The Princess Academy

by Shannon Hale (read August 2006)
Another fabulous YA novel by the author who wrote Goose Girl. My teenage daughter read Goose Girl and encouraged me to. While I read that, she started on the sequel, Enna Burning. I tried to catch up so I could read that with her, but she finished it too fast. Then she started on Princess Academy. I abandoned Enna Burning and Gentlemen & Players which I was well into so I could read Princess Academy with K. We bought a copy and checked a second out from the library. It was fun reading it together.

The prince is going to choose a wife in a year and the priests have determined that the princess will come from the mountain. The mountain girls are not fit to be princesses so they have to go away from their families to the academy to learn.

Hale's books have obstacles that young girls have to learn to overcome. Usually the girls are dubious about their abilities, but they make the effort to conquer after careful consideration, education and positive action. I rate this book 4.75 out of 5.