I've come to be a fan of Shannon's work--I adore both The Goose Girl and Enna Burning. I know, I know, for a 29-year-old I spend too much time in the Teen aisle, but I feel strongly that some of the best new fiction out there is in the Teen/Pre-teen market; oftentimes books for juvenile and young readers will say hard things in a much more palatable way, and with far less ick, than a great deal of adult fiction. Shannon Hale's work is a marvelous example of this.

Princess Academy, much like Shannon's first two novels, draws the reader in right from the get-go. The world of Mount Eskel, from the intriguing "quarry-speech" of the quarry workers to the class struggles between mountain folk and lowlanders (city dwellers), is skillfully and completely rendered; I was carried there by a thoroughly engaging narrative, and I had no desire to leave. There are a number of satisfyingly dark and dangerous moments throughout--I don't want to spoil them for you--and the story is by no means predictable in its path.

The main character, Miri, is an incredibly strong and likable young woman, and her personal struggle of self-worth is one any reader can relate to; the human foibles displayed by Miri and her surrounding cast are very real and work in any setting. Particularly moving to me were Miri's questions concerning her relationship to her father: for reasons she does not know, her father will not allow her to work in the quarry with the rest of the village, and Miri constantly worries over his affection toward her, as well as her value to her family and the community. Over the course of the novel Miri learns from a variety of sources that love does not always express itself in ways one would expect, and that one must work and struggle to succeed. Egad, a story with both a lovely plot arc and a strong message? Heaven forbid!

I bought this book last week while in Provo to see my show at BYU; I cracked the book Monday morning in the SLC airport and didn't put it down except to board, reading all the way to Minneapolis (I was actually glad for the the 1 1/2 hours on the Salt Lake tarmac waiting for the plane to be de-iced), and then from Minneapolis to Moline, finishing somewhere over the Mississippi River, and feeling quite distressed that the story had come to a close. When I got home I immediately handed the book to my roommate knowing she would dig it.

I'm surprised this is only a Newbery Honor Book and not the Medal winner, though it shouldn't be long before Shannon walks away with much higher honors. And if you haven't read The Goose Girl... well, you should.

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Melissa Leilani Larson
March 24, 2006