2.5 stars.

The writing itself is average, the characters adequately developed; the setting changes too rapidly to really evaluate. But I continuously felt like the plot progression was too neat and convenient, even when it didn’t go as the protagonists hoped — not just predictable, but overtly scripted. Avery in particular was frustratingly dense; I had figured out the “clues” a few chapters before she and her friends finally had the answer fall into their laps. And everything about the love triangle made me roll my eyes.

I fell in love with Princess Academy when I first read it in elementary school, so naturally I was excited but apprehensive to discover the sequel. Fortunately, it lives up to the original — expanding the world through Miri’s eyes, holding true to the same themes and introducing new, more complex ones at the same time. The character development is incredible, the cast still memorable and lovely, and while I probably won’t read this one over and over it was a satisfying follow-up.

Minor annoyances: the overt foreshadowing (“Miri saw this, but dismissed it, thinking it was nothing”) and the love triangle.

UPDATE: Less preachy than I remember; the writing is lovely if you can get past the many repetitions (both verbatim and modified) of certain passages/motifs (water & death, silence & secrets, etc). Foreshadowing totally lacked subtlety — either the narrative flow was cut off abruptly and the information omitted, or it was ominous and obvious what would happen next. (It isn’t because I’d already read the book; I didn’t recall any of the plot during this rereading.)

The writing style was kind of annoying, preachy and patronizing. Didn't really like any of the characters very much, and the ending was really ambiguous. The premise was interesting, though, and there were some nice quotes about writing.