Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Absorbing prequel from the evil queen's perspective.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 4 parent reviews
Based on 28 kid reviews
Kids say this book offers a dark portrayal of its villain, Levana, showcasing her traumatic past while incorporating mature themes such as manipulation and violence, including sexual implications and graphic content. Opinions are divided, as some readers applaud its depth in character exploration and writing style, while others criticize the overwhelming sexual themes and one-dimensional characterization, leading to mixed feelings about its suitability for younger audiences.
- dark themes
- complex character
- inappropriate content
- mixed reviews
- not for kids
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Princess Levana is furious with her sister, Queen Channery, when she makes Levana give a speech at their parents' funeral while she runs off to fool around with a palace guard. At 15, Levana tries to look tearful as her sister's new Lunar subjects line up to offer their condolences. But she doesn't care all that much that her distant parents were assassinated. She cares more about a guard named Evret, whom she has a crush on, introducing her to his very pregnant wife, Solstice. Jealousy begins to get the better of her to the point of obsession when she uses her skill in glamours to make her look exactly like Solstice. When Solstice dies in childbirth, Levana thinks it's fate. She'll make Evret care for her by looking like Solstice permanently. Of course he may need extra persuading -- the kind only mind control can provide. Evret must never see her as she is, disfigured in a fire long ago, especially since she will be queen one day. No one must ever see.
Is It Any Good?
Readers love to hate Queen Levana, especially by the end of the third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cress. We're rooting for her to get left at the altar almost as much as we're rooting for Cinder to kick her butt. FAIREST is a worthy prequel to a great series, and not only because it fills in a few holes after the first three books about what life on the moon is like, where Winter came from, and what happened to Princess Selene and her mother; it's because we get to see things from Levana's perspective, and it's positively haunting.
Fairest shows Levana slowly devolve from a lonely, neglected teen into an envious, spiteful, and murderous queen drunk on power. She's awful, but as readers see how she got to be that way there's no getting around having a glimmer of empathy for her. It's great added depth to the story and to the whole Lunar Chronicles series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about protagonists and antagonists. How many stories do you read from the antagonist's perspective? Is it jarring to see how Queen Levana thinks? What do you think her biggest weakness is?
Did you like having this background to The Lunar Chronicles? Why do you think author Marissa Meyer wrote this prequel book in the middle of writing the main series?
Would you want a "glamour" to make yourself as beautiful as possible? If so, would you wear it all the time as Levana does? Or do you agree with Evret that it's more important to show others who you really are?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic , Fairy Tales ) , Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Feiwel and Friends
- Publication date : January 27, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 17
- Number of pages : 272
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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