The Goose Girl
by Shannon Hale
Books of Bayern, book one
On her way to marry a prince she has never met, Princess Anidori is betrayed by her guards and lady-in-waiting and must become a goose girl to survive until she can reveal her true identity and reclaim the crown that is rightfully hers.
*sigh* When I finished this beautifully written tale, all I could do was sigh...and then immediately plan when I could read book two, Enna Burning. Shannon Hale is a Master when it comes to fairytale based storytelling. Her books are phenomenal and The Goose Girl is the best I've read yet.
Hale took a little known Grimm tale and fleshed it out in a heartwarming and compelling way. Princess Anidori, Ani, who later becomes Isi, is a girl that immediately pulled on my heartstrings. She doesn't want the spotlight of being Crown Princess, yet when her birthright is denied her, she learns who she truly is, and finds that that is a much stronger person than she'd ever thought.
Her relationships with the people around her are real, fully imagined, and totally believable. The fact that others can see her goodness and true royalty when even she can't, brought tears to my eyes in a few places. The bad guys are truly bad and the good Prince is well worth loving.
*sigh* I LOVED IT. I can't say much more....
I should read this. I've read Princess Academy and Actor & the Housewife but no other Shannon Hale books.
ReplyDeleteI do love a good fairy tale retelling. I am definitely going to have to check this author out!
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