The Princess and the Hound (2007)

This is VERY similar to Robin McKinley. She's created an "original fairy tale" - and her strong suit here is the characters. ( )

http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/08/persy-princess-and-hound-by-mette-ivie....
Not good for a number of reasons. When neither the characters nor the ending is good, nothing can save the book. ( )

Prince George has a secret. He's fought to keep it hidden ever since his mother died when he was eight years old. But now it is getting harder and harder to maintain the private knowledge that frightens all the people in his kingdom of Kendel and forces him farther and farther away from his father and those that could care for him.

The prologue of this books tells the tale of King Richon who is transformed into a bear because of his mistreatment of animals and he will remain a bear, according to the legend, until he can be loved as he is - a Beauty and the Beast tale. But as the book starts, Prince George is a person who has inherited animal magic from his mother - the ability to talk to all animals in their own language (Dr. Doolittle eat your heart out). The ability to communicate with the animals has become a fearsome power and just the idea that a person has this magic could get them burned at the stake.

Now that George is betrothed to Princess Beatrice of Sarrey, he must travel to her father's kingdom to make the final negotiations for the arranged marriage. When he finds Princess Beatrice with her hound (they are inseparable), George realizes that if he is to have a true marriage, he must reveal himself to her and find out Beatrice's secret as well.

This story, beautifully told from the viewpoint of the Prince for a change, is of self-acceptance and tolerance of others. What a beautiful way to teach our young adults that differences amongst us is not something to be afraid of but to be treasured. Definitely a book for all ages. ( )

Disappointing ( )

Harrison is a new discovery for me--I only found her as I was looking for more Shannon Hale on the library shelves at the high school where I teach. I am a sucker for a retold fairy tale!

That said, the connection to "Beauty and the Beast" is very faint, and can, in fact, be ignored.

I loved that the story was told, for once, from the prince's point of view, and we got to see his struggles. The limited omniscient point of view was a definite key in maintaining the suspense of the character development. George is definitely a sympathetic character, and his conflicts are human and believable.

A reviewer below, who only gave the book one star, seems to have misread the budding relationship between George and Beatrice. I don't think she was harsh to him as he "bent over backward to please her." The revelation of why her character is what it is more than makes up for any difficulties between the two.

I am partway into the next book, "The Princess and the Bear," and was glad to see George and "Beatrice" again, though their struggles are not over.

Harrison's narrative moves along at a nice clip; I read this book in only a couple of days, wedged in around other responsibilities and capped off by one late night--precious time when I have to be in my classroom before 7:30 in the mornings! I have already recommended this book to my grown-up daughter and another friend, and will recommend it to students as well. With a Lexile level of 730, even some of my less-adept readers should enjoy it, and it makes a nice change from vampires! ( )