A review by kcrosswriting
The Escape of Princess Madeline by Kirstin Pulioff

4.0

I, like anyone else, love a good fairytale kind of story. And this cover? So great!

Pulioff writes well for a younger audience, so I am basing my 3.5 stars more from that point of view. The storyline was sweet, a bit predictable, but I think that will make it more likable by a middle school crowd as it's 'familiar.' The romance between Daniel and Madeline didn't have me totally convinced, but I did like Madeline, and I think younger readers would like the lovestruck aspect of it. Pulioff wraps things together at the end well, and throughout the book Madeline has a goal that she sticks too- which is easier said than done when it comes to writing. She had to struggle with the consequences of her own decisions, and I think that's important in any book, but especially books for younger readers.

What pulled the rating down for me was the King. I felt like he was unpredictable and erratic, so I didn't really believe him as a character. One minute he's a loving, doting father, and then he forces her to dance with all these men with an evil gleam in his eye. Then, when she's lost, he's distraught and devastated. He never really came together for me and I found his inconsistencies distracting. The other reason I pulled the rating down a bit was because a lot of things came easy to Madeline. She escaped the ball pretty fast. She ran away without too much of a problem. It wasn't as believable either, but the story still moved forward well, so this wasn't as difficult for me.

All in all, I plan on reading the next book in the series and would recommend this for anyone in the middle school grades.