizards infiltrate the castle and capture Mendenbar.

Our final story, Talking to Dragons, takes place years later and is told from the perspective of Daystar, the son of Mendenbar and Cimorene. While Mendenbar has been locked away in a magical prison set up by the wizards for the last 16 years, Cimorene has been teaching and raising Daystar. She sends him off on a quest with his father's sword without telling him about his heritage or what he is supposed to do. Daystar meets many interesting characters during his travels in the Enchanted Forest and is eventually able to use the sword to help rescue his father from the wizard's prison.

I loved reading these stories. I think they are intended for 10-year-olds so the writing style is very easy and fun. I particularly love the author's sense of humor that is throughout each story. The writing frequently pokes fun at the traditional fairy tales where the princesses wait to be rescued by a noble prince or knight. Overall I found these books to be clever, funny, and highly entertaining. Definitely would recommend to everyone!

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott

I read this book over the weekend as another "in-between" read to a couple other books I'm part-way through. While it was a nice diversion to the less exciting books I'm reading, it wasn't really that fabulous of a book. I really enjoyed the story; it's a sort of fairytale with magic and princes and princesses. Actually, now that I'm looking at the back cover, it's based off the Hans Christian Andersen tale "The Wild Swans," which I have never read or heard before. So while I thought the story was fun and interesting, even including a charming love interest, my biggest problem with the book was the writing style the author used. It was all written in a passive voice, making even the most exciting action parts of the book seem boring. There were also several parts where she gets put under a spell and it got really confusing and difficult to follow what was going on. Just in general the writing style didn't really work for me. I think it could have been a really great book because the story is solid and interesting, but the writing style really detracted from the overall quality. Still a fun read, and I don't regret reading it, but I don't recommend this one as quickly as I do many others.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Over the holidays I spent one night at my brother and sister in law's home. While our husbands were off playing basketball, Lori and I started talking about some of our favorite books and she asked if I've read anything by Shannon Hale. Well, I got pretty excited at that point because I LOVE Shannon Hale's books, at least the 5 that I've read (all of which can be found reviewed on this blog). She loans me her copy of Princess Academy since I haven't read it yet and I finish it within about a day and a half.

Princess Academy is about a little girl named Miri who lives in a mountain village, Mount Eskel, where everyone works in the quarry mining a special type of rock called linder. When the king's priests prophesy that the future princess will come from Mount Eskel, an obscure corner of the kingdom, an academy is set up to prepare the girls of this village to potentially become princesses. Not all of the girls want to become a princess but all are forced to work hard to refine their habits so when the prince comes to choose his bride in a year's time they will be ready.

Like all of Shannon Hales books, I quickly fell in love with her characters, especially Miri, who is a real spunky and spitfire of a girl. She grows up quite a bit during the course of this story, making up for her small size and inability to work in the quarry like everyone else by using her brain to improve the quality of life of those in her village and saving the lives of her peers at the academy from bandits. This wasn't really as good as Hales' other stories, but she still was able to weave a charming new world with believable characters. I even cried once or twice. :) Definitely would recommend this book!

3.5 out of 5 stars

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale. Can I just say that Shannon Hale is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors?? I LOVED her Books of Bayern series, and this story was just as fabulous!

Loosely based off the Brother's Grimm tale "Maid Maleen" (which I've never actually heard before...) and set in medieval Mongolia. It's written in diary format from the point of view of Dashti, the maid to Lady Saren. Dashti agrees to stay with her lady who is to be locked in a tower for 7 years as punishment for refusing to marry the man her father chose for her. Conflict, adventure, humor, and a love story ensue.

I was surprised by how much adventure there was in a story involving 2 girls locked in a tower! The writing was gripping and magical and I got lost in the words each time I read. I typically read during my hour lunch break at work, and I had a particularly hard time putting this book down at the end of my hour. Beautiful and heartwarming and satisfying read. Recommended to all!

4.5 out of 5 stars

River Secrets by Shannon Hale

Well I am on a roll this week! I read this book (like Enna Burning) in just over a day. I read most of it yesterday and then finished it on my lunch break today. It was fabulous! This book is told from Razo's point of view, which automatically makes it super fun. Razo has been the comedic relief during the first 2 books and so to have a whole story full of Razo was very exciting.

The story takes place just after the war with Tira ended. A group of soldiers is sent to Tira to accompany the Bayern ambassador to facilitate in improving Tiran-Bayern relations. Among the soldiers is Razo, who is quite possibly the worst soldier Bayern has ever seen, but he is handy with a slingshot and has a fantastic eye for details, which comes in handy later when his captain makes him a spy. Burned bodies start showing up around camp in an attempt to frame Bayern and Razo is set on figuring out who is responsible. Go Razo go!

So this was a very fun story. It was fun to get to know another land outside of Bayern, and it was nice to finally find a girl for Razo. Razo is just a great character so the whole story was just happy. I felt like there wasn't quite as much action as the other Bayern books, but enough to be satisfying, and there was a great deal more mystery and detective work!

I love love LOVE this series and am sad that I have now finished reading all the books. I hope Shannon Hale writes more of these magical stories.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

I definitely read this book in almost a day! Fabulous. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale is book 2 of the Books of Bayern. It takes place 2 years after The Goose Girl ends. Enna is living in the forest where she took care of her sick mother until she died. Now she lives there with her brother Leifer, who comes home one day having discovered the ability to speak to fire. War has broken out between Bayern and the neighboring country of Tira and Enna seeks out the knowledge that will enable her to speak with fire like her brother. Soon her power becomes overwhelming and Enna is unsure of how to help her country.

I loved this book! It was more serious than The Goose Girl but I love how much I grew to care about all of the characters. Whenever there was danger I was so worried that they wouldn't be ok. Although, it does help that I've read the 4th book and thus know that all of the characters I care about live at least until then... I suppose I cheated. There is also more death and war in this book, but I think the added conflict was good for the story. I didn't like this one quite as much as The Goose Girl, where the conflicts were pretty clearly defined even if you couldn't figure out how they would resolve. In Enna Burning, you knew something was wrong but weren't sure exactly who or what the enemy was, if that makes sense...

Overall, great book! Fun read. I stayed up much too late reading and could barely put it down during the day. Love this series!!!

4.5 out of 5 stars

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

This was a fabulous book and I loved it!! Based on the fairy tale by the Grimm brothers, "The Goose Girl" by Shannon Hale was a beautifully written tale. I've never heard the story before so I was quick to get lost in the magic of the writing.

Ani is the crown princess in the land of Kildenree. In her youth her aunt teaches her the language of birds and how to know the language of a horse. Years later she finds her mother made an arrangement for her to marry the prince of Bayern, so she and a group of guards and her lady-in-waiting make the journey across the mountains to Bayern. During the several month journey, as they approach Bayern, there is mutiny in the group and Ani is forced to flee for her life while her lady-in-waiting intends to take Ani's place as princess. She finds herself alone and pursued by murderers and she seeks refuge in the forest. She eventually makes her way to the city where she finds a job as a goose girl tending the king's geese. She meets all kinds of good people, most of them forest born, while working in the city. Through the rest of the story Ani tries to find a way to convince the king that she is the rightful princess while avoiding the traitors who would kill her. Along the way she learns the language of the wind and makes wonderful friends.

I was unable to put this book down for very long. There truly is magic in Shannon Hale's writing! It was a beautiful story and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I would recommend this book to all!

5 out of 5 stars

Forest Born by Shannon Hale

I heard about this book from Kerry's book blog. This book is the fourth volume of the Books of Bayern. I liked this book so much that I've decided to read the rest of the series. I also liked that I was able to jump in at book 4 and understand everything that was going on.

Forest Born is a beautiful sort of coming-of-age story about a girl named Rinna who, like the title suggests, was of the forest. She is very close to nature and draws peace by communicating with the trees. She decides to leave home and goes off with her big brother Rizzo to the city to be a hand maid to the queen. Adventure takes Rinna along with others she has met away from the castle where they all experience danger and excitement. Along their adventure Rinna grows into herself and her abilities and finds new friends in Queen Isi, Enna, and Dasha. I won't go into particulars because I wouldn't want to ruin the story for anyone. I enjoyed this book enough to sincerely recommend it to others. The language and imagery is beautiful and magical and the characters are fun. This book made me really want to read the other books in the series; in fact, I have book one checked out from the library and plan on starting it tonight or tomorrow. I recommend this book to anyone, though I would probably suggest starting with book one. Good read!

4 out of 5 stars