Shannon Hale- Princess Academy

Hale, Shannon. 2005. PRINCESS ACADEMY. New York: Scholastic. ISBN: 139780439888110
Miri is a fourteen year old girl that spent her whole life on Mount Eskel living with her loving father and sister, Marda. Miri’s mother had died one week after giving birth to her and although Miri had no memory of her mother “she thought of that week when she held by her mother as the precious thing she owned.” Miri grew up wondering why her father would not let her work in quarry like the other children and her sister. She felt there must be something wrong with her. The quarry workers had a special talent called “quarry- speech” and Miri wanted so much to know how it worked. Miri and the other girls in the village were informed by a messenger of the king that Mount Eskel would be the “home of his future bride” of the prince. All the girls of the village between the ages of twelve and seventeen will be taken to the academy “for the purpose of preparing the potential young ladies” in the event they were chosen as the princess. It is at the academy that Miri finds her purpose in life. She finds through hard work she can learn and use “quarry- talk” to help the other girls. She finds strength in learning to read. She finds that being a princess is not her dream, but staying on the mountain and bringing her dream of opening an academy for anyone in her village who wants to learn. Miri is like the delicate mountain flower that she is named after –“a tiny pink flower that bloomed out of the cracks in the rocks.” Miri had so many doubts and obstacles to overcome to see herself as an asset to her family and village.
Shannon Hale does a wonderful job in describing the characters. She is able to express a mother’s love for their child when she describes how her “mother would not let go of her tiny baby.” The quarry-speech being like “singing “to a friend working near in the mines gives the reader an understanding of how Miri hears the talk. As Miri lay on the floor far away from the fire we are invited to share in “her dreams of becoming academy princess” and how they “wrapped around her and eased the chill.” All these ways that show the reader that Miri had a special quality about her that enabled her to rise above the cruel and harsh treatment that the “mountain” girls were receiving. Miri would sit and twirl the miri flower and think “What would she wish for?” “She looked to the east, where the yellow green slopes and flat places of Mount Eskel climbed into the gray blue peak. To the north a chain of mountains bounded away into forever- purple, blue, then gray.” It paints a beautiful peaceful picture. You can see why Miri has a hard time thinking about what to wish for. The linder is such a critical element in the setting of this story and yet you feel as the people must have felt it was just a part of their life and nothing more. The girls have the same group dynamics as girls still today. There is the jealousy, friendships, mean-spirited, and underlying admiration and a feeling of survival they all share.
Miri was able to truly find what made her happy and did not compromise her happiness just to be a “princess.” She put hurt feelings aside to help all the girls when needed and in the end by being true to her all the girls got what they wanted. THE PRINCESS ACADEMY is a fantasy story that has so much to teach the reader. It is almost like quarry- talk if you are willing to really listen.


Reviews & Awards
Booklist 06/01/05 Newbery Medal/Honor 01/23/06
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 09/01/05 Notable/Best Books (A.L.A.) 01/01/06
Horn Book 04/01/06 School Library Journal starred 10/01/05
Kirkus Review starred 07/15/05
Booklist (June 1, 2005 (Vol. 101, No. 19)- Strong suspense and plot drive the action as the girls outwit would-be kidnappers and explore the boundaries of leadership, competition, and friendship.
Horn Book (Spring 2006)-When the royal priests of Danland divine the prince's future bride will be from remote Mount Eskel, a princess academy is established to prepare the candidates. Miri, short in stature, soon proves herself to be a natural leader. Hale's writing is clear and her descriptions vivid. Her imaginary world, peopled by strong yet vulnerable characters, is quietly memorable.
Kirkus Review starred (July 15, 2005)- There are many pleasures to this satisfying tale: a precise lyricism to the language ("The world was as dark as eyes closed" or "Miri's laugh is a tune you love to whistle") and a rhythm to the story that takes its tropes from many places, but its heart from ours.
Publishers Weekly (August 8, 2005)-Readers enchanted by Hale's Goose Girl are in for an experience that's a bit more earthbound in this latest fantasy-cum-tribute to girl-power.

I really liked this book. The way Shannon Hale developed the character of Miri , from a tiny baby almost giving us the feeling of sickliness to a young woman who makes important changes to her village. She is an inspiration to a child who might be struggling with feeling like an outsider and not knowing where she fits in. The story has such a strong message of how a young girl can rise above the pettiness of others, the cruel and harsh behavior of adults and be the light that makes a difference. It is a fantasy that holds so many real emotions and examples of being strong and depending on you for inner strength. I like the message that education makes a difference and shows the importance of learning even when we do not see why or how it will help.
My connection for this book is once again having a recommendation for an older student that might open dialogue and start to make a difference through “talking about a book we read. The fourth grade through high school student can get something from this book. It would be interesting to have students find the events in Miri’s life that are like the events that can happen today.