Blog Tour: The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale

Rating: 5 stars

Pub Date: March 3, 2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: young adult fantasy

Format/Source: ARC, from the publisher

Status: Book 3 of the Princess Academy trilogy

Summary: After a year at the king’s palace, Miri has learned all about being a proper princess. But the tables turn when the student must become the teacher!

Instead of returning to her beloved Mount Eskel, Miri is ordered to journey to a distant swamp and start a princess academy for three sisters, cousins of the royal family. Unfortunately, Astrid, Felissa, and Sus are more interested in hunting and fishing than becoming princesses.

As Miri spends more time with the sisters, she realizes the king and queen’s interest in them hides a long-buried secret. She must rely on her own strength and intelligence to unravel the mystery, protect the girls, complete her assignment, and finally make her way home.

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Review:

If there's one overall word to describe the Princess Academy series, it would be delightful. Shannon has created this magical world (ironically without very much magic), and I wish I could live there. Even though the series doesn't shy away from danger and conflict—bandits, mean tutors, revolutions, possibly poisonous snakes, war—there's no end to its charm and grace and joy. I am absolutely honored to be part of The Forgotten Sisters blog tour and help celebrate TEN YEARS of Princess Academy goodness.

First of all, GIRL POWER. The ladies of Princess Academy don't put up with crap from anybody, and it's amazing. Miri has proven that since the first page of book one, and the royal cousins Astrid, Felissa, and Sus continue that spunky attitude in The Forgotten Sisters. Wrestling with caimons? Challenging muscular soldiers to one-on-one hand-to-hand combat? Stopping a robbery? NBD to this fearsome foursome! And it's really quite extraordinary because these girls use their bodies AND their brainss to get out of any dangerous situation. Although the sisters intitially struggle against Miri's tutelage, eventually she's able to impress upon them the importance of education, and the girls put their studies to good use at every plot turn.

I also love the growing romance between Miri and Peder. Lately, I've become really interested in new adult and exploring serious romances of, ahem, a particular nature, but Miri and Peder's relationship is so sweet and innocent and PURE that I could just die. Also, they kiss now, which is why I don't. It's been wonderful to watch these two childhood friends develop their relationship throughout the series, despite a number of obstacles such as distance, a potential love triangle, and, oh yeah, possible death. Several times. Like a lot. What warms my heart is how much trust they have in each other and how much they support one another. I love that Peder knows how strong and smart Miri is, and he not only loves her for it, but he defers to her in many situations. These two also provide a good amount of the humor in the book, especially at the end.

This series is so wonderful for so many reasons that I can't possibly get to them all, and I think The Forgotten Sisters is a fantastic final book for the trilogy. It maintains the same sweet and rustic feel that Princess Academy in particular had while the characters explore how to survive in a world that is suddenly much bigger than one mountain or one swamp. I love the theme of redemption in The Forgotten Sisters and how it applies to just about everyone from members of the royal family to bandits. This series is truly special, and I recommend that everyone give it a try!

Favorite quotes: 

"Are you so afraid of a baby girl?" Miri said, leaning toward him across the table. "How about me? Do I terrify you too? Watch out, I wear a dress and don't grow a beard and if you don't keep me in check, I'll steal all your power!" –ARC, page 233

"The point of education is to learn other ways too. Don't just assume that all you know is right. Learn more and then choose." –ARC, page 116

"Why do you care so much about teaching us to read anyway?"
"Three years ago I didn't know how," said Miri. "But once I did I learned things that made life on our mountain a lot better. Reading a book is like going on a great journey. You don't know what'll happen, but something is bound to change. And for me, that change has always been good." –ARC, page 92

If I were a princess:

Princess Mary has a good sound to it, don't you think? In addition to reviewing The Forgotten Sisters, I was invited to write up a post detailing what I would do if I were a princess so PREPARE FOR SOME CHANGE, WORLD.I really wasn't sure what I was going to say until after I finished The Forgotten Sisters. Miri embodies the importance of education and constantly challenges the notion that girls and women are beneath men in some way: less smart, less capable, less important. Reading about Miri's adventures with her friends made me look at the things I consider important and focused on those.

1. As someone who has struggled with body image for a long time, I would encourage and assist with body positive campaigns and programs. I think many campaigns focusing on health and fitness and improving your body have great intentions...but often these campaigns only increase dissatisfaction and hate toward one's body. It's important to be healthy, but you should also love your body. I want girls, boys, women, men, young, old, WHOEVER to feel like they're not forced to conform to any universal shape or size. There would probably be a anti-bullying movement as part of this campaign as well because body shaming of anyone is terrible.

2. Another serious bullet point. I would also work on mental health initiatives. It's time to end the stigma toward anyone struggling with their mental health. As a society, we're always going on about keeping your body healthy (see above), but for some reason, people get really judgmental when the subject of mental health arises. Your mind is JUST as important as your body because...it IS part of your body. Often times the decrease of one's mental health is caused by a physical imbalance somewhere in your body. Depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders....these are all real diseases that focus their attention on one's mind and are just as damaging as illnesses affecting only the body. It is far past time to get serious with research on mental disorders and get people the help they need.

3. I would be best friends with Kate Middleton, Taylor Swift, and Emma Watson. I mean obviously. Also Mindy Kaling and Betty White. Because if I'm going to be a princess, I need some powerhouse BFFs to help me get all this change done and be fabulous while doing it.

4. Speaking of Hollywood, I would use my influence to make a ton of YA adaptation movies and encourage the ones already in progress to go faster.

5. I would have a library like in Beauty and the Beast but with fewer books...for now. Because isn't that the dream?

The legend begins at Princess Academy

Pub Date: June 16, 2005

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: middle grade fantasy

Summary: 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.

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Pub Date: August 21, 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: middle grade/young adult fantasty

Summary: Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city is a thrill to Miri. She and her princess academy friends have been brought to Asland to help the future princess Britta prepare for her wedding.There, Miri also has a chance to attend school-at the Queen's Castle. But as Miri befriends students who seem sophisticated and exciting she also learns that they have some frightening plans. Torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city, Miri looks to find her own way in this new place. 

Picking up where Princess Academy left off, and celebrating the joys of friendship, romance and the fate of fairy tale kingdoms, this new book delivers the completely delightful new story that fans have been waiting for.

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About the Author:

Shannon Hale is the Newbery Honor–winning and New York Times bestselling author of the Princess Academy series; Book of a Thousand Days; The Books of Bayern; Dangerous; and the graphic novels Rapunzel’s Revenge and Calamity Jack. She also wrote three novels for adults, including Austenland, now a major motion picture starring Keri Russell. She and her husband, the author Dean Hale, have four children and live near Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit Shannon online at www.shannonhale.com and on Twitter at @HaleShannon.

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Giveaway: 

This is a US only giveaway for a Princess Academy trilogy set with the newest covers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour. 

Top Ten Tuesday #13: Required Reading

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books I Wish Were Taught in School

Honestly, I find this subject kind of difficult. You wouldn't think that since I have very definite opinions about literature and whatnot, but as an English major, I'm glad for 90% of the books that I read. Those books are classic for a reason. So this will be...interesting. Some of these books probably already are taught in schools, but...whatever. This is the list I wish I had been able to read in high school and/or books I think would be paired well together.

1. Speechless by Hannah Harrington & Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. On the one hand, you have the physical assault of a gay boy who was publicly outed at a party and the decision of the girl who did said outing to stop talking as she attempts to gain control over her words. On the other, you have the sexual assault of a girl at a party and her decision to stop talking as she tries to deal with it. Similar premises, but very different stories. The compare/contrast essay writes itself!

2. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. This book. Oh, my goodness, I could have had a field day writing papers about this book. From the study of product placement and just ALL the pop culture references in our daily lives to the pressures to be a cookie-cutter stereotype to raw portrayal of sexuality and identity (sometimes one with the other, sometimes without), Beauty Queens is just a really good book. It's fun and funny, but it's also deep. It's a huge satire of our culture, and I love it.

3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Spare me your groaning. I feel like Twilight has several uses in a classroom. 1. How a book can become astronomically popular. Have the students discuss what it is about a book that can draw millions of readers in in such a big way. 2. How a book can be so polarizing. There is no middle ground with Twilight. You are not allowed to be Team Edward and Team Jacob. This question was asked more than "boxers or briefs" in every single interview for about three years. You are not allowed to sorta like the books. You truly either love them or hate them. Have the students discuss the elements of the book that create such momentous division. Etc etc.

4. Matched by Ally Condie & The Giver by Lois Lowry. Dystopian was the big thing after vampires, but it's been done before. Out of all the new wave of those novels this century, the one that best matches with the tried-and-true Giver is Condie's Matched, with its government control of jobs, partners, children, recreation, etc. Again, the compare/contrast would be too easy. There are a lot of elements of this book that would lead to great learning.

5. The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. This one is a must-read for girls. It's absurdly empowering, and it's all about educating yourself for the sake of education and improving your life. Yes yes YES! Boys may feel like this is just a "girly" book, but it's important for boys to understand that it's okay for girls to be smart.

6. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I don't want this list to be full of books that preach and do the whole afternoon special thing, but kids truly need to be aware of consequences of certain actions. Thirteen Reasons Why gives a good lesson without being preachy and without being actually real. I mean, we've all seen the headlines. Those are horrifically real. Thirteen Reasons Why, while believable and amazing, is only fiction, but it's one of those that can hit too close to home.

7. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. This book is just a lot of fun. I think it would be a good read for a creative writing class because it's just different. Tell the students it's okay to mess with historical events some. Books don't have to be 100% words, either. Drawings can enhance the experience. It's okay to combine different genres to make your own story come to life. But it's also important to know the craft before you do that. You have to know the correct history in order to alter it. Like that line about knowing the rules so you can break them, not breaking before you know.

8. Just One Day by Gayle Forman. This book is one every high school senior and college freshman should read. It's a book that dares to finally show the ugly parts of that weird transitional year in your life.

And...that's kind of all I can think of. I mean, there are others, but they all fall under topics I've already said and would be fairly redundant. What books would you have wanted to read in school? Have a Top Ten? Share in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday #10: Boarding School Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Books Set in Boarding School

Okay, so boarding school wasn't the theme exactly, but it was pick your favorite setting and books within that setting. I'm a public school kid myself so I find anything different from my high school experience absolutely fascinating. I ADORE boarding school books!

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. As if any other book could possibly be in the #1 spot on this list. Admit it: you, like me, are still waiting for either an owl or Hagrid himself to show up on your doorstep with your Hogwarts acceptance letter. It may be fictional (may. I'm kinda past the age for Howarts so I could possibly be a Muggle and therefore not allowed to see/know of the castle), but Rowling's words brought Hogwarts and its odd inhabitants to life with moving staircases, talking paintings, and disappearing rooms. This is pretty mucht the best ever, and I want to go. Not to Orlando, but to Real Hogwarts. Somebody make that happen, STAT!

2. Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter. If I can't actually be a witch, I think spy girl is a close second. Sure there are cute boys, but GG focuses on the bond between sisters, both by blood and by skill. The creative little nuances and details Ally has slipped into the series makes me think that these could be real spy skills/maneuvers. I want to go to Countries of the World and Cove Ops too!

 3. Vampire Academy/Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. VA is centered on a vamp school, and Bloodlines focuses on a school for humans so it's like Richelle has given us the best of both worlds!

 4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Man, why couldn't my parents have shipped me off to Paris so I could fall in love with a British-French-American boy?! You officially failed me, parental units! No witchcraft @ Hogwarts. No spy school @ the Gallagher Academy. No vampires @ St. Vladimir's. And now no Ettienne! Anna may not be chock full of supernatural or sci-fi creativity, but it IS brimming with contemporary realness. Can't wait for Isla!

 5. Winger by Andrew Smith. If you were totally oblivious to the other 5 posts (this year) singing Winger's praises, let me make it more plain. Winger is fantastic. I love getting the boarding school perspective from a boy this time. It's just not done very often, and Andrew Smith compltely nailed everything. Not just the boy perspective, but the whole high school scene is completely real, occasionally sad but often hilarious as well. Go read it now! I insist!

 6. Two of a Kind series featuring Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen. This series started out as a tv show with the girls, their single dad, and their super-hip nanny. Hijinks ensue. The books start off that way--but then their dad and said super-hip nanny jet off on a research trip to the Amazon or something. MK & A are shipped off to an all-girls boarding school where romantic hijinks ensue with boys from the neighboring all-boys school. These stories are short and sweet, but I think they're pretty real. Mostly. So I'm a child of the 90s. I love everything the Olsens did. Don't judge me. You secretly do too.

 7. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. PA is different from everything else on this list in that it wasn't overtly a romance. GG and ToAK both feature all-girls schools as well, but romance was a fairly big part of the books, while it plays a much smaller role in PA. It's about the true education and empowerment of girls. It's about not letting someone shame you for who you are and where you come from. It's about embracing yourself and your culture. If any of the Spice Girls ever read this, I'm sure the first thing they'd say would be: "Girl power!" Well, they say that anyway, but you know what I mean.

 8. Evernight series by Claudia Gray. Evernight is my favorite out of the bunch. I like another vamp-friendly school, but honestly it's totally different from VA. Major twist in this one!

 9. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is almost a horror story, but I love it. Sara Crewe is the poster girl for Making It Work. Tim Gunn would be proud. She's just a really positive character, and she helps her friends and even her "enemies" become aware of who they are. This book has a great message, and I'm glad it was one I read very early in my life.

 10. House of Night series by P.C. & Kristin Cast. I admit I haven't continued with this series. I just got tired of waiting for it after Burned. I'll probably finish it one day, but not until all the books were out. However, the first four novels are pretty good. Once again, vamp boarding school, but in the HoN universe, the rest of the world is aware of vampires and is NOT very friendly to them. For any adult readers, I find this most like True Blood because of the anti-vampire sentiment and sheer amount of drama.




Do you have any favorite novels set at a boarding school? Let me know in the comments! Have a TTT post? Feel free to share your link!