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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5. I enjoyed this, and have been a fan of Gail Carson Levine for years (her book Ella Enchanted is the one I credit with my falling completely in love with reading). This is an interesting tale that combines the story of Rapunzel loosely with--I think--the biblical story of Moses. I think the only thing keeping this from a higher rating was that I wished the portrayal of oppressed populations responding to occupation had been a bit more nuanced. The phrase "begging your pardon" began to grate, and it was hard for me that it took someone who had been raised as a Lakti (the oppressors) to rally the oppressed into resistance. I know this is for children, but I think a more powerful story could have been told if there was already some kind of grassroots organizing happening within the Bamarre community. I have loved revisiting Levine as part of my new sleep hygiene protocol and am delighted to find she is still writing! It was also a lot of fun to find all of the references to The Two Princesses of Bamarre, another favorite by this author.
As with the first (according to the timeline, second) Bamarre book, this one deals with some very heavy subjects (in this case colonialism and cross-racial adoption (the kind that is intended to erase culture)), does it excellently, should be read by more people.
This one reminded me a lot of the Southlands books, though with a simpler and elegant flow.
This is the prequel to my favourite childhood book (which I just read and gave five stars). Although I had loved The Two Princesses, I had never heard of this one. When I picked it up and I started reading I certainly didn’t expect to read it all in one sitting! It was so, so good! It gives a lot more context to the other book and adds ✨political ✨ plot points. Although it’s not following the same characters, I loved the tenacity of this new batch of characters. And Drualt?!?!
Even as a 25 year old, Gail Carson Levine is one of my favorite authors. She writes a charming stories with charming characters and tons of magic.
Like most of Gail Carson Levine's books, I couldn't put this down! What a great prequel for fans familiar with The Two Princesses of Bamarre. In some ways I thought this was Levine's strongest story yet. The characters' relationships and development were conflicted and complex and I especially thought the path she took with Lord Tove's character was daring for a middle grade novel. I could have gone without the romance with Willem (it's starting to feel like all her stories have an obligatory romance)... but all in all, another solid book from one of my favorite fantasy authors for children.
Not as good as most Levine books, but did a great job setting up Two Princesses. Drualt was a character. <3 3.5 stars