Last word first: (4/5) Adventure with a very atypical heroine. I loved it.Would Joe like this book? No.
Description: Benevolence is not your typical princess. She’s chubby, not waiflike. She has no interest in dancing, needlework, or good penmanship; never mind how to run a state. Fortunately, Ben is far enough down the line of succession that no one insists she learn these things. Then, when a tragic accident occurs, the grieving Ben is left in the clutches of her aunt, the Queen, and her days of ignorance are over. As war threatens the country, Ben will both learn her greatest lesson and face her biggest adventure.
My thoughts: It took me a few chapters to get into this book. I felt badly for Ben, but her whining got on my nerves. This is funny, really, because in her situation I would whine my lips off, but when it happens to someone in a book, I’m totally unsympathetic. “So your aunt is mean to you! So what?”
Once the book got going a little more, I absolutely loved it. Ben is an engaging heroine, with her abhorrence of ball gowns and love of mince pies. Even though you know she’s behaving badly, you can’t help but like her. Murdock has written Ben with the same frankness that I loved about DJ, the heroine of Dairy Queen and The Off Season. I’m a little sad, because I think I’ve got up on the author’s backlist now, so I’ll have to wait for new novels to find anything else by her.
The writing in this book is fast paced and fun. Ben, her aunt Sophia, annoying Prince Florian, and all the other characters leap off the page into full color life as you read. Princess Ben also manages to use more big words than I would expect to see in a book for this age group. Which I mean as a big plus!
I entertained myself trying to keep track of all the fairy tale references in this book. I know I found Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, but there were a few more I couldn’t quite place. This is the kind of princess story I want to save for my daughters. No lying around waiting for a magical kiss for this princess. Ben jumps out there, grabbing her own destiny by the horns. This is a marvellous coming of age tale that I think would be enjoyed by children and adults alike.
About Catherine Gilbert Murdock: My sister Liz, who is now a Very Famous Writer (she wrote Eat, Pray, Love), was my primary companion, even though she wouldn’t even try to jump off the garage roof; not once. Now she travels all over the world collecting stories and diseases, while I stay at home scowling over paint chips, and trying to keep my kids off our garage. So the cycle continues. - from the bio on her website.
Every fairy tale, it seems, concludes with the bland phrase "happily ever after." Yet every couple I have ever known would agree that nothing about marriage is forever happy. There are moments of bliss, to be sure, and lengthy spans of satisfied companionship. Yet these come at no small effort, and the girl who reads such fiction dreaming her troubles will end ere she departs the altar is well advised to seek at once a rational woman to set her straight.
9 comments:
It's funny I find myself very unsympathetic to characters I find whiny too. When the truth is I'd probably just as whiny if it were me. Wonder why that is.
What a great review! I love what you said about her taking her destiny by the horns.
Sounds good! Thanks for the review. :)
I adored this one - and thought it was rather different from her other books about T.J.
Um, that would be D.J. Argh.
This is on my list, but kind of low down...I might eventually get to it. I'm just not feeling compelled enough yet.
I've sort of generally had Ben on my wishlist - now I may actually make a concerted effort to obtain a copy!
I can relate to the whining! I feel the same way sometimes.
From the sound of it, Ben sounds like a fun character to follow. Is this a historical? I don't think I've read a book in this genre before, but I'm willing to give it a try. =)
Zia - Maybe there are enough people whining at us in real life. We don't need it from fictional characters, too!
Juju - Thanks! Ben was a fun character to read because she was so not a typical princess type.
Melissa - lol. The characters are very different from each other, but I like how they are both not typical girly girls.
Okie - Yeah, I know what you mean. This book doesn't have as much guy appeal as some.
Aerin - Yay! I hope you like it.
L.E. - It's not historical; it's set in a sort of generically medieval kingdom.
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