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foxglovefiction 's review for:
Palace of Stone
by Shannon Hale
Note: Do NOT read this review if you have not read Princess Academy!
Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting . . . until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she "should "help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city. (Yes, that is the Goodreads summary.) The novel picks up two years after Britta is chosen as the princess from Mount Eskel’s princess academy.
This sequel to Princess Academy is everything I wanted it to be, and more. I think that this is probably my favorite novel by Shannon Hale, and one of her best works yet. Every character that we met in the previous novel grows and changes in this book, mostly for the better. We were thoroughly enveloped in the culture of Mount Eskel in Princess Academy, and in this novel we got thrown into the turmoil that has taken over the capital of Danland, Asland.
The unsettled nature of Asland was strongly reminiscent the French Revolution era. (1789 -1799) There was direct reference to the guillotine and the queen of a nearby country (Rilamark) who was dragged from her palace and beheaded as her country cheered, like it was a show, similar to Marie Antoinette’s death, although that was claimed to be an assassination in this fictional world of Danland.
Once again, each chapter begins with a snippet of song, something that I always loved in Princess Academy. I’d actually LOVE to hear the actual songs. Any sign of a cd on its way? She added a letter at the end of each chapter, as well. It’s a great insight into exactly what Miri’s thinking, and how highly she thinks of her family, that she writes without fail, even knowing that she won’t be able to send the letters for almost a full season. It ends up being sort of like a diary, and helps to show the progression of time throughout the novel.
I loved seeing all of the changes, but particularly those in Miri. In Princess Academy, all that Miri wanted was to fit in – she wanted to work in the quarry, to earn her fathers love, and then to help the village, to show she was worthwhile. In Palace of Stone, she had many more burdens. She realized that she couldn’t trust everyone, even when she was only trying to help her friends, and those who were unable to speak for themselves at the court of a king who really wasn’t a great ruler, helped to be a tyrant by a sour-faced Lord Gummonth. I also love that she finally had the sense to ask Peder why he hadn’t asked her to marry him yet. I mean, I know it’s unconventional for a girl to ask, but go for it!
Queen Sabet impressed me. Lady Sisela described her as a “pretty, dull-witted doll”, and perhaps she was, but, like in the time of the French Revolution, noble women were trained to be like that. By the end of the novel, the queen stands up to her stupid husband, and it was fantastic. The council also impressed me with their decision at the end of the novel. The other minor character I enjoyed was Master Fiippus, who tried to make Miri think even though she only wanted advice. I am always a sucker for the master scholars - having all of that knowledge, and still wanting to teach others and help them learn. It’s just awesome. He was pretty cool.
I think the only thing that I didn’t like about this book was the cover art. I adore the painted style of the Princess Academy cover, but this one was just blah. It made it look like every other mass-marketed female-oriented YA book on the market. I generally pick books up with cool covers, or titles. If I hadn’t already loved Shannon Hale, this book would not have been one that I picked up because of the cover art.
Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting . . . until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she "should "help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city. (Yes, that is the Goodreads summary.) The novel picks up two years after Britta is chosen as the princess from Mount Eskel’s princess academy.
This sequel to Princess Academy is everything I wanted it to be, and more. I think that this is probably my favorite novel by Shannon Hale, and one of her best works yet. Every character that we met in the previous novel grows and changes in this book, mostly for the better. We were thoroughly enveloped in the culture of Mount Eskel in Princess Academy, and in this novel we got thrown into the turmoil that has taken over the capital of Danland, Asland.
The unsettled nature of Asland was strongly reminiscent the French Revolution era. (1789 -1799) There was direct reference to the guillotine and the queen of a nearby country (Rilamark) who was dragged from her palace and beheaded as her country cheered, like it was a show, similar to Marie Antoinette’s death, although that was claimed to be an assassination in this fictional world of Danland.
Once again, each chapter begins with a snippet of song, something that I always loved in Princess Academy. I’d actually LOVE to hear the actual songs. Any sign of a cd on its way? She added a letter at the end of each chapter, as well. It’s a great insight into exactly what Miri’s thinking, and how highly she thinks of her family, that she writes without fail, even knowing that she won’t be able to send the letters for almost a full season. It ends up being sort of like a diary, and helps to show the progression of time throughout the novel.
I loved seeing all of the changes, but particularly those in Miri. In Princess Academy, all that Miri wanted was to fit in – she wanted to work in the quarry, to earn her fathers love, and then to help the village, to show she was worthwhile. In Palace of Stone, she had many more burdens. She realized that she couldn’t trust everyone, even when she was only trying to help her friends, and those who were unable to speak for themselves at the court of a king who really wasn’t a great ruler, helped to be a tyrant by a sour-faced Lord Gummonth. I also love that she finally had the sense to ask Peder why he hadn’t asked her to marry him yet. I mean, I know it’s unconventional for a girl to ask, but go for it!
Queen Sabet impressed me. Lady Sisela described her as a “pretty, dull-witted doll”, and perhaps she was, but, like in the time of the French Revolution, noble women were trained to be like that. By the end of the novel, the queen stands up to her stupid husband, and it was fantastic. The council also impressed me with their decision at the end of the novel. The other minor character I enjoyed was Master Fiippus, who tried to make Miri think even though she only wanted advice. I am always a sucker for the master scholars - having all of that knowledge, and still wanting to teach others and help them learn. It’s just awesome. He was pretty cool.
I think the only thing that I didn’t like about this book was the cover art. I adore the painted style of the Princess Academy cover, but this one was just blah. It made it look like every other mass-marketed female-oriented YA book on the market. I generally pick books up with cool covers, or titles. If I hadn’t already loved Shannon Hale, this book would not have been one that I picked up because of the cover art.