BOOK NAME: Princess Academy
AUTHOR:
Shannon Hale

Have you ever felt like an outsider? Frantically trying to learn the rules just to fit in? Sounds a lot like middle school, doesn’t it? Well if you have ever had any of these feelings, then I think you’ll enjoy reading Princess Academy.

Mount Eskel is the home of Miri, the main character in this book. She is named after the beautiful hardy flowers that can actually survive on the mountain (much like Miri). The people on Mount Eskel work in a quarry which produces Linder that they sell to lowlanders, what they call the people who live in the village in the valley. Women, men, and children all work there, so Miri wonders why she can’t work there too. Since she is already fourteen, she should work in the quarry with the rest of her people. Yet her father forbids her to even enter it! Miri has to deal with this mystery and the other mystery of “quarry speech”.

On top of it all, we learn that the prince is now of marrying age and his religious court has determined that the future bride will be found in Mount Eskel. So, all of the girls that are old enough will have to go to an academy to learn how to be a proper princess. Miri can’t marry a prince! She would miss her mountain home too much and have to marry a stranger when she already has someone she loves. The girls soon learn that life at the academy is not fun but they stick together and fight back to finally show that Mount Eskel girls are just as smart as the girls from the lowland. This is a fun read about overcoming adversity and not worrying about what others think of you. If you’ve ever been made to feel inferior, then give this a read and you may just start cheering for yourself.