Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Book Review: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale (Whitney Finalist)

Title: Palace of Stone (Princess Academy #2)
Author: Shannon Hale
Enjoyment Rating: ***
Whitney Finalist
This book would be rated: PG

I never read Shannon Hale's first Princess Academy book, so I was a little bit worried that I would find Palace of Stone a little bit difficult to follow. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Palace of Stone is a stand-alone book. It's true that many of the characters were also present in Princess Academy, but Hale knows how to make characters feel real and memorable even to new readers of the series.

In Palace of Stone, Miri and the girls have gathered in the lowland capital to help Britta prepare for her wedding to the prince. Peder follows along to apprentice as a stone mason, and when the group arrives, they find the city at the beginning of a revolution. Miri has to balance her desire for fairness with her loyalty to her friends. The book feels very much like a girl power book, and I think my 11yo daughter would enjoy both the story and the message.

1 comment:

Emily said...

I loved Princess Academy, thought that the Palace of Stone was good, but not nearly as good as Princess Academy. When you have time, it's worth going back to that one, imo.