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Princess Academy (by Shannon Hale)

common sense media says

Moving, girl-empowerment read gets Newbery honor.


parents & educators say
  • 56% say there are positive messages
  • 39% say there are positive role models

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that there's not much to worry about here -- one evil bandit falls off a cliff after making threats. All in all, there is lots of girl-empowerment and learning about looking past the masks people wear.

Positive messages: Girl power and lessons on looking past the exterior to see the person on the inside.
Positive role models: Miri is brave and learns to understand others.
Violence: Fighting between bandits and villagers, threats of murder, one death.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Princess Academy

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about all of the characters who turn out not to be the way they seem.
  • Why did each one act the way he or she did?
  • Why do people hide their feelings behind anger and meanness?
  • How does Miri learn to see past these personas? Also, why is Miri's home, which is a hard place, so important to her?
  • Why does the tutor treat the girls the way she does? And, perhaps most interesting of all, could we apply the rules of diplomacy that are taught to the girls in our own lives?

What's the story?

What's the story?
Miri lives with her father and older sister in their high mountain village, where they quarry linder, a marble-like stone used for palaces in the lowlands. Unlike the other girls in the village, Miri has never been allowed in the quarry. She believes it is because she is too small and weak, and that the rest of the village must resent and despise her. But all of the foundations of her life are shaken when it is announced that the prince will choose a wife from among the girls of her village, and that all of the girls between ages 12 and 18 must leave their homes to be trained for a year before meeting the prince. They must go to a "Princess Academy" to be established three hours down the mountain.

At the Academy, though their tutor is strict and rather mean, Miri discovers that she enjoys learning, which comes in handy when the other girls ostracize her for getting them all punished. But she also begins learning things her tutor never intended: how to see beyond people's facades to their true characters, how to enable her village to rise from poverty, and how to develop the mysterious "quarry-speak" into a means of wordless communication. What she can't figure out, though, is whether or not she hopes to be chosen as the next princess.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

This surprisingly moving novel conveys a depth of understanding of people, and their often confusing and misleading ways of behaving. It's a coming-of-age novel of the best sort. Although there are hints of fantasy in the vaguely telepathic "quarry-speak" that the mountain-dwelling villagers take for granted, Miri is as real as can be, a down-to-earth heroine who succeeds despite insecurity and misunderstanding, through guts and hard work.

The story is filled with moments of great satisfaction: The girls finally stand up to their tutor who, it turns out, was just hoping for them to do so; Miri convinces the village elders to use the principles of commerce and diplomacy she has learned to improve their lot; and every time Miri sees past someone's facade and into their hearts. It's a lovely story, full of gentle wisdom and the joy of family and community.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Publication date: January 29, 2006
Number of pages: 314
Hardcover price: $16.95
Paperback price: $7.95
Read Aloud: 9
Read Alone: 10

This review was written by Matt Berman
 
 

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What parents & educators say

9
Based on 18 parent & educator reviews:
  • 56% say there are positive messages
  • 39% say there are positive role models

Most useful reviews by all members

hermione-miri
parent of 6 , 11 , and 12 year old
 
Possitive Role Models
Great Possitive Role Model

newmillenium
teen, 18 years old
 
Perfect for young readers, enjoyable for older ones...
I loved this book when I was a tween and I still love it.

hahahahahahaha
parent of 9 year old
 
i absolutly hate it u suck:)

cheesecake125
parent of 13 and 14 year old
 
Great Book!
Shows Miri's strength throughout the story. Great detail, and when the kids get older they should read the Books of Bayern :)

Lights Camera ...
kid, 13 years old
 
I COULDN'T STOP READING IT!
Thsi book was REALLY GOOD! i HAD BOUGHT THE BOOK (301 PAGES) and i sat on the couch for about 5 hours. because I could not stop reading it! TRUE STORY The one death as posted above was to a bandit that held the main character and threatened to kill her, he fell off a cliff, (no blood at all)So as like most comments I would say everything about the book, that will be a spoiler. So I could say is GET THIS BOOK NOW!

Ms.Readalot
teen, 14 years old
 
My favorite
I love this book! It has all the best things a book could have: action. romance (not yucky stuff), and you can understand how the characters feel! This book is by far one of my faves!

SmartyPants23
teen, 14 years old
 
awesome for any age
This book was one of my favorites since I was 8 years old. Shannon Hale is THE best auther of my life.

inspiredby
parent of and 5 , 9 , 11 , 13 , 16 year old
 
Daughter & I both love this book.
Great book!

 
Love it
I love Shannon Hale and this book of hers is wonderful. Its a great fairytaleish story.

HelloKitty101
kid, 11 years old
 
Amazing
Great, excellent book... It's basically okay for any kid who can read it, I'm guessing about eight years old.

kld2003
adult
 
Even adults can enjoy this book.
I have read this book twice for two different book clubs and thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't worry about the "girl power" stuff just enjoyed a book where the main charachter has to figure out her role in life. Miri is a a typical teen young woman who has doubts in some areas and confidence in others. I loved that she came from a family that loved each other instead of the usual "family in crisis" stuff usually included in modern fiction.

Warriors_Fanatic
teen, 15 years old
 

We3ChinaC
parent of 8 and 8 year old
 
Not what I expected from the title (a good thing)
In an age where "princess" almost always equals a Disney-esque rendering of royalty, I was at first hesitant about selecting this book for my two girls but am SO glad we gave it a shot. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. It also provides a great contrast to the highly commercialized princess stories/fairy tales, which often incorporate a "love at first sight" aspect to the story line and can lead to good, age-appropriate discussions about the whole "knight in shining armor" myth. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering reading it!

LissaNicky
teen, 15 years old
 
Girl-Power!
This was a good book that girls who love a good girl-power story will love. This book has action, friendship, love, courage, girl-power and more.

littlebean10
kid, 11 years old
 
I really like this book!

american-angel12
kid, 11 years old
 
Best book ever
It was a really good book I would tell every girl to check it out!

 
The book is full of negative messages that are disguised as positive ones.
I know its a weird thing to say about a book, but its very true. This book is like a how-to for bad judgement. The hero, Mirri, just having learned to read that week, decides that she now has the keys to all problem solving. She doesn't question the idea that maybe just because she has read one book she doesn't have all the answers. The best example; She doesn't understand things like demand, and supply, but she learns that this weird rock that they get from the mountain is expensive. So she now "knows" that the traders are cheating her village, and can somehow stop them. Ok? How about the cost of hauling this rock through a mountain? She has no idea what that costs the traders. She has no idea if anyone out in the wider world even wants this rock at a given time. Maybe no one even is building a palace in the lowlands. So how exactly would she be able to force the traders to change their prices? She can't take the rocks to the cities herself. Maybe the traders simple can't afford to give a better price even if the price of the rock is theoretically high. UGH. There is nothing worse then an idiot with a teeny bit of knowledge. Thats Miri in a nutshell. Worse yet, she is exactly the same with rules. Miri thinks that she is the best qualified to know if a given rule is just or not. Im sorry? Maybe I think drugs should be legal. Does that mean I can act on it? You don't just break a rule because you don't like it. Only a sociopath does that. Maybe thats a very good point actually. Miri is as shallow and as egotistical a person as I could imagine. I doubt she will grow out of it. Do not give this book to a kid. They will not learn any good lessons, and plenty of bad ones.

queenamb99
teen, 16 years old
 
Nice book but, worried about the younger kids understanding!
From a teen/tween point of view this book is awesome. For a parent's point of view (I am not a parent) this book relly doesn't teach a lesson, but, it has a lesson in it. I don't think that it is for 9 year olds because at that age some girls might have a problem understanding the romance, trading, complicated words, and also the quarry speech. For a 14 year old some things took me a little while to put together but I got it. This book is a book that you would say uses "Girl power" as i would say!

CapeCodEmi
teen, 15 years old
 
Enjoyable for all ages
awesome book. great for elementary schoolers and adults have liked it too. Great role models

threelilac
teen, 16 years old
 
great book!
i only say eight and up because younger kids may have a hard time understanding it, not because of the content. If you have a six or seven year old who loves to read, this book is great! I remember picking this up in the book store and loving it after reading the first chapter!

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