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Friday, August 26, 2011

A True Princess by Diane Zahler

A student said this is her favorite book and I "had to read it."

Lilia is an orphan taken in by a family with two children close to her in age, Kai and Karina. Their mother has died and the stepmother does not like her adopted children. Pregnant with her first child she wants to sell Lilia to the Miller's household to be a servant. The Miller is mean and Lilia decides to runaway and find her family. She knows her family is from the North and she has a blanket that she was found wrapped in as a baby that she hopes will lead her to relatives. She hides in a cave where she is discovered by Kai and Karina who decide to runaway as well. Lilia is happy the two want to join her on her quest to the Northern Kingdoms.

While the three travel through Bitra Forest, Kai falls under a spell from the Elf-King's daughter. In order to free him, Lilia and Karina have to find a clasp lost by Odin. The two go to the Palace of Dakir and have 2 weeks to find it or Kai will be forever under the Elf-King daughters spell.

The plot mixes several different fairy tales and is predictable in some ways and has some nice twists in others; such as with Odin and the Elf-King. The pacing is nice and the characters are decent, kind people.  There is some romance but it is innocent. The characters are not as complex as Shannon Hale's or as funny as Gail Levine's, but Lilia is a strong female character. The Nisse is an interesting character. There is some kissing and a happy ending.

A fun, enjoyable read.

Reading Level: 4.2

:-) :-) :-) 3 out of 5 Smileys

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