"Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale Bloomsbury: 2005
I bought this book in the train station in Busan, Korea. I was there trying to find anything I could in English. This book looked interesting and I read young adult fiction. I wanted to love this book, but I ended up not liking it at all. It was a best seller and had on it the seal of the Newberry Prize (honor). It had to be good but not only did I not like it as an adult but I doubt if I would have liked it as a youngster either.
It is the story of a 14 year old girl who lives on a mountain where everyone else works the quarry. There is a separation between those who live in the mountains and those who are in the valley. Then comes the improbable news that it has been foretold that someone from Mount Eskel, where she lives, will become the wife of the crown prince. All of the girls in the area who are of marriageable age must attend a special princess academy and compete to be the princess bride.
This whole story centers around girls trying to find husbands although some other things happen but the basic thrust is getting the prince. Secondary is the protagonist, Mira's, crush on a boy of her own village. This story seemed to be a Harlequin Romance story for girls. Boring, boring, boring. Fourteen years of age is way too young to think seriously of marriage and to have it in a book aimed at girls seems outrageous.
Someone else gets the prince and Mira finds herself the envy of the village when the boy of her dreams finds her attractive too. Sorry if this spoils it for you, but there are lots of wonderful young adult novels that do not encourage young ladies to just opt out for marriage. There has to be something else out there for women. I knew it when I was a young girl and I certainly know it as a senior citizen.
Someone must of loved this book. I would rather have my money back. Still, the book was written well and there is a group of people out there, I suppose, who love romances who might like this one. I love romances too, but again there is more to life than a marriage and children. I think I got bored just writing this.
