Princess Academy {book review}

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale image from bn.com

Miri is a young girl living in a village on Mount Eskel, an isolated village in a large kingdom. She longs to work in the quarry alongside her father and sister and the other villagers, but her father forbids her because she is too small. One day, a royal messenger comes to the village with news: The king's priests have divined that the prince's bride shall come from Mount Eskel. To prepare, all girls 12 to 18 years of age must report to the Princess Academy to learn to become fit for a prince.

I loved this book. LOVED it. I would definitely call it a favorite, alongside Ella Enchanted. Princess Academy is a perfect combination of everything I love in a book: a smart heroine who lives and breathes, a realistic setting, a few fantasy/magical elements, and a sweet young romance (because who isn't a hopeless romantic at heart?). I loved the characters and the story and everything about this book. I really cannot express to you how much I love this book! Definitely the best of Hale's that I have read. (See my reviews of the other two that I've read here on goodreads.)

Final word: A++. I will definitely read this again, add it to my shelves, read it to my children, and recommend it to everyone (at least the women) that I know. I was captivated by the characters and the story.

Want to see the other books I've been reading? Check them out here on goodreads. I read an average of 3 books per week (some weeks many, many more!) so I only post a few notable reviews here. :)