It's June. It's summer. It's busy. I have chosen a somewhat simple book for this month's read, but I am excited for it none the less. It is called "Princess Academy" written by Shannon Hale. It is considered a "youth" book, but I think it sounds good anyway. It should be light, fluffy, and just the ticket for summer's crazy schedule. Besides, who hasn't dreamed of becoming a princess? (Some of us live that dream despite our friends and family's continued vociferous distress, but that's beside the point.) Plus, I had a friend who recomended Hale as a good author. She has some adult publications as well, but this title grabbed me the most. Enjoy!
High on the side of rocky Mount Eskel, far from the valleys where gardens are green and lush, where lowlanders make laws, Miri’s family has lived forever, pounding a living from the stone of the mountain itself. For as long as she can remember, Miri has dreamed of working alongside the other villagers in the quarries of her beloved mountainside. But Miri has never been allowed to work there, perhaps, she thinks, because she is so small. Then word comes from the valley that the king's priests have divined Mount Eskel to be the home of the prince’s bride-to-be—the next princess. The prince himself will travel to the village to choose her, but first all eligible girls must attend a makeshift mountain academy to prepare themselves for royal lowlander life. At the school, Miri soon finds herself confronted by bitter competition among the girls and her own conflicting desires to be chosen by the prince. Yet when danger comes to the academy and threatens all their lives, it is Miri, named for a tiny mountain flower, who must find a way to save her classmates—and the one chance to leave the mountain each of them is determined to secure as her own.
