Catherine Gilbert Murdock

After her parents' untimely deaths, Princess Benevolence of Montagne falls under the strict guidance of her aunt Queen Sophia. Under her tutelage, Ben knows none of the warmth and kindness she associates with home. Instead, all of her days are consumed with lessons in deportment and other 'princess' skills, as well as Sophia's attempts to slim Ben down to size. But soon Ben discovers the secret wizard's tower in the castle where she begins her study of magic. Sulky and rebellious, show more Benevolence sneaks food, learns of the possibility of an invasion by the neighboring kingdom of Drachensbett and of her possible arranged marriage to the heir of that kingdom - a marriage (and an invasion) she is determined to thwart as best she knows how to save herself and her beloved country.

Murdock really captures the old-fashioned language that situates this story firmly in fairy tale convention - as do the elements of the evil Queen, magic brooms, and enchanted sleeps. But in this fairy tale, nothing is as simple or straightforward as it seems. The author really delves into the motivations of each of the characters instead of leaving any of them as simple two-dimensional fairy-tale archetypes.
Ben's overeating is not magically erased, nor is this a 'makeover' type story. Instead, Murdock uses this as a device to explore Ben's emotions, grief, and psyche.

While the first parts of the novel can be a little trying as Ben gives way to adolescent sullenness and senseless rebellion rather than trying to do anything productive to better her lot, the latter parts once she is forced to rely on herself and the kingdom to rely on her are wonderfully done. The formerly immature princess learns to shoulder responsibility and do something productive - but none of it in a trite or unbelievable way. The only real iffy part of this was the completely unlikely romance - it simply wasn't given enough buildup for me to buy it given the circumstances and the rest of the writing.

All told, a lovely addition to my fairy tale shelf. Inspiring and fun, but not nearly as like The Enchanted Forest Chronicles opening as the back cover blurb would have you believe. More like Shannon Hale's Princess Academy. show less

I read this because I kept seeing it on lists like “Favorite Teen Read,” “Teen Recommended,” “ALA Best Books for Young Adults,” etc. And it also had many blurbs saying, in essence, “I loved this book.” And unsurprisingly, I loved it as well.

D.J. (for Darlene Joyce) Schwenk is 15 when the book begins, and she has taken over most of the chores at her family’s farm in Red Bend, Wisconsin, because her older brothers have left home, her mom is working two jobs, and her dad got show more injured. She has one other brother, but he’s 13, and in any event is in a summer softball league.

D.J.’s dad used to be a football coach for the rival team at Hawley High, where his best friend Jimmy Ott still does the coaching. Jimmy sends his quarterback, Brian Nelson, over to help out at the farm, but Brian thinks the work is too hard, and quits after one day. He only comes back when D.J. agrees to be his personal trainer to help him prepare for the upcoming football season.

The trouble starts, however, when D.J. decides she too wants to play football, for her home team of Red Bend, which is the main rival of Hawley. She doesn’t tell Brian though, because the Schwenk’s aren’t very good at communicating.

Sounds fairly standard, but the character of D.J. is outstanding. She considers herself “poor, stupid, and ugly and just not cool at all” but of course she is none of those things, except poor (but only in terms of money). She’s hilariously funny, smart, courageous, and full of insight about herself and others. As one example evincing all of the above, she talks about how she and her BFF Amber watch the movie “Blue Crush” over and over. She explains:

“It’s a movie about three girls who are a lot like us except they live in Hawaii and don’t have any parents and they date professional football players and surf all the time. And they’re thin. So you can see that the similarities are overwhelming.”

Evaluation: I laughed out loud often while reading this charming coming-of-age story. The author has written some follow-up books and I can’t wait to read them. show less

Boy has always been relegated to the outskirts of his small village. With a hump on his back, a mysterious past, and a tendency to talk to animals, he is often mocked by others in his town—until the arrival of a shadowy pilgrim named Secondus. Impressed with Boy’s climbing and jumping abilities, Secondus engages Boy as his servant, pulling him into an action-packed and suspenseful expedition across Europe to gather seven precious relics of Saint Peter.

Boy quickly realizes this journey is show more not an innocent one. They are stealing the relics and accumulating dangerous enemies in the process. But Boy is determined to see this pilgrimage through until the end—for what if St. Peter has the power to make him the same as the other boys? show less

Book Three of “The Dairy Queen” series picks up shortly after the end of the second book in this trilogy. D.J. (for Darlene Joyce) Schwenk, 16 now, is six feet tall, athletic, funny, and the charming narrator of this trilogy about her “coming of age” in Red Bend, Wisconsin. D.J. was playing football for her high school for a while, but had to give it up after an injury; now she is concentrating on becoming a better basketball player so she can get a scholarship to college. She also show more remains fixated on Brian Nelson, the quarterback of Red Bend’s main rival, Hawley, and someone who seemed to like her, but only when his friends couldn’t see he was with her instead of someone “cooler.” She decides she deserves better.

She starts going out with a boy she has always considered a friend, “Beaner” Halstaad, but she just doesn’t feel that “spark” she felt with Brian. And of course, that’s not her only problem. In order to excel at basketball, she has to exhibit leadership skills, which means speaking out and being assertive, something the shy D.J. has always avoided. In fact, the very idea frightens her enough that she wants to avoid the better teams of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), just so she can stay in the background.

D.J. has to figure out if she can overcome her fears to become all that she can be, and decide on the best way to deal with her conflicted feelings about the boys in her life. Those of us who have been following D.J.’s progress since Book One of this appealing series know she will figure out a way; the fun is going through the process with her.

Evaluation: Book Three of this charming coming-of-age series is mostly wrapping up the issues presented in the previous books. But overall, this series has a lot of positive aspects and is full of humor. The protagonist is comfortable with her “non-size zero” body and learns to capitalize on her other assets at well. I strongly recommend this series for girls who don’t fit into the usual mold of “the popular set” in high school. show less