Shannon Hale

This rocked. The Hales (and Hale) have taken traditional fairy tales and set them into a gritty historical world that resembles the United States 1800s, you know if there were monsters and giants and magic.

This is the first book in the series, and while I read the 2nd first, I was fine reading them out of order. This one takes place in the Old West, one run by Mother Gothel who has a mafia-like hold on the land because of her ability to make things grow... or not. Rapunzel is her daughter, show more only she discovers she was kidnapped from her real parents, and she decides to rescue her mother from Gothel's slave mines and free the land from Gothel's rule. Enter Jack, of the beanstalk, and his goose Goldy. The two join Rapunzel on her quest.

Hale's version of Rapunzel is fantastic. She's smart, independent, loyal, has a strong moral streak, and uses her long hair like lassos. I think I liked this story better than Calamity Jack. I liked the setting better, and Rapunzel better than Jack.

I hope the Hales write more in this series soon. I want more! show less

It's been several years since I read the original Princess Academy novel, but I loved this adaptation, especially the way the quarry workers' songs are woven throughout.

Miri from Mount Eskel longs to work in the linder quarry alongside her Pa and older sister, but Pa won't let her, and Miri feels useless. When a royal delegate arrives, saying the prince will marry a Mount Eskel girl and all girls between 12-18 must come to a newly founded Academy, Miri goes - and discovers a thirst for show more learning and justice for her community. She uses her newfound skills of diplomacy and negotiation to stand up for the girls against their strict tutor, and makes friends and allies who join together when bandits attack the school.

A satisfying story of courage, strength, and kindness, with a tinge of magic.

Quotes

"I think it's the reading. I can learn things, and I feel capable of learning more. It makes tomorrows feel possible." (Miri to Britta, 92)

"It's not about him. Being a princess is about power. Think of all the things you could do..." (Katar, 133) show less

I've read other Shannon Hale books and my reactions have ranged from "pretty good" to "Nope, not going to finish this". So I went in cautiously and not at all sure I'd like it - but it was excellent. Surprisingly complex - I kept thinking I knew where it was going _now_, and it kept going off in a new direction. Maisie is a teenager, and she does lose her head over a boy...sort of. That usually annoys me, but Maisie handled it much the way I wish others would - this is wonderful but I have show more other concerns right now. And then it got complicated, and then much more complicated, and terrible...and better. The romance is an integral part of the story, not a side-plot or a distraction, but it's not the major or the only focus of the story (by a long shot). Funny the way the token-symbols flowed together - I wonder if the token-makers were protoplasmic and could meld? Lots of wondering left, at the end of the story. And all the strange tech more or less dealt with - not much changing in the world (rather to Howell and GT's dismay). Poor Dragon - wish we could have seen more of him. But I definitely want to read more of Maisie. And the handling of her disability, and other "differences", was beautiful - they were facets of her, but not the point. The fact that she had only one arm was important to the story at several points - but she was not "the girl with one arm", she was much more than that. I had seen some of Shannon's discussions of her "half-Latina, home-schooled, one-armed, female protagonist" and how Shannon had worried she'd be too far out for people to accept as the hero of the book - but that's not at all how she appeared in the book, she was Maisie (who had all those aspects, and a good many more). I'd forgotten about the discussions until I read the reviews here, actually. Excellent, and I'm looking forward to the next book. show less

I was so engrossed in this book I read it in an afternoon. If I were still a teenager, this would be the book I'd read over and over.

I hate this book.

SPOILER ALERT

Why? I mean, if it was so engrossing that I couldn't put it down, why do I hate it? Because Jane Hayes, the main character, is me except that she gets to live out my fantasy and gets the happy ending only found in Austen novels.

Jane is in her early 30s, in a job she likes but does not love, convinced she must embrace her show more spinsterhood. So far, so good. I relate completely. Her secret vice is Pride and Prejudice (more the BBC movie than the novel) and she is in love with Mr. Darcy. For me, it's more Rhett Butler, but the implication is there. A great-aunt spots this fantasy and bequeaths to Jane a three-week stay at Austenland, a resort in England where people live like characters in an Austen novel. I have always thought I was born in the wrong century; this vacation would be a dream for me. Jane gets to live out her fantasy and deal with her obsession of Mr. Darcy. I get to read about it.

Okay, differences: Jane is beautiful; she turns heads. At the beginning each chapter, a synopsis is given of each of Jane's ex-boyfriends. There are 13. Plus her "first love" (at age four) and three other "Guys". If I were the main character, there couldn't be so many chapters; only First Love, Boyfriend #6, Guy Between #6 and 7, #7, #10, and maybe Guy After #12 would work in my story (read the book: you'll get how sad that is). Jane makes out with the gardner, attracts the men at Pembroke...it's all very ideal.

Without the same finesse and fine writing of [a:Austen|1265|Jane Austen|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1176491679p2/1265.jpg], (this book really qualifies as chicklit, not fine literature) [a:Shannon Hale|49177|Shannon Hale|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1197182669p2/49177.jpg] does echo an Austen-like story. Underlying commentary on the absurdity of relationships and women's fantasy loves are clear. But the end is so inevitable and apparent you hope for a surprise twist. She gets her guy in the end, just like in Pride and Prejudice.

So why do I hate it? Jane Hayes goes to Austenland hoping to rid herself of the dream that one day she'll meet her Mr. Darcy and be swept off her feet. I really hoped this book would put to rest the romantic ideal I and many other women harbour. That finally there would be a book where the heroine found happiness without a man. Instead, this book perpetuates the dream. To a 'tee'.

And I have to return to the real world. show less