Monday, March 19, 2012

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock


I really liked this book. It's YA--that great genre full of some of the best books ever. I am a little leery of YA books with the word "Princess" in the title--it so often seems a bit of an overdone concept. But this one was adorable.

Princess Ben--short for Benevolence--loses both parents (and her uncle the king) in what is suspected to be an assassination by a neighboring kingdom. She is now the heir to the throne and in the care of her aunt--a childless, less-than-nurturing woman. Ben is bitterly unhappy.

One of the reasons I like this book so much is that Ben transforms herself. There is magic in this book--and it's magic that begins Ben's transformation. But it's plain old regular tough times that make Ben into the responsible, balanced, wise, kind and happy girl that she eventually finds in herself.

In this book we find misjudgements, prejudice, sorrow, weight problems, power struggles, dragons, royalty, balls, prison, flying brooms, secret passages, political machinations, spies... yup, it's got it all! I really liked the book and highly recommend it.

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