Hale, Shannon. Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury Press. 2005. ISBN-13: 978-1-60252-538-2
Plot Summary:
Atop Mt. Eskel, which is on the furthest outskirts of Danland, there live a people who quarry linder stone. Fourteen-year-old Miri is one of the few who are not made to work in the quarry, but her sister and father march off everyday leaving Miri feeling as if she has no purpose in her life or in the community. A messenger from the King shows up, which is a rare enough occurrence, and he brings news that the priests who decide such things have divined that the next princess would come from Mt. Eskel. All of the girls from 12 to 17 are made to leave the community and go to the princess academy to learn the art of being a princess so that the prince may choose his next bride from a pool of equally qualified girls. Miri joins the other girls from the village and they are marched 3 hours away from the village and released into the care of tutor Olana, a disciplinarian from the capital. The girls are made to learn a number of subjects and Miri begins to excel at reading and takes it upon herself to study more than the other girls. Miri discovers that the linder her community mines is more valuable than the traders have allowed them to believe. Miri starts to learn that the things that she and the other girls are learning in princess academy can translate into real improvements for conditions in their community. Miri also learns that the community has the power to speak to each other through a form of telepathy known as ‘quarryspeak’ and this is something the mountain folk can do which the lowlanders can not, which leads to all sorts of adventures in and out of school. The girls compete with one another to become the top student, and only one will win the heart of the prince. The others, although they will not be princesses, will have had their lot bettered by having gone to school; each has the possibility of finding happiness in their own lives.
Critical Evaluation:
The story was a good one with very little in the way of the controversial. There was a bit of violence, but it was not a very graphic. Perhaps the tale would be attractive to some readers around 15 or younger, but the story is well written enough to find a readership outside of the teen group. Some of the concepts such as those of community and friendship are appealing and important to teens. There are a number of other currents which flow in the story, such as the value of education and hard work. There is a noticeable theme of two different groups of people, the rural inhabitants of Mt. Eskel, and the sophisticated lowlanders, coming together and realizing that they are two parts of the same group even though their traditions may be different. All of these important themes are presented as part of an interesting story which is entertaining enough to captivate the reader. Overall the story was good clean fun and had a number of important and long-lasting concepts embedded in it. The work has received a number of awards including a Newbery honor in 2006.
Reader’s Annotation:
Miri and the other girls from Mt. Eskel are made to attend an academy so that one of them may be selected as the next princess. The girls learn about the value of education and community and how it may be even more valuable than becoming a princess.
Information about the author:
Shannon Hale was born Shannon Bryner in 1974 in Utah. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and went abroad on her mission. She lived in Paraguay for 18 months as a missionary and learning Spanish. She attended the University of Utah and graduated that school with a BA in English. She continued her education with an MFA from the University of Montana.
Initially, Hale met with little success as a writer, getting many rejection letters. Once she started getting work published, her writing career took off. The Goose Girl and Princess Academy are two of the best known of her published works, but she has had eight additional titles published. She is currently married and a full time mother of two children.
Genre:
Fantasy/Fairytale
Curriculum Ties:
N/A
Booktalking Ideas:
1. Talk about the us vs. them mentality of the mountain people, how is that like present day situations.
2. Focus on the theme that the girls might all find happiness because of the training they receive in princess academy, even though only one becomes the princess.
3. Discuss the way education changes the internal function of the community and the way it changes their external relations with outsiders.
Reading Level/Interest Age:
12+, but could be applicable for teens as old as 15.
Challenge Issues:
Some violence
Challenge Defense Ideas:
1. Read the book.
2. Be Familiar with the policy of the ALA and your institution.
3. Make a note of the contents of the work and how they fall in with the collection development policy of your institution and the standpoint of the ALA.
4. Gain an awareness of the awards, reviews, and criticisms of the work, as well as other works by the same writer.
5. Know the process for materials challenges at your library.
Why did you include this book? :
I wanted to add a few books that would appeal to the youngest of those teens ages 15-18, and wanted to include something that was not controversial.
Author’s Website:
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