Shannon Hale

I just read the most wonderful book. It was wholesome, fun, thought provoking, and not what you think of when you hear princess. It was "The Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale.

She is my new favorite author. I am currently reading another of her books "The Goose Girl" it is one of four in the Books of Bayern series. I am hooked. She is clean, modest, wholesome, everything I would want my daughter to be reading if she were older and could read.

"The Princess Academy" is about a low class town Mt. Eskel. the people are told the prince will find his wife there. They have to hold a princess academy for the girls to learn how to read, write, be poised, dance, etc. It is about a girls journey to find herself. As well as the background story of quarry speech. It is a mining town where they mine rock and Miri, the main character is forbidden to work in the mine. All the other girls work there so she really wants to. In the mine the have a quarry speech that is used. It is fascinating. The book has also received a Newbery Honor.

I highly recommend her books. I have only read the one, by the end of the day it will be two and I have 3 more I just checked out from the library. One is an Adult novel called "Austenland," one is a Graphic Novel called "Rapunzel's Revenge, written with her husband, and the last one is "Book of a Thousand Days." I also have the sequel to "The Goose Girl," "Enna Burning" on hold since they were all checked out. Yeah, I am obsessed.

Here is her official website. http://www.squeetus.com/stage/main.html

Here is the first chapter of "The Princess Academy." http://www.squeetus.com/stage/princess_chapter.html

And here is a link to her blog about when she received the Newbery Honor. It is pretty funny. http://www.squeetus.com/stage/princess_phonecall.html

Oh, by the way, my husband is a fan too.