What do you think?
Rate this book
Pennyroyal Academy #1
Pennyroyal Academy
Pennyroyal Academy: Seeking bold, courageous youths to become tomorrow's princesses and knights….Come one, come all!
A girl from the forest arrives in a bustling kingdom with no name and no idea why she is there, only to find herself at the center of a world at war. She enlists at Pennyroyal Academy, where princesses and knights are trained to battle the two great menaces of the day: witches and dragons. There, given the name “Evie,” she must endure a harsh training regimen under the steel glare of her Fairy Drillsergeant, while also navigating an entirely new world of friends and enemies. As Evie learns what it truly means to be a princess, she realizes surprising things about herself and her family, about human compassion and inhuman cruelty. And with the witch forces moving nearer, she discovers that the war between princesses and witches is much more personal than she could ever have imagined.
Set in Grimm’s fairytale world, M.A. Larson’s Pennyroyal Academy masterfully combines adventure, humor, and magical mischief.
A girl from the forest arrives in a bustling kingdom with no name and no idea why she is there, only to find herself at the center of a world at war. She enlists at Pennyroyal Academy, where princesses and knights are trained to battle the two great menaces of the day: witches and dragons. There, given the name “Evie,” she must endure a harsh training regimen under the steel glare of her Fairy Drillsergeant, while also navigating an entirely new world of friends and enemies. As Evie learns what it truly means to be a princess, she realizes surprising things about herself and her family, about human compassion and inhuman cruelty. And with the witch forces moving nearer, she discovers that the war between princesses and witches is much more personal than she could ever have imagined.
Set in Grimm’s fairytale world, M.A. Larson’s Pennyroyal Academy masterfully combines adventure, humor, and magical mischief.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 2014
288 people are currently reading
5418 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 568 reviews
January 17, 2018
Can I admit I hated it on sight? It's a pathetic DNF of a fairy tale involving a Fairy Drillsergeant, nicely counterbalanced by a Prince Forbes (how on earth did we manage to do without King Blackstone, treasurer Goldman Sachs or a Queen Morgana Stanley?). And don't let me rant about the Headmistress General at Pennyroyal...
I couldn't stay with this story, it seems to have been designed with a view to be extremely evocative but instead went straight to the dark side of rambling. A lot of characters have a lot of obscure connections or none at all. And the readers are probably supposed to untwist all this mess. I don't feel inclined to do so: Begone! Avada Kedavra!
Q:
YOU MUST NEVER bow to fear . .
Yours are a warrior’s eyes . . .
Your blood is the blood of Saudade . . . (c)Why Saudade? Why take a Spanish/Portuguese word and stick it into the middle of a butchered fairy-tale? Do people think that using a lone foreign word is cutesy or something?
Q:
“Beatrice reports to the Queen. They say no one’s ever seen her before, but some believe she’s actually Rapunzel.”
“Blimey! Rapunzel?” said Demetra. “That’s brilliant.” (c) It's probably the most convoluted fairy tale I've ever seen. Let's hope it stays that way, otherwise I might be forced at some point to steer clear of all fairy tales, altogether.
Q:
But I wasn’t really doing anything at all, when this pig started following me. It wouldn’t leave me alone. It started screaming and thrashing about and . . . I don’t know what happened, but suddenly it was a boy.”
“And it is your contention that you’d never seen Prince Forbes before that instance.”
“Never.” (c) I suspect the author doesn't particularly like Forbes.
Q:
“Congratulations,” said Hazelbranch with a smile. “You are now officially princess cadets, third class....
Together, Evie and her friends survived cut after cut. They soon became inured to those dramatic moments when an instructor would halt an exercise, point to a cadet, and end her dream of becoming a princess. The bunks in the barracks began to empty, and the constant threat of snow didn’t help to warm any of their hearts. (c) That reads like a wannabe Marine lit.
Q:
“GET IN THERE AND RUN THAT STAIRCASE UNTIL I TELL YOU TO STOP! I WILL NOT HAVE . . . WHATEVER THAT WAS IN MY COMPANY!” (c)This might be the recipe to writing no awful tales.
Q:
“Remington!”
He stood, pulling the cloak that had been a frog’s throat back from his shoulders. “Not bad, eh? My great-grandfather was the original Frog King. Taught me all the cheeky family secrets.”
“You’re . . . a frog?”
“At times.... (c) Ok, we have a werefrog. And?
Q:
A FOOT DUG into Evie’s neck. It pulled on her skin and stabbed into her shoulder, but the desire to win blotted out the pain. She pushed with all she had, shoving the pile of cadets higher.
“Come on, Ironbone!” came a shout from somewhere in the mass.
Her foot slipped, but she held position. Bodies upon bodies pressed down on her, each straining to reach the silver crown resting atop a thin marble column.
“Come on, girls! Surely you can do better than this!” shouted the Fairy Drillsergeant. She circled the pile of muddy cadets with a smile. “You lot on the bottom, is that all you’ve got left?”
“Almost there!” called Demetra’s voice from above.
“None of you are second-class cadets until you’ve secured that crown!”
“Everyone, on three!” shouted Maggie. “One . . . two . . . THREE!”
Evie closed her eyes and pushed as hard as she could. Her feet slipped away an inch at a time until finally her whole body slammed to the mud and the tower of girls collapsed on top of her. They pulled themselves from the slop, groaning that they’d have to do it all over again.
“I got it!” said Demetra, pulling her arm from the sludge. The crown was clutched in her fingers, mud dripping off of it. The entire company roared with triumph, pulling her to her feet. They danced as one sloppy, stomping, triumphant mess.
“Congratulations, girls!” said the Fairy Drillsergeant, applauding. (c)
I couldn't help quoting this piece, which read like a teambuilding from hell crossed with some soldiers' training excercise. I can't even begin to express how deeply I hate teambuildings!
I suffer through them in real time. Do I have to read about them in fairy tales as well?
Who is supposed to read this and swoon?
Corporate muppets? Emphatic NO, since most of the sane ones dislike teambuildings.
Readers with military backgrounds? Yeah, I'm sure they dream of 'smelly princess' workouts.
I couldn't stay with this story, it seems to have been designed with a view to be extremely evocative but instead went straight to the dark side of rambling. A lot of characters have a lot of obscure connections or none at all. And the readers are probably supposed to untwist all this mess. I don't feel inclined to do so: Begone! Avada Kedavra!
Q:
YOU MUST NEVER bow to fear . .
Yours are a warrior’s eyes . . .
Your blood is the blood of Saudade . . . (c)Why Saudade? Why take a Spanish/Portuguese word and stick it into the middle of a butchered fairy-tale? Do people think that using a lone foreign word is cutesy or something?
Q:
“Beatrice reports to the Queen. They say no one’s ever seen her before, but some believe she’s actually Rapunzel.”
“Blimey! Rapunzel?” said Demetra. “That’s brilliant.” (c) It's probably the most convoluted fairy tale I've ever seen. Let's hope it stays that way, otherwise I might be forced at some point to steer clear of all fairy tales, altogether.
Q:
But I wasn’t really doing anything at all, when this pig started following me. It wouldn’t leave me alone. It started screaming and thrashing about and . . . I don’t know what happened, but suddenly it was a boy.”
“And it is your contention that you’d never seen Prince Forbes before that instance.”
“Never.” (c) I suspect the author doesn't particularly like Forbes.
Q:
“Congratulations,” said Hazelbranch with a smile. “You are now officially princess cadets, third class....
Together, Evie and her friends survived cut after cut. They soon became inured to those dramatic moments when an instructor would halt an exercise, point to a cadet, and end her dream of becoming a princess. The bunks in the barracks began to empty, and the constant threat of snow didn’t help to warm any of their hearts. (c) That reads like a wannabe Marine lit.
Q:
“GET IN THERE AND RUN THAT STAIRCASE UNTIL I TELL YOU TO STOP! I WILL NOT HAVE . . . WHATEVER THAT WAS IN MY COMPANY!” (c)This might be the recipe to writing no awful tales.
Q:
“Remington!”
He stood, pulling the cloak that had been a frog’s throat back from his shoulders. “Not bad, eh? My great-grandfather was the original Frog King. Taught me all the cheeky family secrets.”
“You’re . . . a frog?”
“At times.... (c) Ok, we have a werefrog. And?
Q:
A FOOT DUG into Evie’s neck. It pulled on her skin and stabbed into her shoulder, but the desire to win blotted out the pain. She pushed with all she had, shoving the pile of cadets higher.
“Come on, Ironbone!” came a shout from somewhere in the mass.
Her foot slipped, but she held position. Bodies upon bodies pressed down on her, each straining to reach the silver crown resting atop a thin marble column.
“Come on, girls! Surely you can do better than this!” shouted the Fairy Drillsergeant. She circled the pile of muddy cadets with a smile. “You lot on the bottom, is that all you’ve got left?”
“Almost there!” called Demetra’s voice from above.
“None of you are second-class cadets until you’ve secured that crown!”
“Everyone, on three!” shouted Maggie. “One . . . two . . . THREE!”
Evie closed her eyes and pushed as hard as she could. Her feet slipped away an inch at a time until finally her whole body slammed to the mud and the tower of girls collapsed on top of her. They pulled themselves from the slop, groaning that they’d have to do it all over again.
“I got it!” said Demetra, pulling her arm from the sludge. The crown was clutched in her fingers, mud dripping off of it. The entire company roared with triumph, pulling her to her feet. They danced as one sloppy, stomping, triumphant mess.
“Congratulations, girls!” said the Fairy Drillsergeant, applauding. (c)
I couldn't help quoting this piece, which read like a teambuilding from hell crossed with some soldiers' training excercise. I can't even begin to express how deeply I hate teambuildings!
I suffer through them in real time. Do I have to read about them in fairy tales as well?
Who is supposed to read this and swoon?
Corporate muppets? Emphatic NO, since most of the sane ones dislike teambuildings.
Readers with military backgrounds? Yeah, I'm sure they dream of 'smelly princess' workouts.
November 9, 2017
Ummm....wtf did I just read?
It's like someone had a crazy dream one night and woke up and said "I'm going to write a book about that." The thing about dreams is that they rarely have any logic.
I should've known it wasn't going to work out from the first sentence: If I'm still in this forest by nightfall, I'll never leave it again.
Which doesn't seem like such a bad start until you read sentence number two: The girl's eyes darted through the misty pines.
WHAT?? Please tell me you did not just switch from first person to third person in one sentence! It felt like nails scratching a chalkboard in my soul.
And mystery girl is so confusing. First she's brave, then she's a coward, then she's running from trees suddenly she's in a witch's cottage and just like that she's wanting to be a princess. Just like a dream we were jumping from scene to scene without any rhyme or reason. It felt extremely disjointed.
And how exactly does a person wear an entire dress, (with pockets!) made of spiderwebs?
If you're extremely drunk you might love this book. Otherwise, avoid.
It's like someone had a crazy dream one night and woke up and said "I'm going to write a book about that." The thing about dreams is that they rarely have any logic.
I should've known it wasn't going to work out from the first sentence: If I'm still in this forest by nightfall, I'll never leave it again.
Which doesn't seem like such a bad start until you read sentence number two: The girl's eyes darted through the misty pines.
WHAT?? Please tell me you did not just switch from first person to third person in one sentence! It felt like nails scratching a chalkboard in my soul.
And mystery girl is so confusing. First she's brave, then she's a coward, then she's running from trees suddenly she's in a witch's cottage and just like that she's wanting to be a princess. Just like a dream we were jumping from scene to scene without any rhyme or reason. It felt extremely disjointed.
And how exactly does a person wear an entire dress, (with pockets!) made of spiderwebs?
If you're extremely drunk you might love this book. Otherwise, avoid.
December 28, 2014
Princesses, Witches, Dragons, and Knights, oh my!
A young girl who has no recollection of who she is rescues a young boy named Remington who wants to become a knight from a wicked witch before they travel to a school called Pennyroyal Academy who train young girls to become Princesses of the Shield who fight Witches. Upon meeting some new friends who don her "Evie" (Eh-vie) after the staff calls her Cadet Eleven after she doesn't know her own name due to a memory curse, Evie tries her best to survive at Pennyroyal Academy while fighting a bully and more. Will she succeed? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good read. When I first discovered the book, it had a really beautiful cover on it. The book was also written by one of the writers of the animated TV show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" which was pretty cool as well and found out from an interview he did that he sent this to actress Reese Witherspoon to read. She loved it so much that she wanted to make it a film before this book was even published so there is a film in the works for this book which she is producing and that Lionsgate is doing. If you enjoy stories about princesses, fairy tales, dragons, and more then definitely give Pennyroyal Academy a check out. It's available wherever books are sold and at your local library.
A young girl who has no recollection of who she is rescues a young boy named Remington who wants to become a knight from a wicked witch before they travel to a school called Pennyroyal Academy who train young girls to become Princesses of the Shield who fight Witches. Upon meeting some new friends who don her "Evie" (Eh-vie) after the staff calls her Cadet Eleven after she doesn't know her own name due to a memory curse, Evie tries her best to survive at Pennyroyal Academy while fighting a bully and more. Will she succeed? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good read. When I first discovered the book, it had a really beautiful cover on it. The book was also written by one of the writers of the animated TV show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and "My Gym Partner's a Monkey" which was pretty cool as well and found out from an interview he did that he sent this to actress Reese Witherspoon to read. She loved it so much that she wanted to make it a film before this book was even published so there is a film in the works for this book which she is producing and that Lionsgate is doing. If you enjoy stories about princesses, fairy tales, dragons, and more then definitely give Pennyroyal Academy a check out. It's available wherever books are sold and at your local library.
December 1, 2014
Pennyroyal Academy. I haven't read a book that made me go from 100 (love) to 0 (hate/dislike) in a long time. Usually by the halfway point, I can figure a book out and know that I will either 1) love it 2) hate it or 3) have a love/hate relationship that makes me want to read the book so I can mock.
So, here are some of my random thoughts and musing throughout the book.
Basil – This young boy is forced into an all-girl princess group because his mother wanted a princess and didn't have a girl. Now, I'm not upset at this entire thing, but it was so glossed over and used for comedic effect that it bothered me. And to be honest I couldn't see much difference between the princess/knight that he needed to be in the princess group (and why the whole staff allowed it is beyond me).
The entire training – It appeared the author wanted to make these like warrior princesses that are big, strong, and brave. So, what I got out of this whole book is the girls had to fight off witches (who are invading the whole land), look pretty while doing it, and still do all the feminine stuff that is stereotypical of females princesses (make dresses, learn to sew, etc.)
The author – This author had a bad habit of revealing something huge and pretending it had been brought up earlier in the book. This made me so confused like I missed something. For example, Evie thinks that King Callhoun or whatever is her stepfather. I reread the scene and even went back to the family reveal and nowhere did it say he wasn't her 'father of blood' or he was her stepfather. So obviously, this happened in a scene that I was not allowed to read or was not a part of my book.
The Grand Ball – Pointless. Made to fill up space in my book. And I didn't understand while all this huge stuff and witch war is going on that they took the time to host such a trivial ball in the first place.
The entire book – what started out at point A, turned out and ended somewhere over by point C/D. I am sure this is a first book of a series, but I was extremely disappointed in the book.
Other points that irked me – how does a girl really think she's a dragon? I can't grasp it.
The knight guy with his random turning into a frog (can we say random)
That is all. Well, I have more, but I don't want to ruin it for people.
So, here are some of my random thoughts and musing throughout the book.
Basil – This young boy is forced into an all-girl princess group because his mother wanted a princess and didn't have a girl. Now, I'm not upset at this entire thing, but it was so glossed over and used for comedic effect that it bothered me. And to be honest I couldn't see much difference between the princess/knight that he needed to be in the princess group (and why the whole staff allowed it is beyond me).
The entire training – It appeared the author wanted to make these like warrior princesses that are big, strong, and brave. So, what I got out of this whole book is the girls had to fight off witches (who are invading the whole land), look pretty while doing it, and still do all the feminine stuff that is stereotypical of females princesses (make dresses, learn to sew, etc.)
The author – This author had a bad habit of revealing something huge and pretending it had been brought up earlier in the book. This made me so confused like I missed something. For example, Evie thinks that King Callhoun or whatever is her stepfather. I reread the scene and even went back to the family reveal and nowhere did it say he wasn't her 'father of blood' or he was her stepfather. So obviously, this happened in a scene that I was not allowed to read or was not a part of my book.
The Grand Ball – Pointless. Made to fill up space in my book. And I didn't understand while all this huge stuff and witch war is going on that they took the time to host such a trivial ball in the first place.
The entire book – what started out at point A, turned out and ended somewhere over by point C/D. I am sure this is a first book of a series, but I was extremely disappointed in the book.
Other points that irked me – how does a girl really think she's a dragon? I can't grasp it.
The knight guy with his random turning into a frog (can we say random)
That is all. Well, I have more, but I don't want to ruin it for people.
September 27, 2016
Pennyroyal Academy is the story of a young girl that bravely ventures out into the woods. She is in search of one thing, and one thing only--Pennyroyal Academy; the magical school that has provided the most successful Princesses and Knights since the time of Princess Pennyroyal herself. Since the blood administration had been lifted, meaning that anyone, even those who are not royal, could now go, the girl thought that this could be somewhere she actually belongs. Wearing only a small layer of spiderwebs, the girl has left her home and everything normal, and without realizing it has dedicated her life to one thing, fighting Withches. Along the way she meets Remington, the handsome boy that will supposedly someday become a Knight. He is kind and mischievous, with a smile that could turn heads from forever away, and trust me, it does. When the girl has finally arrived at Pennyroyal Academy, she meets Maggie, Demetra, Ainessete, and the boy, Basil, who are all in her Princess "tribe"; Ironebone Company. While there, the girl is told she has been memory cursed, for that is the reason that she can't remember anything... Even her own name. She goes by the name Evie, and although she knows she has not been cursed, she goes along with the silly idea. Evie trains hard, and she realizes that the battle between Princessses and Witches is so much more real then she could ever have imagined. For it is now just as real as the dragon scale necklace draped around her neck, or as the tip of her pinky finger. While in Ironebone Company, Evie meets Malora, the stunning girl with the longest, silkiest black hair, and the coldest black eyes. Her pale skin is beautiful, her everything glows with confidence... and she is evil. Always out to get Evie, making jokes, insulting her, it is hard to believe that she is even a Princess. Malora is not kind, like a princess should be. Through her time at Pennyroyal Academy, Evie feels less like the Third Class Cadet she is, and more like the princess she wants to be. The Witches are striking; killing people, destroying villages and kingdoms. Evie and her friends have realized what is at risk. The battle has become much more personal than Evie could have imagined, and she finds out the scariest and shocking family secrets. Her past, present, and future has changed. She has changed. In this story you wonder right along side Evie if she will find the truth about Pennyroyal Academy, and herself. Will Evie see what now matters the most in life, with everything at risk? Is there a chance that things aren't always as they seem? This book was incredible... But at times I had to stop reading it because it got too sad. I did make it through though, and I'm glad that I did. Pennyroyal Academy is a fantastic book, I really recommend it to anyone that loves a fantasy with a romance twist. This book reminds me greatly of The School For Good And Evil, and The Truth About Twinkie Pie because of the love, storyline, and for The Truth About Twinkie Pie speaking, friendship and secrets. I enjoyed Pennyroyal Academy so much, I just know that you will as well!
February 4, 2015
Thoughts on the Overall Book: I had expected to like this book before I read it, but it's also one of those you end up liking more and more as you get into it. Overall, i thought it was a very nice story, and I liked it a lot!
Cover--Yea or Nay: I do like the cover, and it's not even so pink that I feel embarrassed to carry it around haha. It has a very fairytale feel to it, and, hey, I love dragons.
Characters: Evie is a wonderful character. She's just the kind of girl I like to read about in these sorts of stories. She was attitude free, she conquered her fears and did what she had to do, she stood up for her friends, and overcame obstacles that came into her life. I also really liked Remington, he was a sweet guy, funny, and an enjoyable character. Evie's friends were nice too, I liked Maggie and Demetra, and felt particularly sorry for poor Basil. The only complaint I had was that I would have liked to see more of their interactions, it always seemed that Evie was apart from them, and partly that was her character, but I would have liked to see more of them doing things together. Malora was pretty horrible to Evie to, although I did end up feeling sorry for her once you find out what is really going on. The witches were actually more frightening than I expected, and I was not disappointed in that. Overall, a great cast, and characters I liked well enough to return to.
The Romance: There is a little romance between Evie and Remington, which at first I wasn't sure about because I originally thought the characters were younger than they seem to be in actuality. I wasn't against it, and I do like them together, there were just a couple parts where Remington was jealous and acting like a little girl that I didn't particularly care for, but otherwise, I didn't have any complaints.
Writing Style: The style of writing is actually very good, though it did take me a few chapters to get into it for whatever reason. Once I got used to it, I really enjoyed it. It had a very fairy tale quality, especially in the first few chapters, and was quite fast paced, and descriptive and made for easy reading. The world building was really cool, and I loved that there are all kinds of mentions of the old stories, and a lot of the places' names come from Grimm stories and it was really cool, but gave a different take on things. It did sort of have a Harry Potter feel to it with the boarding school and all, but I think that can be forgiven.
Accuracy/ Believability: Not applicable.
Problems/What bothered me: I didn't have any real complaints at all. I enjoyed the story a lot.
Conclusion: 4 stars. I just liked this book more and more as I continued to read it, and I really look forward to continuing the series and seeing very Evie's story goes.
Recommended Audience: Girl read ages 12 and up. I actually kept thinking of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale when I was reading this, and I think if you liked that one, you would enjoy this as well.
Cover--Yea or Nay: I do like the cover, and it's not even so pink that I feel embarrassed to carry it around haha. It has a very fairytale feel to it, and, hey, I love dragons.
Characters: Evie is a wonderful character. She's just the kind of girl I like to read about in these sorts of stories. She was attitude free, she conquered her fears and did what she had to do, she stood up for her friends, and overcame obstacles that came into her life. I also really liked Remington, he was a sweet guy, funny, and an enjoyable character. Evie's friends were nice too, I liked Maggie and Demetra, and felt particularly sorry for poor Basil. The only complaint I had was that I would have liked to see more of their interactions, it always seemed that Evie was apart from them, and partly that was her character, but I would have liked to see more of them doing things together. Malora was pretty horrible to Evie to, although I did end up feeling sorry for her once you find out what is really going on. The witches were actually more frightening than I expected, and I was not disappointed in that. Overall, a great cast, and characters I liked well enough to return to.
The Romance: There is a little romance between Evie and Remington, which at first I wasn't sure about because I originally thought the characters were younger than they seem to be in actuality. I wasn't against it, and I do like them together, there were just a couple parts where Remington was jealous and acting like a little girl that I didn't particularly care for, but otherwise, I didn't have any complaints.
Writing Style: The style of writing is actually very good, though it did take me a few chapters to get into it for whatever reason. Once I got used to it, I really enjoyed it. It had a very fairy tale quality, especially in the first few chapters, and was quite fast paced, and descriptive and made for easy reading. The world building was really cool, and I loved that there are all kinds of mentions of the old stories, and a lot of the places' names come from Grimm stories and it was really cool, but gave a different take on things. It did sort of have a Harry Potter feel to it with the boarding school and all, but I think that can be forgiven.
Accuracy/ Believability: Not applicable.
Problems/What bothered me: I didn't have any real complaints at all. I enjoyed the story a lot.
Conclusion: 4 stars. I just liked this book more and more as I continued to read it, and I really look forward to continuing the series and seeing very Evie's story goes.
Recommended Audience: Girl read ages 12 and up. I actually kept thinking of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale when I was reading this, and I think if you liked that one, you would enjoy this as well.
October 19, 2024
Pennyroyal Academy felt like House of Night or Vampire Academy meets Disney Princesses.
This book didn't hit it out of the park with me but I did have a good time. I was frustrated a few times with just how dumb the adults were in the book, but this seems like a middle grade book so it's pretty fair. All adults seem pretty stupid at that age.
Regardless, Pennyroyal Academy follows young men and women who want to become Princesses and Knights to battle against evil witches. You can come from anywhere and don't need to have royal blood to join this academy. Of course, you just KNOW the "real" royals get a little grumpy when the normal people try to join them...
This book is a good middle grade read but it doesn't stand out to me as one of the best. It does have excellent ideas but I don't think it worked out as well as it could of. But, I also read a LOT of books and I can be quite judgey. I don't think a middle grader would spot half of the problems or annoyances that I do when I read these kinds of books. I think this could be a great fantasy read for middle graders, and it does show how girls can be just as tough as boys. So I liked that.
Overall, fun read. I want to continue the series to see how it all works out.
Three out of five stars.
This book didn't hit it out of the park with me but I did have a good time. I was frustrated a few times with just how dumb the adults were in the book, but this seems like a middle grade book so it's pretty fair. All adults seem pretty stupid at that age.
Regardless, Pennyroyal Academy follows young men and women who want to become Princesses and Knights to battle against evil witches. You can come from anywhere and don't need to have royal blood to join this academy. Of course, you just KNOW the "real" royals get a little grumpy when the normal people try to join them...
This book is a good middle grade read but it doesn't stand out to me as one of the best. It does have excellent ideas but I don't think it worked out as well as it could of. But, I also read a LOT of books and I can be quite judgey. I don't think a middle grader would spot half of the problems or annoyances that I do when I read these kinds of books. I think this could be a great fantasy read for middle graders, and it does show how girls can be just as tough as boys. So I liked that.
Overall, fun read. I want to continue the series to see how it all works out.
Three out of five stars.
March 1, 2015
Holy Mary Sue.
September 25, 2018
I feel like this book was written specifically for me. The plot, the character, the DRAGONS. It's like everything I love and then it was a book.
But... the pacing was off. And that just really jilted me the wrong way, knocking off and ENTIRE star and a place on my favorites shelf. It seems like a year, or at least a school year should have passed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was the plot suggested, a school year. but there was no changing of the seasons, and I felt like I was in the story for maybe a couple of weeks, not a whole school year. Yeah.
Also, I can't find it in myself to like Evie and Remington. I mean, their first couple of interactions were GREAT, particular when they met, I loved that. But as the story went I, you can literally feel the author struggling to find reasons to put them in the same room together and converse, and then he went and just gave up on finding legitimate reasons and just had Remington continually say "It's so hard to have a conversation in this place." Which got really old, really fast.
But... the pacing was off. And that just really jilted me the wrong way, knocking off and ENTIRE star and a place on my favorites shelf. It seems like a year, or at least a school year should have passed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was the plot suggested, a school year. but there was no changing of the seasons, and I felt like I was in the story for maybe a couple of weeks, not a whole school year. Yeah.
Also, I can't find it in myself to like Evie and Remington. I mean, their first couple of interactions were GREAT, particular when they met, I loved that. But as the story went I, you can literally feel the author struggling to find reasons to put them in the same room together and converse, and then he went and just gave up on finding legitimate reasons and just had Remington continually say "It's so hard to have a conversation in this place." Which got really old, really fast.
January 5, 2015
If it wasn't for a GR reading challenge I wouldn't have read this book. Sure, I love fairytale retellings but this one just didn't appeal to me. And I think I know why.
First, the author is a dude. I didn't know that when I read this book so I just thought that Evie had a really flat personality. Now it makes more sense. Yes, Evie was having an identity crisis but the way her personality was portrayed just didn't seem relatable.
Then there was the romance. It was predictable and meh. The dude was such a cookie-cutter prince charming wannabe that it made me choke. I liked the Pig Prince instead.
Then the twists and turns were so overwhelming that I actually had to stop and recount the direction of the story because I forgot what the main point of it all was.
It just needed a little work but it was still pretty okay. I liked Basil.
First, the author is a dude. I didn't know that when I read this book so I just thought that Evie had a really flat personality. Now it makes more sense. Yes, Evie was having an identity crisis but the way her personality was portrayed just didn't seem relatable.
Then there was the romance. It was predictable and meh. The dude was such a cookie-cutter prince charming wannabe that it made me choke. I liked the Pig Prince instead.
Then the twists and turns were so overwhelming that I actually had to stop and recount the direction of the story because I forgot what the main point of it all was.
It just needed a little work but it was still pretty okay. I liked Basil.
July 26, 2018
Actual rating is 4.5
Oh my gosh, this was such a good hearted middle grade novel. If you’re looking for independent, courageous princesses then look no further than this book. This was so much better than School for Good and Evil. Whereas TSFGAE was all about cattiness, fat shaming, and being downright hostile, this had such a positive feel to being a princess. Being a princess is all about kindness and courage and fighting the evil witches to protect the innocent people. I enjoyed this perspective of how a princess should be. Plus there were so many twist and turns I did not see coming! I hardly get surprised so that was great for me. I will definitely be continuing the series to see what happens next for Evie and her friends.
Oh my gosh, this was such a good hearted middle grade novel. If you’re looking for independent, courageous princesses then look no further than this book. This was so much better than School for Good and Evil. Whereas TSFGAE was all about cattiness, fat shaming, and being downright hostile, this had such a positive feel to being a princess. Being a princess is all about kindness and courage and fighting the evil witches to protect the innocent people. I enjoyed this perspective of how a princess should be. Plus there were so many twist and turns I did not see coming! I hardly get surprised so that was great for me. I will definitely be continuing the series to see what happens next for Evie and her friends.
September 18, 2017
"Pennyroyal Academy sat atop a grassy plateau, a kingdom unto itself. Its towers, keeps, and battlemented wall gave it the look of a jeweled crown."
Sounds cool, right!? Well, I was fooled to.. (that's probably my favorite sentence in the whole book hence the bold quotation) Okay now I'm going to be a debby downer:
It's so so soooo slow and it really feels like it has no direction except trying really hard to be Harry Potter. Yes, I understand that could have been a good thing. Harry Potter, yay! Ehhh, no but I'll give you some similarities.
1. The Pennyroyal Academy has a coat of arms just like the Hogwarts house crest. Instead of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, it depicts a Princess, Knight, Dragon, and Witch..
2. There's a head teacher for each house.
3. There is a great hall where the cadets (that's right, cadets, not students) eat at with long tables and a staff table in the front.
4. The head mistress has white hair.. (dumbledore, is that you!?)
5. Our main character Evie is basically the female version of Harry Potter because she enters this academy knowing nothing and she's confused and the other cadets have to explain to her what's going on. (just like Harry)
The only thing technically different is plot, it's about princesses who have to fight off witches, not with swords or physical weaponry at all for that matter but with their kindness and courage. WTF?! and they have to look pretty while doing it... so instead of sharpening swords and training to be physically strong, they sew dresses... GAH!!!! Okay, okay, I guess that's fine.. SINCE THE WITCHES AREN'T EVEN A THREAT ANYWAYS THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE BOOK!
Are you finally wondering why I didn't DNF this or blatantly give it 1 star? Well, I'll explain. I was intrigued by the main character's back story and wanted to know why she had no idea who she was and why her memories had been erased and I'll give the author credit for that because it made me read the whole book until the end.
Sounds cool, right!? Well, I was fooled to.. (that's probably my favorite sentence in the whole book hence the bold quotation) Okay now I'm going to be a debby downer:
It's so so soooo slow and it really feels like it has no direction except trying really hard to be Harry Potter. Yes, I understand that could have been a good thing. Harry Potter, yay! Ehhh, no but I'll give you some similarities.
1. The Pennyroyal Academy has a coat of arms just like the Hogwarts house crest. Instead of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, it depicts a Princess, Knight, Dragon, and Witch..
2. There's a head teacher for each house.
3. There is a great hall where the cadets (that's right, cadets, not students) eat at with long tables and a staff table in the front.
4. The head mistress has white hair.. (dumbledore, is that you!?)
5. Our main character Evie is basically the female version of Harry Potter because she enters this academy knowing nothing and she's confused and the other cadets have to explain to her what's going on. (just like Harry)
The only thing technically different is plot, it's about princesses who have to fight off witches, not with swords or physical weaponry at all for that matter but with their kindness and courage. WTF?! and they have to look pretty while doing it... so instead of sharpening swords and training to be physically strong, they sew dresses... GAH!!!! Okay, okay, I guess that's fine.. SINCE THE WITCHES AREN'T EVEN A THREAT ANYWAYS THROUGHOUT MOST OF THE BOOK!
Are you finally wondering why I didn't DNF this or blatantly give it 1 star? Well, I'll explain. I was intrigued by the main character's back story and wanted to know why she had no idea who she was and why her memories had been erased and I'll give the author credit for that because it made me read the whole book until the end.
December 30, 2014
I wanted to like it, I really did. But the story was disjointed... the flow started and stopped at a weird pace. Bits seemed left out, while other bits seemed like useless filler. There were a number of times where I had to pause and think wait, how'd we get here? And on top of that, some of the biggest "surprises" were surprisingly predictable. I wanted to like it, but Pennyroyal Academy falls drastically short of all the promise and hype.
May 10, 2015
Review originally posted on Children's Atheneum
A girl from the forest arrives at Pennyroyal Academy, with no name and only the vaguest idea of why she is there. She enlists to become a Princess, a role that isn't about a title, but rather training, for Princesses are trained to fight witches. There she is given the number Cadet 11, which she shortens to "Evie", and begins life at Pennyroyal Adademy as a princess in training. As Evie learns what it means to be a princess though, she isn't sure if she is capable of fighting witches, but she does know there is a reason she is there.
I desperately wanted to like this book. A school where girls (princesses) are trained to fight witches and boys (knights) are trained to battle giants and dragons. Fairies are drill sergeants. The princesses of legend like Cinderella and Snow White are warriors. Secrets involving dragons, curses, and witches surrounding you at every turn. Sadly, what is a terrific idea was so poorly executed that I began to wonder if there was something the matter with me. Why would I continue to read a book that was so bad?
The first answer is simply that I was listening to it as an audio book and for some reason audio books feel like less work. I'm in the car anyway so I may as well listen to something, so why not this. A note regarding the audio book, the woman who read this Susan Duerden, was for lack of a better word--terrible. Although she did fine with the various voices, she ended almost every single sentence with her voice going up at the end. Every single sentence. This did give it a sing-song quality, but also made it sound strange, as if there was never an ending to any sentence.
The story itself was full of so many plot holes and unnecessary mystery that I started to become anxious. Evie arrives at the academy, having just run away from her dragon parents although she is human, and knowing nothing about the academy except what was on an advertisement that she happened upon in the forest. Although Evie has no name when she arrives and refuses to tell the reader, adults, or other cadets about her family, she is accepted right away. When they say she has a memory curse, she is adamant that she does not, even though she has no name or recollection of her life before living with dragons. In fact, it seems to surprise her greatly when the memory curse treatment begins to work. Halfway through Evie goes from a kind of likable but completely uncommunicative newbie, to an insufferable brat whose newfound communication skills are used to yell at the people around her. Then she magically finds her compassion at the end and becomes a warrior princess.
And there is the other rub. This is how magic apparently works for princesses: They are kind, loving, and compassionate. Once they find that inside of themselves they somehow can create a magical shield around themselves that can ward off witches. In the meantime, while they are trying to find that secret compassion within, they train in a boot camp that is absolutely ridiculous. At one point the princesses have to wrestle with the knights and use the skills they learned from their sewing and weaving classes to win. For some reason, even though these girls are supposed to be learning how to be fighters, they still have to attend balls, make dresses, and learn to dance. There is a war going on and these girls are running around pining after the knights and going to balls. On top of that, even though girls are regularly being sent away for not having what it takes to be a princess, one character in particular who is very very un-princesslike is allowed to stay for reasons that I can only assume have to do with keeping tension in the story. If you were trying to train girls who needed to be compassionate, loving, and kind, one would think they would have to take classes in caring for others. Wouldn't the teachers give lectures about what true compassion is? Wouldn't you go visit the town and help the poor and needy? Those things would teach compassion far better than a wrestling match in the mud or sewing a new dress.
The setting was vague throughout. I never got a good picture of how anything looked. The castle, the academy, where Evie lived with the dragons. And the romance. Evie spends so much time falling in love with a boy who drips with Prince Charming ooziness that it was sickening. Really, the boy was always charming and never once admits to her that she has saved his life numerous times. For whatever reason he can also turn himself into a frog which plays no significant role in the book whatsoever. By the way, why are the boys called knights and the girls princesses? Why aren't the boys Princes? I am also not sure what age this is geared toward. The corniness of the story made me think that it was for middle graders, but with the addition of heavy romance and the fact that Evie is fifteen, it is being touted as a young adult book. It is not. I was truly disappointed in this book (as you can see) and was really hoping for something with a bit more understandable magic and not as many secrets that weren't really secrets.
A girl from the forest arrives at Pennyroyal Academy, with no name and only the vaguest idea of why she is there. She enlists to become a Princess, a role that isn't about a title, but rather training, for Princesses are trained to fight witches. There she is given the number Cadet 11, which she shortens to "Evie", and begins life at Pennyroyal Adademy as a princess in training. As Evie learns what it means to be a princess though, she isn't sure if she is capable of fighting witches, but she does know there is a reason she is there.
I desperately wanted to like this book. A school where girls (princesses) are trained to fight witches and boys (knights) are trained to battle giants and dragons. Fairies are drill sergeants. The princesses of legend like Cinderella and Snow White are warriors. Secrets involving dragons, curses, and witches surrounding you at every turn. Sadly, what is a terrific idea was so poorly executed that I began to wonder if there was something the matter with me. Why would I continue to read a book that was so bad?
The first answer is simply that I was listening to it as an audio book and for some reason audio books feel like less work. I'm in the car anyway so I may as well listen to something, so why not this. A note regarding the audio book, the woman who read this Susan Duerden, was for lack of a better word--terrible. Although she did fine with the various voices, she ended almost every single sentence with her voice going up at the end. Every single sentence. This did give it a sing-song quality, but also made it sound strange, as if there was never an ending to any sentence.
The story itself was full of so many plot holes and unnecessary mystery that I started to become anxious. Evie arrives at the academy, having just run away from her dragon parents although she is human, and knowing nothing about the academy except what was on an advertisement that she happened upon in the forest. Although Evie has no name when she arrives and refuses to tell the reader, adults, or other cadets about her family, she is accepted right away. When they say she has a memory curse, she is adamant that she does not, even though she has no name or recollection of her life before living with dragons. In fact, it seems to surprise her greatly when the memory curse treatment begins to work. Halfway through Evie goes from a kind of likable but completely uncommunicative newbie, to an insufferable brat whose newfound communication skills are used to yell at the people around her. Then she magically finds her compassion at the end and becomes a warrior princess.
And there is the other rub. This is how magic apparently works for princesses: They are kind, loving, and compassionate. Once they find that inside of themselves they somehow can create a magical shield around themselves that can ward off witches. In the meantime, while they are trying to find that secret compassion within, they train in a boot camp that is absolutely ridiculous. At one point the princesses have to wrestle with the knights and use the skills they learned from their sewing and weaving classes to win. For some reason, even though these girls are supposed to be learning how to be fighters, they still have to attend balls, make dresses, and learn to dance. There is a war going on and these girls are running around pining after the knights and going to balls. On top of that, even though girls are regularly being sent away for not having what it takes to be a princess, one character in particular who is very very un-princesslike is allowed to stay for reasons that I can only assume have to do with keeping tension in the story. If you were trying to train girls who needed to be compassionate, loving, and kind, one would think they would have to take classes in caring for others. Wouldn't the teachers give lectures about what true compassion is? Wouldn't you go visit the town and help the poor and needy? Those things would teach compassion far better than a wrestling match in the mud or sewing a new dress.
The setting was vague throughout. I never got a good picture of how anything looked. The castle, the academy, where Evie lived with the dragons. And the romance. Evie spends so much time falling in love with a boy who drips with Prince Charming ooziness that it was sickening. Really, the boy was always charming and never once admits to her that she has saved his life numerous times. For whatever reason he can also turn himself into a frog which plays no significant role in the book whatsoever. By the way, why are the boys called knights and the girls princesses? Why aren't the boys Princes? I am also not sure what age this is geared toward. The corniness of the story made me think that it was for middle graders, but with the addition of heavy romance and the fact that Evie is fifteen, it is being touted as a young adult book. It is not. I was truly disappointed in this book (as you can see) and was really hoping for something with a bit more understandable magic and not as many secrets that weren't really secrets.
March 10, 2015
This book was hard for me to get through. I almost abandoned it several times, but a student recommended it so I kept plugging away. Actually I started speed reading. The plot is all over the place, information is given in either large doses or not enough, and the characters are stereotyped along with the whole princessie thingamajig. Except for Basil. He's a boy that is with the princesses instead of the knights. He says it is because his mother had 22 boys and he's being the girl she always wanted. He stays pretty flat as a character and never becomes interesting. The setting is vague at the start along with the world building and I couldn't figure out why Evie was in the enchanted woods. It seemed that she had amnesia but then later she mentions some things about her parents, so I wasn't sure what the heck she was doing in the forest. I thought there was more to it but she's just lost and has been for three days. The reader is plopped in the middle of the action with not much explanation. That's fine if the author unfolds the plot in a logical way. That doesn't happen in this novel.
Evie rescues a prince from an evil witch accidentally. Evie stumbles into a witch's cottage who is gone. When the witch arrives towing a captured prince that she cages before planning to kill him, Evie is hiding under a table in terror. She frees the prince with some encouragement and carries him on his horse because his hands are tied behind his back and there is no time to stop. The prince directs Evie toward water knowing it will protect them from the witch. Evie's in the woods trying to find the Pennyroyal Academy, a school where girls are trained to become princesses and boys trained to be knights. For the first time in its history, the academy is open to commoners which Evie is. The prince is on his way there to become a knight. Few can survive the academy and Evie struggles to fit in before discovering her true parentage and courage.
The obstacles in the plot and the solutions are odd most of the time. Enchanted trees hit people and witches are trying to rise to power. The woods are dangerous and the head mistress is not fair to students. Evie faces a witch and then acts like she hasn't at the academy that left me scratching my head. Her fierceness doesn't come out until the end when she roars like a dragon. The girls tend to see their worth through the eyes of the boys and fight over one boy. Evie cries and runs off too much for my liking and her reactions to obstacles in the plot are often contradictory. I couldn't figure out why the boy, Forbes, that was cursed as a pig kissed Evie. She's mean to him because she reminds him of the picture that cursed him. Rather than find out and ask Forbes questions, she refuses to talk to him. He in turn, is mean back. Ugh. I really started skimming then. The injured dragon sister is a loose end that is not tied up.
The characters don't have much voice. Evie is timid and fearful most of the time. She doesn't trust people and tells the girls her parents were dragons. But when the girls see a dragon by the school no one puts it together. Instead, they shoot it. I thought the characters acted foolish most of the time. The subplot of romance follows the princess and princess fantasy trope that is dull and predictable. And what was the deal with the spiderweb dress? I really had problems envisioning that... I kept thinking of Milla Jovovich's white bandaged-style bodysuit in the movie, The Fifth Element. I know I'm more picky than student readers about books. I also read this so fast that I probably had more questions than if I had slowed down, but I would have felt like a fly in a spider's web. This one missed the mark for me.
Evie rescues a prince from an evil witch accidentally. Evie stumbles into a witch's cottage who is gone. When the witch arrives towing a captured prince that she cages before planning to kill him, Evie is hiding under a table in terror. She frees the prince with some encouragement and carries him on his horse because his hands are tied behind his back and there is no time to stop. The prince directs Evie toward water knowing it will protect them from the witch. Evie's in the woods trying to find the Pennyroyal Academy, a school where girls are trained to become princesses and boys trained to be knights. For the first time in its history, the academy is open to commoners which Evie is. The prince is on his way there to become a knight. Few can survive the academy and Evie struggles to fit in before discovering her true parentage and courage.
The obstacles in the plot and the solutions are odd most of the time. Enchanted trees hit people and witches are trying to rise to power. The woods are dangerous and the head mistress is not fair to students. Evie faces a witch and then acts like she hasn't at the academy that left me scratching my head. Her fierceness doesn't come out until the end when she roars like a dragon. The girls tend to see their worth through the eyes of the boys and fight over one boy. Evie cries and runs off too much for my liking and her reactions to obstacles in the plot are often contradictory. I couldn't figure out why the boy, Forbes, that was cursed as a pig kissed Evie. She's mean to him because she reminds him of the picture that cursed him. Rather than find out and ask Forbes questions, she refuses to talk to him. He in turn, is mean back. Ugh. I really started skimming then. The injured dragon sister is a loose end that is not tied up.
The characters don't have much voice. Evie is timid and fearful most of the time. She doesn't trust people and tells the girls her parents were dragons. But when the girls see a dragon by the school no one puts it together. Instead, they shoot it. I thought the characters acted foolish most of the time. The subplot of romance follows the princess and princess fantasy trope that is dull and predictable. And what was the deal with the spiderweb dress? I really had problems envisioning that... I kept thinking of Milla Jovovich's white bandaged-style bodysuit in the movie, The Fifth Element. I know I'm more picky than student readers about books. I also read this so fast that I probably had more questions than if I had slowed down, but I would have felt like a fly in a spider's web. This one missed the mark for me.
October 7, 2014
This review contains a couple minor world spoilers, and is based on a prerelease galley which may have been edited by the final release.
Pennyroyal Academy is unlike any book about princesses, witches, and dragons that I have ever read. It paints a tale of princesses not being the dainty damsels in distress that have long been the trope of fantasy, but of strong and empowered warriors who protect the land. Much in the way stories like Artemis Fowl have redefined classical fantasy ideas in a more contemporary mindset, Pennyroyal puts women front-and-center, a fantastic choice for a novel released during a modern revival of feminism. The lead character, Evie, reminded me quite a bit of the titular character from Ender's Game; she is strong but not arrogant, often doesn't realize her own potential, and feels isolated from her upbringing. And as with any coming-of-age tale, she is a flawed character who will be developed as she learns what it takes to become a princess.
The novel itself suffers from a few minor structural problems. At times, the writing goes into great detail, and at others glosses over long periods of time; inconsistencies in pacing were a cause of "wait, how much time just passed?" double takes. I found myself on several occasions backtracking in the book to remind myself of certain key elements of the plot, such as the big reveal of Evie's backstory. Side characters didn't quite get as complete a development I would've hoped. And it wasn't always the easiest to understand the scale of everything in this world.
But the world and the story themselves are beautifully crafted. Chapters are rich with detail, characters speak with clear and consistent voice, and scenes are vividly depicted. I found myself getting absorbed into the world with remarkable ease, missing train stops on two separate occasions while reading. If you're someone with an active imagination, this book is for you. The story is fantastic, the action is fast-paced and captivating, and the ending is a great payoff.
All in all, this is a great novel and a super fun read. It had a few technical issues that were apparent while reading, but at worst these were annoyances, and didn't impede my desire to finish the novel. I'm looking forward to the second book taking place in this world. I'd highly recommend this book for grades 5-7 of all genders, and for adults who want a reminder of the fun of reading with your imagination.
Pennyroyal Academy is unlike any book about princesses, witches, and dragons that I have ever read. It paints a tale of princesses not being the dainty damsels in distress that have long been the trope of fantasy, but of strong and empowered warriors who protect the land. Much in the way stories like Artemis Fowl have redefined classical fantasy ideas in a more contemporary mindset, Pennyroyal puts women front-and-center, a fantastic choice for a novel released during a modern revival of feminism. The lead character, Evie, reminded me quite a bit of the titular character from Ender's Game; she is strong but not arrogant, often doesn't realize her own potential, and feels isolated from her upbringing. And as with any coming-of-age tale, she is a flawed character who will be developed as she learns what it takes to become a princess.
The novel itself suffers from a few minor structural problems. At times, the writing goes into great detail, and at others glosses over long periods of time; inconsistencies in pacing were a cause of "wait, how much time just passed?" double takes. I found myself on several occasions backtracking in the book to remind myself of certain key elements of the plot, such as the big reveal of Evie's backstory. Side characters didn't quite get as complete a development I would've hoped. And it wasn't always the easiest to understand the scale of everything in this world.
But the world and the story themselves are beautifully crafted. Chapters are rich with detail, characters speak with clear and consistent voice, and scenes are vividly depicted. I found myself getting absorbed into the world with remarkable ease, missing train stops on two separate occasions while reading. If you're someone with an active imagination, this book is for you. The story is fantastic, the action is fast-paced and captivating, and the ending is a great payoff.
All in all, this is a great novel and a super fun read. It had a few technical issues that were apparent while reading, but at worst these were annoyances, and didn't impede my desire to finish the novel. I'm looking forward to the second book taking place in this world. I'd highly recommend this book for grades 5-7 of all genders, and for adults who want a reminder of the fun of reading with your imagination.
September 1, 2015
Actual rating 3.5 stars. An interesting take on the traditional fairy tale retelling. Evie has no idea who she is but heads off to the Pennyroyal Academy to try to become a princess. She becomes close friends with Maggie and Basil. In her training as a princess she learns how to defeat a witch which later comes in handy when she ends up saving her friends. The character development was a little flat overall, but I do think it was alright. The little bit of romance between Evie and Prince Remington was a little bit cliche and expected. Overall a good middle years fairy tale retelling.
October 10, 2016
When a girl with no name, finds herself lost in an abandon forest with no one to trust, the story begins. In the forest, is a home for witches and dragons. She travels far and wide to search for a mysterious place called, Pennyroyal Academy. While she is hiding under a tree from a thunderous day, a flyer slaps against the tree from the wind. It says that anyone that wants to can enter the competition at Pennyroyal Academy and be one of the princesses there. She finally gets to her destination but is questioning her thinking. There are girls all prepped up with there hair in curlers and precious jewels around their necks. Many think she will be one of the first to leave the competition because of her hair and outfit. But she still walks with her chin held high around the crowd and goes to the reception desk. They ask what her name is but she doesn't respond. They ask her again and she finally says, "I have no name". They give her the name Cadet Eleven although she isn't all for it. A friendly girl walks up to her as she walks to get to her spot in line. The girl asks her what her name is. Cadet Eleven responds by saying, "I am Cadet Eleven". A frown spreads over the other girl's face. The girl gives Cadet Eleven the name Evie. They soon become friends and spend lots of time together. Then, they go to the competition and discover that if they want to be the Princess of Shield, they will need to know how to concquer witches. The Princess of Shield is the main princess that conquers witches. Evie learns new things and goes through hard times. In this book you'll find, love, hatred, suspense, and humor. If you liked the book The Princess Academy then you will like Pennyroyal Academy too. You will see what it takes to be strong and get through tough times with the help of friends. At certain times I wanted to jump into the story and stand up for Evie because of the mean girls in the book. This story is a very exciting and a bone chilling book. Every word you read will make you want to treasure it. I hope you enjoy!
September 12, 2015
how could i not like a book set in a magic academy? it could be boring and poorly written, that's how.
February 2, 2018
“All of it pointed to one simple fact: to be a princess was to battle witches.”
I have been meaning to read this book for a while now, but never had the chance to do so, until the day I found this book at a fabulous price at a book store (I just love finding English books). They also had book 2, but I wasn't sure if I would love this one (again, I have a 4+ stars requirement for my bookshelves these days), so I left it. I am currently still kicking myself for not bringing it with me. Now I can just hope it is still there when I go next week on Saturday.
Note: While this review may be a bit long, and I would love to discuss a lot of things, due to it being pretty spoilerish I will just keep it basic, or only lightly touch upon the subject. :)
This was just too much fun to read, the first 50 pages were a bit slow, and at times I got tired of the descriptions, but then I just couldn't stop reading it. I just flew through the book, I wanted to know all about Evie, about her past, about the witches, if she and Remington would get together, I wanted to see more training/battles, I couldn't wait for the ball, and there were a ton of other things I wanted to read.
This book also gave me serious Madoka Magica vibes. Not only because of these reasons: girls who have to fight witches, they have to be true princesses (or those who have the true princess strength). The witches are truly evil, vile beings that are cruel, wicked, and terrible. Then there is something near the end, which I won't spoil. Then there is one girl who is destined to do great things, the Warrior Princess. Next to those reasons there was just also the atmosphere that felt so much like Madoka Magica. The despair, the fear, the angst, and some other things. The only thing that missed and would have made it complete would be a Kyuubey character. :P
Evie/Eleven/her other name, was a wonderful character. I was really curious about why she was such a blank slate in regards to her past, but also with that she didn't know a thing about what the school was actually about, about the past princess, about the whole folklore of the place. I am really happy with how the author handled this, how they didn't rush it, instead offered us bits and pieces of Evie's past, showed some more of her dragon family, but also later her other family. It takes most of the book before we learn all we can about Evie. I love that! Oftentimes authors will rush through the backstory and then be done with it, but not this author! Thanks!
Plus it was great how brave she was, how she never gave up (though well... but I can forgive that time), and how hard she learned (instead of just letting it go by, she started studying and reading all the books she could read). This is one girl that is destined to do great things! Plus, thanks to what she encountered in the first part she knows how scary witches can get. A lot of girls haven't had first-hand experience with witches. They know the terror, but they don't know how scary these witches really can be.
I also did feel sorry for her, not only for her past (and what we learn), but also the bullying by Malora, Forbes and his creepy behaviour (dear Lord, that guy just screams CREEP ALERT).
Well, I can keep going on about this kick-ass girl that I love, but I think people get that I love her now. :P
Remington, ah, the knight in shiny armour. He was so sweet, nice and kind. Sure, I had to get used to him a bit, but later on? I just was hoping for many moments between him and Evie. He was kind and caring, but I also loved that he didn't mind making a joke (like with the ball), and he also had something else going on that had me laughing. Yep, this guy grew on me. Though I have to say I wanted to kick him in the nuts during one event in the book.
Maggie, Demetra, Anisette? The friends of Evie? I loved them, they were so sweet and fabulous. Whereas a lot of the girls were dividing off by if you were royal or not, these girls stuck together and mixed everything up. They showed what really makes a princess, to be sweet and kind.
The training? The school? Perfection! I just loved everything about it, and I wouldn't have minded participating in the training and the lessons (especially the lessons and the stories about the princesses and what they all did). Plus I am happy that we also saw the princesses and knights compete, help each other, or had training together. So fun!
I did have a laugh at the names of the instructors. I just couldn't take them all seriously, especially not in the beginning when we just learn about them.
Poor Basil though, but I am glad that they choose to accept him and that he also participated in everything and did his best for his fellow princesses.
The witches and seeing them get closer and closer was frightening. We see the destruction and loss get closer to home. It broke my heart for those girls who now have no home to go back to, or went home and are now potentially lost forever. :( The witches were properly scary, these are my favourite witches. Sure, it is nice to have a cute witch at times, but this is much better.
Malora? Boy, oh boy, I never liked the girl. She was a terrible character, but I have to say I sympathised with her later on.
The ending? IT WAS AMAZING! Really, it was just the best ever! So many new things are learned, then there are some things that happened that had me on my seat. Boy oh boy.
So yeah, I would highly recommend this fun magical book to everyone, and please pray with me that the second book is still waiting for me next week on Saturday!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I have been meaning to read this book for a while now, but never had the chance to do so, until the day I found this book at a fabulous price at a book store (I just love finding English books). They also had book 2, but I wasn't sure if I would love this one (again, I have a 4+ stars requirement for my bookshelves these days), so I left it. I am currently still kicking myself for not bringing it with me. Now I can just hope it is still there when I go next week on Saturday.
Note: While this review may be a bit long, and I would love to discuss a lot of things, due to it being pretty spoilerish I will just keep it basic, or only lightly touch upon the subject. :)
This was just too much fun to read, the first 50 pages were a bit slow, and at times I got tired of the descriptions, but then I just couldn't stop reading it. I just flew through the book, I wanted to know all about Evie, about her past, about the witches, if she and Remington would get together, I wanted to see more training/battles, I couldn't wait for the ball, and there were a ton of other things I wanted to read.
This book also gave me serious Madoka Magica vibes. Not only because of these reasons: girls who have to fight witches, they have to be true princesses (or those who have the true princess strength). The witches are truly evil, vile beings that are cruel, wicked, and terrible. Then there is something near the end, which I won't spoil. Then there is one girl who is destined to do great things, the Warrior Princess. Next to those reasons there was just also the atmosphere that felt so much like Madoka Magica. The despair, the fear, the angst, and some other things. The only thing that missed and would have made it complete would be a Kyuubey character. :P
Evie/Eleven/her other name, was a wonderful character. I was really curious about why she was such a blank slate in regards to her past, but also with that she didn't know a thing about what the school was actually about, about the past princess, about the whole folklore of the place. I am really happy with how the author handled this, how they didn't rush it, instead offered us bits and pieces of Evie's past, showed some more of her dragon family, but also later her other family. It takes most of the book before we learn all we can about Evie. I love that! Oftentimes authors will rush through the backstory and then be done with it, but not this author! Thanks!
Plus it was great how brave she was, how she never gave up (though well... but I can forgive that time), and how hard she learned (instead of just letting it go by, she started studying and reading all the books she could read). This is one girl that is destined to do great things! Plus, thanks to what she encountered in the first part she knows how scary witches can get. A lot of girls haven't had first-hand experience with witches. They know the terror, but they don't know how scary these witches really can be.
I also did feel sorry for her, not only for her past (and what we learn), but also the bullying by Malora, Forbes and his creepy behaviour (dear Lord, that guy just screams CREEP ALERT).
Well, I can keep going on about this kick-ass girl that I love, but I think people get that I love her now. :P
Remington, ah, the knight in shiny armour. He was so sweet, nice and kind. Sure, I had to get used to him a bit, but later on? I just was hoping for many moments between him and Evie. He was kind and caring, but I also loved that he didn't mind making a joke (like with the ball), and he also had something else going on that had me laughing. Yep, this guy grew on me. Though I have to say I wanted to kick him in the nuts during one event in the book.
Maggie, Demetra, Anisette? The friends of Evie? I loved them, they were so sweet and fabulous. Whereas a lot of the girls were dividing off by if you were royal or not, these girls stuck together and mixed everything up. They showed what really makes a princess, to be sweet and kind.
The training? The school? Perfection! I just loved everything about it, and I wouldn't have minded participating in the training and the lessons (especially the lessons and the stories about the princesses and what they all did). Plus I am happy that we also saw the princesses and knights compete, help each other, or had training together. So fun!
I did have a laugh at the names of the instructors. I just couldn't take them all seriously, especially not in the beginning when we just learn about them.
Poor Basil though, but I am glad that they choose to accept him and that he also participated in everything and did his best for his fellow princesses.
The witches and seeing them get closer and closer was frightening. We see the destruction and loss get closer to home. It broke my heart for those girls who now have no home to go back to, or went home and are now potentially lost forever. :( The witches were properly scary, these are my favourite witches. Sure, it is nice to have a cute witch at times, but this is much better.
Malora? Boy, oh boy, I never liked the girl. She was a terrible character, but I have to say I sympathised with her later on.
The ending? IT WAS AMAZING! Really, it was just the best ever! So many new things are learned, then there are some things that happened that had me on my seat. Boy oh boy.
So yeah, I would highly recommend this fun magical book to everyone, and please pray with me that the second book is still waiting for me next week on Saturday!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
November 27, 2014
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
Fantasy boarding schools are nothing new. They weren't even new when Harry Potter was published. But certainly trending and hot right now are Fantasy boarding schools where a fairy tale tradition is somehow incorporated into the world-building. Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson is the latest such book and is a fun inventive take on the concept.
A young girl completely lacking memories of her past except a few snatches here and there, not knowing even her name, is in an enchanted forest with naught but an advertisement stating all people, even those of common blood, may apply to be cadet Princesses and Knights at Pennyroyal Academy. Unfortunately she ends up in the house of a witch. Fortunately a knight candidate is on hand and they manage to rescue each other. Arriving at the school, the girl is given the name Cadet Eleven, Evie to her friends, and embarks on her education to become a Princess. But being a princess is a different reality than many were expecting. For it is the destiny and occupation of a princess to fight witches, a reality that is terrifying as a band of powerful witches is sweeping over the countries destroying one after another. As the reality of the war she has stumbled into is made clear to Evie, she needs to make some tough decisions about the road ahead. A task that becomes even harder as she is faced with her resurging memories, a most unpleasant fellow cadet, and the strange effect she has on one of the knight cadets.
I quite enjoyed the world of Pennyroyal Castle. Of all the fairy tale boarding school books to come out recently, this is definitely my favorite. It doesn't have the internal logic problem of Ever After High or the multiple issues I had with The School for Good and Evil. At Pennyroyal girls are trained to be princesses to fight witches. (Except in Evie's year there is a groundbreaking boy princess candidate.) Boys are trained to be knights to fight dragons. The school runs like a military academy with fairly godmother drill sergeants. The princesses frequently yell the four traits every princess must have to succeed in the war against witches: Courage. Compassion. Kindness. Discipline. I love all of it. The classes, the challenges, the obstacle courses, the partnerships with the knights: all of it creates a very real world and an interesting one at that.
Evie is an excellent heroine, though one it is tough to connect with at first as she has no memory that includes no name and is rather quiet and reserved. There is enough mystery there that I was engaged from the start. And Evie's growth through the book is wonderful. There are times when switches and revelations happen a bit too abruptly. So abruptly it forced me to reread several pages. However that is a minor complaint in the face of the delightful characters and unique setting. Evie's friends, a few fellow princess cadets and the knight cadet she meets at the beginning (Remington) form an excellent team and are wonderfully supportive of each other. I thought the relationship between Remington and Evie had exactly the right amount of romance for a MG book, enough to keep fairy tale lovers happy, but not overwhelm those who don't wish for that aspect in their books yet. I kind of adore Remington as a character too and am very much looking forward to future installments of this series.
The plot mostly revolves around Evie figuring out who she is and setting up the world. It has several lovely twists, a couple I guessed but most I did not. It is just a lot of fun and recommend it to anyone who loves fantastical boarding schools, magic, and fairy tales.
Fantasy boarding schools are nothing new. They weren't even new when Harry Potter was published. But certainly trending and hot right now are Fantasy boarding schools where a fairy tale tradition is somehow incorporated into the world-building. Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson is the latest such book and is a fun inventive take on the concept.
A young girl completely lacking memories of her past except a few snatches here and there, not knowing even her name, is in an enchanted forest with naught but an advertisement stating all people, even those of common blood, may apply to be cadet Princesses and Knights at Pennyroyal Academy. Unfortunately she ends up in the house of a witch. Fortunately a knight candidate is on hand and they manage to rescue each other. Arriving at the school, the girl is given the name Cadet Eleven, Evie to her friends, and embarks on her education to become a Princess. But being a princess is a different reality than many were expecting. For it is the destiny and occupation of a princess to fight witches, a reality that is terrifying as a band of powerful witches is sweeping over the countries destroying one after another. As the reality of the war she has stumbled into is made clear to Evie, she needs to make some tough decisions about the road ahead. A task that becomes even harder as she is faced with her resurging memories, a most unpleasant fellow cadet, and the strange effect she has on one of the knight cadets.
I quite enjoyed the world of Pennyroyal Castle. Of all the fairy tale boarding school books to come out recently, this is definitely my favorite. It doesn't have the internal logic problem of Ever After High or the multiple issues I had with The School for Good and Evil. At Pennyroyal girls are trained to be princesses to fight witches. (Except in Evie's year there is a groundbreaking boy princess candidate.) Boys are trained to be knights to fight dragons. The school runs like a military academy with fairly godmother drill sergeants. The princesses frequently yell the four traits every princess must have to succeed in the war against witches: Courage. Compassion. Kindness. Discipline. I love all of it. The classes, the challenges, the obstacle courses, the partnerships with the knights: all of it creates a very real world and an interesting one at that.
Evie is an excellent heroine, though one it is tough to connect with at first as she has no memory that includes no name and is rather quiet and reserved. There is enough mystery there that I was engaged from the start. And Evie's growth through the book is wonderful. There are times when switches and revelations happen a bit too abruptly. So abruptly it forced me to reread several pages. However that is a minor complaint in the face of the delightful characters and unique setting. Evie's friends, a few fellow princess cadets and the knight cadet she meets at the beginning (Remington) form an excellent team and are wonderfully supportive of each other. I thought the relationship between Remington and Evie had exactly the right amount of romance for a MG book, enough to keep fairy tale lovers happy, but not overwhelm those who don't wish for that aspect in their books yet. I kind of adore Remington as a character too and am very much looking forward to future installments of this series.
The plot mostly revolves around Evie figuring out who she is and setting up the world. It has several lovely twists, a couple I guessed but most I did not. It is just a lot of fun and recommend it to anyone who loves fantastical boarding schools, magic, and fairy tales.
September 27, 2017
This book was bad. I’m just going to come right out and say it, it was really bad. The concept sounded really great, you know I love me some boarding school, fantasy, mixed up fairy tale books but like damn this book just totally dropped the ball on all of this. I’ll give it one thing, I really liked how the witches were done in this book, but that was like ten pages out of this entire book. So beyond a really great witch premise, this book had nothing. It immediately switches tense on the first page. I am not a grammar nazi, but come on! So, Girl goes to Pennyroyal Academy- after of course meeting the most handsome and eligible Prince, and of course immediately draws the ire of stuck up princesses, and of course is singled out, and of course is super singled out because she does something that no one has ever done the first day at the academy. Just the timing of everything that happens in this book was off, and it’s like ohhh you have to do grueling training, but they don’t tell you what their training is, or how it helps with fighting witches and dragons. OHHH you have to sew a dress, and now you have to fall off of a tower, and now you have to run to breakfast…just weird disjointed ‘classes’ with nothing telling the reader why. Sorry wasn’t a fan, and will be getting rid of my copy.
December 24, 2014
3.75 stars. Basically, an inverted Harry Potter series, with a male writer (masquerading behind two initials) writing about a female protagonist. Cadet 11/Evie/Nicolina is on a quest to train as a warrior princess to battle the war being waged by witches while boys are training to become knights to battle dragons. Under the tutelage of a fairy drill sergeant, the girls are taught skills with their primary one being compassion. The lead female characters are strong (Evie, Maggie, Basil) whereas many of the others are too one dimensional. Hopefully, Larson will develop them further in his next book, and the plot while action packed and full of interesting surprises, turns out to be sadly predictable in the end.
June 14, 2014
I liked the story but multiple times I had to flip back a few pages to see whether I missed something. Choppy at times; hopefully there will be one more proofing on the book before it is officially released.
September 29, 2020
The beginning was a little boring, I found myself rereading the same paragraph over and over again. But once the story picked up more I found myself hooked and the next thing I knew I had finished the book. Its worth the read and the plot twist was really good.
May 25, 2017
Nice, entertaining, very young adult story.
April 4, 2018
This was an unbelievably bad book. It jumped all over the place, and the main character was completely unlikable. Also, there was a lack of consistency and logic in the worldbuilding, as well as extremely weird pacing.
We start out too fast, with the main character running through enchanted woods where trees are trying to kill her. She comes upon a house, which (duh) belongs to a witch, and sort of rescues a prince. She has no name, but is christened "Cadet Eleven" because the school is run by assholes that can't come up with normal names. She goes by Evie as a result. One of the inconsistencies is that some people are called "princess" and others are called "cadet." Evie is a crappy character that is constantly having things happen TO her, rather than actually doing things. Somehow she releases a prince from his curse as a prince.
We are told constantly that princesses must be kind, compassionate, courageous, and disciplined, but there is zero evidence of that. Princess Beatrice herself is a bitch, so not sure how she's qualified. The school is arbitrary in the selection process. Evie nearly gets kicked out simply for not knowing any princess stories, whereas the royal girls that are horrible and bully everyone are completely fine. Hello, ignorance has a much better chance of being fixed than a bad personality. By the way, only princesses can defeat witches. Unknown why. Has something to do with that kindness and compassion. Oh, and how that one princess DISCOVERED COURAGE. Oh, and witches can't help themselves, taking over and hating everything is JUST WHAT THEY DO. Don't worry about the logistics, that's just how it is. You'd think they would want MORE princesses, rather than kicking them all out on a pretext.
So, things that are revealed about Evie. She was raised by dragons. Hence why she sleeps perched on things like a bird (do you actually think dragons do this? They're big lizards, not birds...). I guess dragons don't have names? Oh, and apparently she didn't know she wasn't a dragon, and maybe her dragon parents and sister didn't either, since they all seemed quite upset that she can't fly. Oh but wait!! She CAN fly! That's not explained. After the bitchy Malora insults her, she runs away crying (essentially quitting), and runs into witches. There she learns that witches are made by taking the heart of a dragon (which is full of fury!) and the heart of an innocent princess that is afraid, throw them in a cauldron, and PRESTO, witch. Somehow she has lots of power and gets away. And her dragon sister helps her, but to get back into the academy, she has to pretend that her sister is attacking her, which naturally leads to her sister being attacked, and wounded, but who cares about that, now Evie is back in the academy! And OMG, it turns out the bitchy Malora is her step sister! That's right, Evie is really a princess! That prince she saved from the witches earlier turns out to be a frog prince (naturally) and then they find that wolves have gotten into the academy (because of a misplaced fairy wand? Really?) and Evie can ROAR just like a dragon because of her dragon heart! But as she discovers through her memories...her dragon father killed her real-father-that-was-actually-her-step-father, so it turns out dragons are evil! What a betraying, horrible beast her dragon father is! Or was, since in the course of searching for her runaway self, he is hit by lightning and the witches go and kill him, presumably taking his heart. I'm going to guess it's full of fury and they're going to make a bad witch out of it. And her step-sister Malora continues to be a horrible bitch, but after Evie releases her dragon anger and beats her up, she admits that she doesn't know why she does rotten things, she JUST DOES! And the frog prince is a horrible guy because he killed a dragon when he was younger (but dragons are horrible beasts!). I don't even know. BUT WAIT! Plot twist - her mom isn't her mom, she's Malora's! And Malora's dad is actually her dad! Her (fake) mom plotted to kill both Evie and her father all those years ago so that Malora could be passed off as the royal child because Malora (and mom) is actually a witch! Well, what do you know, witches can totally blend in with normal people! "You will be the ultimate warrior of fear trained as the ultimate warrior of love! A hero with a heart as black as night! A Princess-Witch!" SERIOUSLY.
Now, atop this crumbling tower, she understood the true essence of a witch. A witch was the absence of everything that made a princess special. A witch could create penetrating fear with a glance, could summon darkest magic, could even turn the living flesh of the innocent to stone, but she could never muster what Evie felt building inside her at that very moment.
A witch had no courage.
I guess Malora just can't help herself from being evil. I mean, it's not like there isn't a dissident witch that helps the academy already, but being born a witch just predetermines that you're going to be bad, even though you were raised thinking you were completely human.
A lot of people seem to feel that this is about princesses being powerful characters. I'm not really seeing it. I mean, in class they learn that to escape a tower: you jump from it and hope a knight on a horse fucking catches you. Seriously? And is it not obvious that even if you're caught, you'll probably be extremely hurt if not dead from the impact? And to kill a witch, it's almost like you...Love her to death or something? It is absolutely not clear why only princesses can do this nonsense. I mean, near the end of training, a cadet's parents come to tell her that their kingdom has been taken (I have no idea how many kingdoms there are, but it seems like the witches are definitely winning) and take her with them to go with the refugees. Um, why doesn't she stay and complete her training?
You've got a boy among cadets that makes no sense. The idea is that he is the 22nd boy in his family, and his mom wanted a girl so raised him as one. Somehow this qualifies him to try to become a princess (despite how outraged they were on taking him in). I don't even know. A stab at inclusiveness?
I don't even know how this book got published. It's not that it didn't have potential, but it was completely washed away by the absurdity of it. Cramming all that into her life was just crazy. And naturally, she can no longer show that commoners can rise to be princesses, but it turns out she was a princess all along. Then they added a crappy romance with Remington (frog prince) and a weird hostile relationship with Forbes (pig boy). Maybe the whole portrait business will be explained. And Saudade. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll ever find out.
We start out too fast, with the main character running through enchanted woods where trees are trying to kill her. She comes upon a house, which (duh) belongs to a witch, and sort of rescues a prince. She has no name, but is christened "Cadet Eleven" because the school is run by assholes that can't come up with normal names. She goes by Evie as a result. One of the inconsistencies is that some people are called "princess" and others are called "cadet." Evie is a crappy character that is constantly having things happen TO her, rather than actually doing things. Somehow she releases a prince from his curse as a prince.
We are told constantly that princesses must be kind, compassionate, courageous, and disciplined, but there is zero evidence of that. Princess Beatrice herself is a bitch, so not sure how she's qualified. The school is arbitrary in the selection process. Evie nearly gets kicked out simply for not knowing any princess stories, whereas the royal girls that are horrible and bully everyone are completely fine. Hello, ignorance has a much better chance of being fixed than a bad personality. By the way, only princesses can defeat witches. Unknown why. Has something to do with that kindness and compassion. Oh, and how that one princess DISCOVERED COURAGE. Oh, and witches can't help themselves, taking over and hating everything is JUST WHAT THEY DO. Don't worry about the logistics, that's just how it is. You'd think they would want MORE princesses, rather than kicking them all out on a pretext.
So, things that are revealed about Evie. She was raised by dragons. Hence why she sleeps perched on things like a bird (do you actually think dragons do this? They're big lizards, not birds...). I guess dragons don't have names? Oh, and apparently she didn't know she wasn't a dragon, and maybe her dragon parents and sister didn't either, since they all seemed quite upset that she can't fly. Oh but wait!! She CAN fly! That's not explained. After the bitchy Malora insults her, she runs away crying (essentially quitting), and runs into witches. There she learns that witches are made by taking the heart of a dragon (which is full of fury!) and the heart of an innocent princess that is afraid, throw them in a cauldron, and PRESTO, witch. Somehow she has lots of power and gets away. And her dragon sister helps her, but to get back into the academy, she has to pretend that her sister is attacking her, which naturally leads to her sister being attacked, and wounded, but who cares about that, now Evie is back in the academy! And OMG, it turns out the bitchy Malora is her step sister! That's right, Evie is really a princess! That prince she saved from the witches earlier turns out to be a frog prince (naturally) and then they find that wolves have gotten into the academy (because of a misplaced fairy wand? Really?) and Evie can ROAR just like a dragon because of her dragon heart! But as she discovers through her memories...her dragon father killed her real-father-that-was-actually-her-step-father, so it turns out dragons are evil! What a betraying, horrible beast her dragon father is! Or was, since in the course of searching for her runaway self, he is hit by lightning and the witches go and kill him, presumably taking his heart. I'm going to guess it's full of fury and they're going to make a bad witch out of it. And her step-sister Malora continues to be a horrible bitch, but after Evie releases her dragon anger and beats her up, she admits that she doesn't know why she does rotten things, she JUST DOES! And the frog prince is a horrible guy because he killed a dragon when he was younger (but dragons are horrible beasts!). I don't even know. BUT WAIT! Plot twist - her mom isn't her mom, she's Malora's! And Malora's dad is actually her dad! Her (fake) mom plotted to kill both Evie and her father all those years ago so that Malora could be passed off as the royal child because Malora (and mom) is actually a witch! Well, what do you know, witches can totally blend in with normal people! "You will be the ultimate warrior of fear trained as the ultimate warrior of love! A hero with a heart as black as night! A Princess-Witch!" SERIOUSLY.
Now, atop this crumbling tower, she understood the true essence of a witch. A witch was the absence of everything that made a princess special. A witch could create penetrating fear with a glance, could summon darkest magic, could even turn the living flesh of the innocent to stone, but she could never muster what Evie felt building inside her at that very moment.
A witch had no courage.
I guess Malora just can't help herself from being evil. I mean, it's not like there isn't a dissident witch that helps the academy already, but being born a witch just predetermines that you're going to be bad, even though you were raised thinking you were completely human.
A lot of people seem to feel that this is about princesses being powerful characters. I'm not really seeing it. I mean, in class they learn that to escape a tower: you jump from it and hope a knight on a horse fucking catches you. Seriously? And is it not obvious that even if you're caught, you'll probably be extremely hurt if not dead from the impact? And to kill a witch, it's almost like you...Love her to death or something? It is absolutely not clear why only princesses can do this nonsense. I mean, near the end of training, a cadet's parents come to tell her that their kingdom has been taken (I have no idea how many kingdoms there are, but it seems like the witches are definitely winning) and take her with them to go with the refugees. Um, why doesn't she stay and complete her training?
You've got a boy among cadets that makes no sense. The idea is that he is the 22nd boy in his family, and his mom wanted a girl so raised him as one. Somehow this qualifies him to try to become a princess (despite how outraged they were on taking him in). I don't even know. A stab at inclusiveness?
I don't even know how this book got published. It's not that it didn't have potential, but it was completely washed away by the absurdity of it. Cramming all that into her life was just crazy. And naturally, she can no longer show that commoners can rise to be princesses, but it turns out she was a princess all along. Then they added a crappy romance with Remington (frog prince) and a weird hostile relationship with Forbes (pig boy). Maybe the whole portrait business will be explained. And Saudade. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll ever find out.
June 9, 2022
This was a read aloud to the kiddos. It was one of the most meandering, “I have no idea what to write next” stories I have ever read. Half way through the book all the characters were suddenly British (Bloody hell, Evie”)but what Americans think the British sound like. The story was both Harry Potterish and random drug hallucinations. A chapter would end and another would begin like the last chapter didn’t happen! I felt like I was tripping out with the author but it wasn’t a trip I asked for or wanted.
December 6, 2014
Wow, this one is a lot deeper and intense than expected! I love how the definition of a princess is reworked into something I'd love girls (and boys!) to aspire to, and the main character goes through a lot of great growth. Definitely recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 568 reviews