George, Jessica Day. Princess
of the Midnight Ball. Bloomsbury USA Children’s (2010). ISBN 978059994559.
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Plot Summary
When
the reader first meets the princesses, they are being scolded by their father
for always wearing out their dancing slippers every night. The princesses have no way of explaining what
they are doing every night, though and this is the mystery needing to be solved
in the book. The younger girls can find humor even when being scolded and the older
girls are also rather sarcastically funny.
The hero in this tale goes by the
name of Galen. He is what every teenage
girl wants in a man. He has a sense of
chivalry when it comes to women and always has the yearning to do what's right
without thought of reward. He is strong,
sensitive and clever. He also has a very
witty sense of humor, to match the princesses.
He has an unusual hobby for a boy his age. He knits throughout the book and in the end;
the knitting is what really saves the day.
Critical Evaluation
The characterization is one of the
main draws of this book as well as the fast paced and well realized story
line. This novel contains magic,
romance, suspense, twelve flower-named princesses, and one gallant gardener
with a love of knitting. It seems as if
this novel should appeal to all young adults. The themes of this book are
pertinent and will appeal to today's youth.
The princesses have grown up without a mother. The death of a parent, or even divorce, is
something that many teens have to deal with during their early years and one
that is often hard to come to terms with.
George's
books are fast-paced, fun reads with likeable, relatable characters. While they appeal to young readers because of
the general themes George uses (love, family, identity, etc.), there are some
drawbacks to her type of writing. Not
all teens enjoy fairytale retellings. If
someone doesn’t like this genre, they probably won’t try her books.
Reader’s Annotation
This is the story of twelve sisters who wear out their
dancing shoes every night fulfilling a promise made long ago by someone
else.
Author’s Information
Jessica
earned a BA degree in Humanities. She
has written 7 books, some for children and some for young adults. Most of her stories are retellings of fairy tales. She took eight years of German and even
studied Old Norse. More about her and
her books can be found here: http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/.
Genre
Fantasy
Book Talking Ideas
I’d lead with saying this is a fairy tale remake. The humor is extremely smart – I would
probably read a passage from the book. I’d
mention, also, that the hero – you know, the big macho man here to save the
day? – loves to knit.
Reading
Level/Interest
12/14
Challenge Issues
This book is as clean as they come.
Why Include This
Title?
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