PRINCESS ACADEMY by: Shannon Hale

Bibliography
Hale, Shannon. 2005. PRINCESS ACADEMY. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 1582349932.

Plot Summary
Miri Larendaughter is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives high on Mount Eskel with her father Laren and eighteen-year-old sister Marda. Miri’s town is comprised of quarriers. Everyone in the town with the exception of the very young and very old work in the quarry where they mine a stone called linder. Miri’s people work hard but are considered ignorant by those from the lowlands (Danland). The traders are not fair with them and the people of Mount Eskel live a very impoverished life. One day a man comes with the traders telling them that the priests have named Mount Eskel as the next home of the wife of the young prince. All girls that are of age are taken from their families and forced to go to the Princess Academy to learn how to behave properly before the great ball where the prince will choose his princess. The girls are sad to leave home, and struggle with the unfair treatment from their “tutor” Olana. Miri discovers many talents while she is away from home and is eager to share them with her family and also to become the Academy Princess so she can move her family to a nice home. The girls become angry when they are not allowed to leave for the Spring Festival in their village, and they run away from the academy. While home, Miri tells the people of the actual value of linder and how to get more from the traders. The girls return to the Academy and use the things they have been taught to force the tutor to be nicer to them. The tutor agrees and lessons commence in preparation for the prince’s arrival. When the prince comes, he does not instantly choose a bride and the girls are expected to remain at the Princess Academy. Bandits show up later and kidnap the girls, but Miri contacts her best friend Peder using quarry-talk (one of her newly acquired talents) and the villagers come to save the girls. The prince later comes and chooses a girl named Britta to be his bride, but Miri is okay with the choice because she wants to remain on her mountain and use her talents to be a help to her village.

Critical Analysis
This text is considered a work of fantasy. At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the main character Miri. Miri is a girl that is small for her age and is not allowed to work in the quarry. Because she cannot work in the quarry like everyone else her age, she feels useless and feels left out of the community. Throughout the book we meet other characters that impact Miri in different ways and help lead her to understanding of her abilities and eventually, she learns that she can make a difference in her community without being a princess.

The plot of the story surrounds Miri in her transformation from mild-mannered and scared young girl to a confident leader and someone who has learned self-worth and how to believe in herself. Although at times, the text seemed a bit lengthy, I believe the author did this to reinforce Miri’s feelings so the reader had ample time to connect with the main character.

The setting of this story is in a fictional place called Mount Eskel. The author never actually gives a time period, but if we look to the text, it seems to be set in a time similar to our Medieval times. The titles of Lord and Lady, the use of an outhouse, cooking over a fire, and the use of fire for heat are all elements that lead me to think of this setting.

Finally, this book contains many themes (including but not limited to) good triumphing over evil (Miri beats the bandit, the girls triumphing over Tutor Olana, and the villagers overcoming the unfair traders), finding your purpose (Miri and Esa opening a school on Mount Eskel, Peder getting the chance to carve, and Britta becoming the princess), and finally that love is more important than power (Miri finds that out that everyone loves her and so she no longer needs to become princess to help her people).

Review Excerpts
Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “This is not a fluffy, predictable fairy tale . . . Instead, Hale weaves an intricate, multilayered story about families, relationships, education, and the place we call home."

BOOKLIST: “Strong suspense and plot drive the action as the girls outwit would-be kidnappers and explore the boundaries of leadership, competition, and friendship.”

starred review in KIRKUS REVIEWS: "An unalloyed joy."

Connections
*This book would be a good book to use with young girls that have low self-esteem or feel lonely.
*This book shows the importance of knowledge. Have the students discuss how knowledge changed not only the girls but the village. And then add a discussion of how knowledge changes us.
*We see prejudice presented by Tutor Olana, but at the end of the book Olana tells Miri that she had to use her tactics so that the girls would become angry and learn faster. Discuss whether this is a good action. Did Tutor Olana accomplish her goals? Could Tutor Olana have accomplished her goals another way?
*Many of the popular fantasy novels are filled with male protagonists, so this would be a good book to introduce females into fantasy novels that have female protagonists.