The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Two princesses, polar opposites, remain trapped inside their palace by an overprotective father. Shy and reserved Princess Addie hides from the dragons and monsters plaguing the countryside while bold and daring Princess Meryl dreams of dramatic adventures saving her beloved kingdom. Fearful Addie never imagined that Meryl’s greatest adventure would be fighting the violent illness that claimed their mother.

            Now Addie must find her courage on a valiant journey to cure her sister. The dragons, spectators, and gryphons, once safely locked inside her storybooks, come to live in the most vivid way imaginable. Gail Carson Levine painted a beautiful world where fear and courage are tested by one remarkable heroine.

            Gail Carson Levine has done it again. She never fails to astonish me. A few friends recommended this book to me, and I devoured it, scanning each page as quickly as possible. Addie amazed me, as did her journey for a beloved sister. The action, adventure, and romance Levine always delivers come to live as one fearful girl embarks on a quest against the greatest monster we are all acquainted with—fear.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

            The lass is hated from her birth. Born to a mother sick of daughters, the baby is shoved aside namelessly. The lass grows up neglected by a family desperate for the wealthy lifestyle they sent their eldest son to live. But when he returns, penniless and haunted, the ancient legends told to frighten children become more alive than ever.

            But when a visit from a polar bear transforms her life, an ordinary girl must try and uncover her brother’s secrets while attempting to set her beast free. Thrown into a world of mystery and wonder, the lass struggles to comprehend the endless labyrinth of a solitary beast, a mystical blessing, and an icy palace forged from mistakes. Jessica Day George weaves a fascinating tale of going east of the moon and west of the sun for true love.

I just finished this book a few moments ago, but I had to sit down and absorb my shock for a moment. I expected a ho-hum, mundane, run-of-the-mill fairy tale novel. Instead I was served a hefty platter of adventure, romance, and mystery. As usual, Jessica Day George adds life and adventure to an old fairy tale bare of personality.

The lass is nothing more than a woodcutter’s daughter, content with her lifestyle unlike her luxury-craving mother. But when a terrifying beast comes knocking on her door (literally) and takes her to his ice palace in exchange for a royal lifestyle for the lass’s family, the nameless daughter’s life becomes much more than average. She must learn to live far away from the only home she’s ever known. In a very Beauty-and-the-Beast-type manner she must learn to love an unlovable, enchanted creature.

This book made me realize why I love reading so much. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, constantly devouring every word to try and solve the mystery along with the lass. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow bestows a nod upon fairy tales of the past and welcomes the adventure modern readers crave.

Nobody's Princess

      

            While the other ladies of Sparta are home sewing and waiting for their husbands to return from adventures, Helen takes her life into her own hands. The princess—disguised as a boy—escapes the palace walls to demand lessons from her older brothers’ trainer, Glanus. Her impulsiveness and bravery earn her a spot on the training field, much to her brothers’ dismay. But when turmoil strikes, Helen will need to don her sword, skill, and cunning to prove that she’s more than just a “pretty face.”

Before cracking open the cover of this book, I would prescribe putting on your coat (unless you live south of the Equator), purchasing a dictionary, and locating the word “ditz” to describe Helen of Troy. But Esther Friesner has changed my outlook on the Spartan princess. Besides her famed beauty, what does anyone know about her? How did she feel about Paris? What were her thoughts, feelings, and emotions? How did she spend her childhood? While Homer added adventure, romance, and drama to The Iliad, he forgot personality. Esther Friesner turns “the face the launched a thousand ships” into an extraordinary teen in her novel Nobody’s Princess, the story of Helen of Troy’s bravery, stubbornness, and beauty.

            In Nobody’s Princess, Friesner weaves the tale of a young princess desperate for an adventure of her own. Armed with striking good looks Aphrodite is proud of and sword skills every man in Sparta envy, Helen seizes her future without the assistance of others. This book is a window in the Bronze Age, a time of extraordinary and unlikely heroes like our very own Helen.