Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Princess of Glass

Princess of Glass
By Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury Books, 2010. 266 pgs. Young Adult

Princess Poppy (one of the twelve sisters from Princess of the Midnight Ball) is visiting family in Breton as part of the royal exchange program set up to foster good feelings among nations. Not exactly thrilled to be there, Poppy avoids dancing as much as she can and knits furiously to ward off disturbing dreams of King Under Stone and his princes. Her time in Breton improves when Prince Christian comes as part of the exchange and shows an obvious interest in her. But a mysterious young lady appears at a ball and enchants all the young men, including Christian. Poppy, able to see through the enchantment due to her knitting, realizes that someone wicked is behind it and sets out to help the young lady.

I really enjoyed Princess of the Midnight Ball, but did not like this one as much. This story is told from too many perspectives, throwing off the flow of the story. While princesses are always assured a victory, I was very confused how this victory happened. The climax and resolution were hazy and not explained very well. Read this for the lighthearted tone and romance.

MN

2 comments:

ALC said...

This is not the worst book you'll ever read, but I was disappointed considering the author's previous efforts. This novel continues the story arc from Princess of the Midnight Ball and includes some of the main characters, focusing on Poppy, the younger sister of Rose. Although Poppy is a feisty enough heroine the story suffers from too many plot lines and too many main characters. It tried to be too clever in plot, and suffered in character development. The ending felt rushed in nature. It wasn't as nuanced as George's previous writing. I wished for more.

curlyq said...

I actually preferred this book to Princess of the Midnight Ball; I found it freer in tone and style and not as stiff and stilted. I never felt a real connection to the princesses in the first book, but in Princess of Glass, the characters are fleshed out much better. I also really liked the new twist on the Cinderella story; I found it unique and quite captivating.