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and_so_she_reads_'s review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
forestidylls's review against another edition
4.0
Unexpected, new take on becoming a princess. Very enjoyable.
mariahistryingtoread's review against another edition
2.0
I remember really liking this book as a kid, but not liking something about it enough that I’ve had an inexplicable aversion to it ever since. While pushing through my disinclination felt gratifying as I am now able to put into words why I was put off, I also kind of ruined a book I once rated pretty high so it’s a bittersweet victory.
Princess Academy is the story of Miri, a small for her age 14 year old girl, who feels useless because her father refuses to allow her to work in the quarry which the entirety of her mountain community is centered around. Miri’s life is flipped upside down when it’s announced that Mount Eskel has been divined to be the home of the future princess of the kingdom. Miri and the rest of the eligible girls in her village are forced to attend the Princess Academy in order to be prepared for their chance to win the Princes’ heart in one years' time.
The first half of this book is undoubtedly stronger than the latter half. I love a book that doesn’t waste time kicking off its plot and this book has the girls at the Academy by the third chapter. From there you follow Miri as she attempts to become the coveted Academy Princess; a position which will give the winning girl an edge over the others in the competition to be the actual Princess. Miri has a frankly lackluster romance with her childhood friend Peter so she’s not totally sure if she wants to marry the Prince. However, she’s torn most of the book because marrying the Prince would also give her the opportunity to see more of the kingdom which is something she finds she desperately wants the more time she spends at the Academy.
The weak worldbuilding becomes clearer as the story progresses because nothing the girls learn at the Academy is ever explored. Part of Miri’s character was the realization that there was a whole wide world outside of her small mountain village. Yet, we aren’t privy to what exactly interests her about the rest of the kingdom. It’s always very vague, nebulous things that must be cool simply because she hasn’t seen them. I wanted to know more about the lowlands. I think (as well as hope) this is going to be expanded on in the sequel. However, even a first in a series should be able to function on its own so it wouldn’t have hurt to go into more detail. Especially since the character of Britta - a lowlander who recently came to live on the mountains - should be able to provide a lot more insight into the differences.
Speaking of Britta, let’s talk characters. There are a lot of girls to juggle as 20 girls in total attend the Academy. On top of that is Miri’s father, her sister Marda, the aforementioned Peter, their tutor Olana, and the cook Knut. I appreciate the difficulty there must be in writing so many characters with varying levels of significance. That being said, this has the same issue I have with most Twelve Dancing Princesses retellings; the quantity leads to one trait being the focal point for the girl because it would take too much time to flesh her out more. The personalities of the other girls were practically nonexistent. Liana and Bena were mean. Gerti was timid. Esa was timid, but also has arm paralysis. Britta is a lowlander. Frid is big. Outside of Katar (who technically was cribbing off of Miri but I’m being generous here) no one else had an arc or deeper motivations at all.
Miri has a major problem with her dad. She feels like she’s a burden to him because she can’t work in the quarry. This dissolves immediately at almost exactly the halfway point of the book. The resolution doesn’t even involve talking to her father. Someone else talks to Miri instead and Miri suddenly understands everything. He didn’t have to do more or try harder or anything. As a result I struggled to see why she even needed to have this problem with him individually. It might as well have been a more generalized feeling of pointlessness if it wasn’t going to be addressed with him directly anyways.
I hated the ending. As I already said the first half is better than the last. The last half is mostly a retread of the first half. It was a lot of ‘oh then we had this class, then we had this class’ ad nauseum with no new information. The ball that was built up to be such a big deal is over in a few pages. No groundwork is laid for the lowlander court or nobles or high society. It’s glossed over by saying ‘some were actually nice!’ with no examples.
And the choice of Princess made me mad.
Yes, fundamentally the book was about Miri recognizing her worth and helping her village with her newfound awareness not actually winning the heart of the prince. Regardless of this fact, the ending is still a total cop out.
It makes one of the characters a total liar who wins in the end because of a backstory that comes out of nowhere. There was no indication this twist was coming. I know it wasn’t Girl A’s fault, but the book tries to present her as so close to Miri when Girl A literally keeps a huge book altering secret until the last like 10 pages. And Miri doesn’t care at all because now she’s safe from having to do the hard character work of making a tough decision about whether or not she wants to be a Princess. It also left a bad taste in my mouth because it felt as if Girl A who was already starting off more advantaged was destined to win from the beginning due to the lead she inherently had. The girls were fighting a battle they never had a real chance of winning due to their status. That seemed to totally go against the central theme of the book: that the girls were just as good as the rest of the kingdom.
(Also I thought Prince Steffan x Miri were super cute for the little bit we saw of them. I saw way more chemistry between them than with Miri x Peter which is a big deal for me because I am super into the childhood friends to lovers dynamic.)
It makes sense for the story as it currently is because they made a point of mentioning how weird it would be to marry a person they didn’t know which I totally agree with. I just think that could easily be fixed. I think the book would have been stronger if the girls transitioned from the Academy at the halfway point to the castle and had a series of tests over a few days or weeks to narrow it down to a few girls for the Prince to choose from. That would have expanded the universe, given the Prince a chance to have some actual depth, and if the twist is thrown out it would remove the issue of the Prince not knowing any of the girls well enough to decide to marry. Or alternatively the Prince is in disguise at the Academy somehow so the girls get to know him that way and vice versa so he is able to make a decision then.
I was so into it when I first started. And to be fair it my interest did not waver throughout. The premise is strong. The writing is solid. It’s a quick read and for all its flaws it is fun. So yeah, while I was disappointed I honestly would still recommend it.
Princess Academy is the story of Miri, a small for her age 14 year old girl, who feels useless because her father refuses to allow her to work in the quarry which the entirety of her mountain community is centered around. Miri’s life is flipped upside down when it’s announced that Mount Eskel has been divined to be the home of the future princess of the kingdom. Miri and the rest of the eligible girls in her village are forced to attend the Princess Academy in order to be prepared for their chance to win the Princes’ heart in one years' time.
The first half of this book is undoubtedly stronger than the latter half. I love a book that doesn’t waste time kicking off its plot and this book has the girls at the Academy by the third chapter. From there you follow Miri as she attempts to become the coveted Academy Princess; a position which will give the winning girl an edge over the others in the competition to be the actual Princess. Miri has a frankly lackluster romance with her childhood friend Peter so she’s not totally sure if she wants to marry the Prince. However, she’s torn most of the book because marrying the Prince would also give her the opportunity to see more of the kingdom which is something she finds she desperately wants the more time she spends at the Academy.
The weak worldbuilding becomes clearer as the story progresses because nothing the girls learn at the Academy is ever explored. Part of Miri’s character was the realization that there was a whole wide world outside of her small mountain village. Yet, we aren’t privy to what exactly interests her about the rest of the kingdom. It’s always very vague, nebulous things that must be cool simply because she hasn’t seen them. I wanted to know more about the lowlands. I think (as well as hope) this is going to be expanded on in the sequel. However, even a first in a series should be able to function on its own so it wouldn’t have hurt to go into more detail. Especially since the character of Britta - a lowlander who recently came to live on the mountains - should be able to provide a lot more insight into the differences.
Speaking of Britta, let’s talk characters. There are a lot of girls to juggle as 20 girls in total attend the Academy. On top of that is Miri’s father, her sister Marda, the aforementioned Peter, their tutor Olana, and the cook Knut. I appreciate the difficulty there must be in writing so many characters with varying levels of significance. That being said, this has the same issue I have with most Twelve Dancing Princesses retellings; the quantity leads to one trait being the focal point for the girl because it would take too much time to flesh her out more. The personalities of the other girls were practically nonexistent. Liana and Bena were mean. Gerti was timid. Esa was timid, but also has arm paralysis. Britta is a lowlander. Frid is big. Outside of Katar (who technically was cribbing off of Miri but I’m being generous here) no one else had an arc or deeper motivations at all.
Miri has a major problem with her dad. She feels like she’s a burden to him because she can’t work in the quarry. This dissolves immediately at almost exactly the halfway point of the book. The resolution doesn’t even involve talking to her father. Someone else talks to Miri instead and Miri suddenly understands everything. He didn’t have to do more or try harder or anything. As a result I struggled to see why she even needed to have this problem with him individually. It might as well have been a more generalized feeling of pointlessness if it wasn’t going to be addressed with him directly anyways.
I hated the ending. As I already said the first half is better than the last. The last half is mostly a retread of the first half. It was a lot of ‘oh then we had this class, then we had this class’ ad nauseum with no new information. The ball that was built up to be such a big deal is over in a few pages. No groundwork is laid for the lowlander court or nobles or high society. It’s glossed over by saying ‘some were actually nice!’ with no examples.
And the choice of Princess made me mad.
Yes, fundamentally the book was about Miri recognizing her worth and helping her village with her newfound awareness not actually winning the heart of the prince. Regardless of this fact, the ending is still a total cop out.
It makes one of the characters a total liar who wins in the end because of a backstory that comes out of nowhere. There was no indication this twist was coming. I know it wasn’t Girl A’s fault, but the book tries to present her as so close to Miri when Girl A literally keeps a huge book altering secret until the last like 10 pages. And Miri doesn’t care at all because now she’s safe from having to do the hard character work of making a tough decision about whether or not she wants to be a Princess. It also left a bad taste in my mouth because it felt as if Girl A who was already starting off more advantaged was destined to win from the beginning due to the lead she inherently had. The girls were fighting a battle they never had a real chance of winning due to their status. That seemed to totally go against the central theme of the book: that the girls were just as good as the rest of the kingdom.
(Also I thought Prince Steffan x Miri were super cute for the little bit we saw of them. I saw way more chemistry between them than with Miri x Peter which is a big deal for me because I am super into the childhood friends to lovers dynamic.)
It makes sense for the story as it currently is because they made a point of mentioning how weird it would be to marry a person they didn’t know which I totally agree with. I just think that could easily be fixed. I think the book would have been stronger if the girls transitioned from the Academy at the halfway point to the castle and had a series of tests over a few days or weeks to narrow it down to a few girls for the Prince to choose from. That would have expanded the universe, given the Prince a chance to have some actual depth, and if the twist is thrown out it would remove the issue of the Prince not knowing any of the girls well enough to decide to marry. Or alternatively the Prince is in disguise at the Academy somehow so the girls get to know him that way and vice versa so he is able to make a decision then.
I was so into it when I first started. And to be fair it my interest did not waver throughout. The premise is strong. The writing is solid. It’s a quick read and for all its flaws it is fun. So yeah, while I was disappointed I honestly would still recommend it.
justmeareader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cedi's review against another edition
4.0
This book has an amazing author, who crafted this story beautifully. Young girls are prepared and educated to be options for the prince to choose for his bride. But I like how it's less like they're selling themselves to the throne, and more that they're learning and getting the opportunity to grow more than they would have ever gotten in their hometown. The prince chooses a sweet girl, and they're all reunited with their families. It's cute.
angelicprose's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
this is a really good middle-grade book, with all the pros you expect from middle grade: lovable characters, a simple yet engaging plot, funny moments, and a heartwarming ending. it's cozy, but still fun and adventurous. it has a wide variety of characters who are all lovable in their own ways, and it teaches forgiveness, understanding, and self-confidence.
tashaseegmiller's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this book more than I thought I would. Granted, it is geared for a younger audience, so there were moments that I didn't care for as much as I'm sure younger girls would, but I enjoyed it enough to want to read all of Hale's other books. Meeting her makes me want to read all the rest even more.
jose_kg's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I'm reading this as an adult after enjoying it a lot when I was somewhere between 10 and 13. I think it's a great book for that kind of age but as an adult it did feel very young. There were some nice themes of acceptance of your own flaws, realising that others don't necessarily see you the way you think they do and the importance of education.
Overall I think it's still a good book, but not one I'd particularly recommend re reading as an adult.
Overall I think it's still a good book, but not one I'd particularly recommend re reading as an adult.
gmc16's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kaykarlin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75