Great verse book by Lisa Schroeder. If students like Sonya Sones and Kelly Bingham, this is the next book that they need to read. It’s a different twist on the whole mourning/ghost story-type book.
This is a fun read. At first it doesn’t really challenge you much, and that’s okay. It’s a simple story of a princess and her prince.
But where it switches it up is that the true protagonist is the princess’s maid. It’s a classic fairy tale (actually, Maid Maleen by Brothers Grimm) of a prince and princess separated by family and a giant tower. When Lady Saren refuses to marry the warlord Khasar, she is locked in the tower with her maid, Dashti.
Saren has seen some horrible secret of Khasar’s and requires Dashti to pretend to be her. This protects Saren from Khasar but also hides her from her betrothed.
Cases of mistaken identity and loyalty versus class differences provide fun, all told through a fairy tale tone. What really adds to the story are Dashti’s songs. It’s set in a fantasy world where songs have a little ability to heal, so Dashti knows different songs for different situations. The lyrics to these provide a fun flow to the narration. It’s also told in journal format, capitalizing on voices like Princess Mia.
But the part that really got me was that Khasar was no longer human.
(Yeah, you gotta read it.)
The author mentions heifer.org to help out real-life people just like the muckers.
If you haven’t heard from Ally Carter or Standhart yet, you need to read Sweethearts.
It’s funny (okay, so it’s a drama) that the book has some plot, but not in a giant way.
It’s life, and that’s alright. How do we define ourselves? Can we/do we change from junior high to high school and beyond? This is a great follow-up to Story of a Girl. The characters and setting are very believable and the serious issues are dealt with in a respectful, and intriguing, way that doesn’t downplay but also makes it accessible to junior high students.
A first-time novelist, Polly Shulman succeeds with Enthusiasm. Even if students don’t catch the Pride and Prejudice references, it’s still a fun book. “He said, she said, but does he really mean this?” situations make this a great romantic comedy.
Librarians - get both of these books. Students - read both of these books. Authors - make more of these books.
