Princess Academy :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

great read

2008-09-30
this was a great read. it has a great message of learning, loving and being happy where you are. it was an easy read, as well.

Momma of 4

2008-09-15
I think my children will enjoy this book when they get a bit older, maybe 4th or 5th grade. I actally wanted to read it for myself because Stephenie Meyer thanked Shannon Hale as a mentor in her last book, so I was interested in reading something by her. This is the only book I've read by Shannon Hale, and I found her writing style very inventive and interesting, but not quite what I expected. I thought it would be more like "Ella Enchanted" or "The Ordinary Princess," and the style is quite different from those. It was not a favorite, but I did like Shannon Hale's characters and positive feel of the book. I thought it involved issues and circumstances that would interest children of school age.

Who will the Prince choose?

2008-08-31
Miri is a girl who lives on Mount Eskel, which is a territory (not a province) of Danland. The villagers of the mountain don't particularly like lowlanders, which encompasses all people who don't live on Eskel. The lowlanders reciprocate. So it's a surprise to all when Danland's priests draw lots to find out what city the future princess will come from and Mount Eskel is chosen. Miri's not sure that she wants to be a princess, because she'd have to leave her home and live with a bunch of snobby lowlanders (and what if the prince is snobby?). But the choice is taken out of her hands...

I'm not going to spoil the ending, but I will say that it's one of the most surprising, wonderful endings that I've read so far. Buy Princess Academy and see for yourself. And after that, check out
Book of A Thousand Days.

I Love it!

2008-08-24
I love this book. Read it twice, finally own it. It is a YA book that actually teaches values. You can't go wrong with it or any other Shannon Hale book!

This book was another of Shannon's great work.

2008-07-01
This was a great book by Shannon Hale. Her books keep you interested from beginning to end. Great Price too.

Hard Realities in a Soft Fantasy

2008-06-17

Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the girls of the village. The king's ministers set up an academy on the mountain, and every teenage girl must attend and learn how to become a princess.Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen and win the heart of her childhood best friend. But when bandits seek out the academy to kidnap the future princess, Miri must rally the girls together and use a power unique to the mountain dwellers to save herself and her classmates.

Enchanting

2008-06-08
This was the first book I ever read from Shannon Hale, I really got hooked with her books after reading this one. SHe seems to make things almost believable. THis book shows her talent.

The remarkable Shannon Hale

2008-05-30
After reading the Goose Girl series, and Book of a Thousand Days, I was dismayed to discover that I'd never heard of Princess Academy. I immediately went out and grabbed a copy.

As usual, Ms. Hale's lyrical prose, strong character development, an exceptional story telling has once again left me wanting more.

I won't take time re-telling the story (many other posts here do a great job), but I do encourage anyone (regardless of age!!!) to pick up a Shannon Hale book. They are all wonderful!

Amazing coming-of-age tale!

2008-04-21
Are you looking for adventure? Relaxation? Maybe a little bit of tension? Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale, is the right book for you. This book is filled with excitement, adventure, and so much more.
The story starts in a quarry on Mount Eskel, but most of the story takes place at the academy on Mount Eskel. The setting is quite believable. I always envision the academy as a large, square, one-story building. Not much grows on Mount Eskel but the miri flower.
The book is about a girl named Miri who has to go to an academy with all of the girls from Mount Eskel who are the right age to become princess of Danland and its kingdom. Tutor Olana is terribly strict. She has understandable rules, but what I don't like is that she is very much a linguistic precisionist about the rules and her punishments are unbearable for the girls: terrible and senseless. will Miri and the other girls find a way to make time at the academy easier and get more visits home for themselves? Or will they get trapped into more hand lashings, visits to the closet, and other punishments of Olana's invention? To find out, read Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale.

WOW

2008-04-17
I read this book outloud to my 11 year old son, 9 and 2 year old daugthers and they all loved it. Ok, it took my son a few chapters to get past the title and reading a "girl" book but it didn't take long for him to be hooked and begging for just one more chapter! It really is a must read. I recommend reading it to your children if they'll let you!