- Princess Academy
Infobox Book |
name = Princess Academy
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption =
author =Shannon Hale
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country =United States
language = English
series =
genre =Fantasy novel
publisher =Bloomsbury Press
pub_date = June 16, 2005
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (hardback andpaperback )
pages = 314
isbn = ISBN 1582349932
oclc = 57366112"Princess Academy" is a fantasy novel by
Shannon Hale . The book was named a 2006Newbery Honor winner.Plot
Miri is a fourteen-year-old from Mt. Eskel who has never been allowed to work with the rest of the villagers (young and old, men and women) in the quarry that keeps the community alive. Because of this, she feels like an outcast in the community and feels cut off from the culture that is largely formed by their working life in the quarry. Despite this, she is very close to her father and her sister. She is also best friends with a boy in the village, Peder.
One day, a messenger from the king arrives along with the traders from the lowlands. The messenger announces that the nation's priests have informed the nation that the next princess will come from Mt. Eskell, despite the lack of education provided the villagers and despite the prejudice that exists between the mountain villagers and the lowlanders. To this end, a princess academy is going to be set up near the village to train the young girls the ways of the lowland noblemen and noblewomen. At the end of the year, the prince will visit the academy and choose the girl to be the next princess. Miri, of course, attends the academy, and though the academy is difficult because of the strict teacher Ms. Olana, Miri excels at learning and commerce, her knowledge even helping the village to prosper in trading with the lowlanders. The situation also causes developments in her relationships with the other village girls, particularly Britt who is an outsider also. She must also learn a new appreciation of her culture in order to succeed. opiuEventually, bandits appear and as the prince arrives, forcing Miri to contemplate the complex feelings she has about her culture and about Peder.
Awards and nominations
* 2005 Honorable Mention for "Favorite Novel of the Year", "Publishers Weekly"'s Cuffie Awards
* 2006Newbery Honor Book
* 2006 Utah Children's Book Award
* 2007 Beehive Award winner
* An ALA Notable Children's Book
* A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
* A Book for the Teen Age by The New York Public Library
* A Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year, starred entry
* Nominated for the 2008 Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award
* Nominated for the 2008 Colorado Children's Book Award
* Nominated for the 2008 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award
* Nominated for the 2008 Young Reader's Choice Award, sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association
* Nominated for the Illinois 2008 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book AwardPublication history
*2005, USA, Bloomsbury USA Children's Books ISBN 1582349932, Pub date 16 June 2005, Hardback
External links
* [http://www.squeetus.com/stage/books_academy.html Books: Princess Academy] on the author's official website
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