Bloomsbury, 2009 (published in Britain in 2008)
Overall Grade: A-
Galen is a young, parentless soldier returning from a recently-ended war to work as a palace gardener, and Rose is the eldest of twelve motherless princesses under a curse. Coincidentally (or maybe not), after the two meet, their lives begin to be filled with excitement and danger; the sorcerer king who has cursed the princesses to dance with his half-human sons every third night grows more demanding, the princesses’ father grows more worried, and a witch-hunter with a lust for hangings grows more suspicious. Galen determines to save Rose and her sisters, though others have tried and died. But they weren’t Galen, and they didn’t have his help: a little magic, a lot of ingenuity, and a heart full of true love.
Jessica Day George’s Princess of the Midnight Ball is an exciting retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Perhaps because the original story already has so much depth and completeness, George’s plot is not as original or clever as some other recent masterful fairy tale retellings. However, it is a beautiful rendition of an already beautiful folk tale, and the characters are given personalities that make the story personal as well as intriguing.
Literary Quality: A-
Plot: B+
Voice: A-
Originality: B+
Descriptive Ability: A
Humor: n/a
Illustrations: n/a
Believability of Characters: A
Believability of Situations: A
Overall Reading Enjoyment: A
Possibly objectionable topics*: sorcery and curses
Overall Grade: A-
Galen is a young, parentless soldier returning from a recently-ended war to work as a palace gardener, and Rose is the eldest of twelve motherless princesses under a curse. Coincidentally (or maybe not), after the two meet, their lives begin to be filled with excitement and danger; the sorcerer king who has cursed the princesses to dance with his half-human sons every third night grows more demanding, the princesses’ father grows more worried, and a witch-hunter with a lust for hangings grows more suspicious. Galen determines to save Rose and her sisters, though others have tried and died. But they weren’t Galen, and they didn’t have his help: a little magic, a lot of ingenuity, and a heart full of true love.
Jessica Day George’s Princess of the Midnight Ball is an exciting retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Perhaps because the original story already has so much depth and completeness, George’s plot is not as original or clever as some other recent masterful fairy tale retellings. However, it is a beautiful rendition of an already beautiful folk tale, and the characters are given personalities that make the story personal as well as intriguing.
Literary Quality: A-
Plot: B+
Voice: A-
Originality: B+
Descriptive Ability: A
Humor: n/a
Illustrations: n/a
Believability of Characters: A
Believability of Situations: A
Overall Reading Enjoyment: A
Possibly objectionable topics*: sorcery and curses
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