Review + Giveaway: Palace of Stone

Palace of Stone
Princess Academy, Book2

Author: Shannon Hale
Pages: 321
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Source: Own

Description from Goodreads:
Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting . . . until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she "should "help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city. Picking up where "Princess Academy "left off, this incredible stand-alone story celebrates the joys of friendship, the delight of romance, and the fate of a beloved fairy tale kingdom.

Prior Book: Princess Academy

First Sentence: "Miri woke to the insistent bleat of a goat."

Review:
Last week, I reread Princess Academy in preparation for finally getting to the long-awaited sequel. Since Princess Academy ranks amongst my favorite books and since I always thought Princess Academy was a standalone, I embarked on Palace of Stone with trepidation. Often, much-belated, perhaps unintended, sequels disappoint, coming nowhere near the power of the original book, which would have been much better off left as a single, complete unit. Admittedly, Palace of Stone does not rise to the heights of its predecessor, I am still glad to have it and am excited that at least one more book of Miri's adventures will be coming.

As ever, Shannon Hale's writing is a treat. Writing style, of course, is such a subjective qualification. Hale's writing has a sort of weighted simplicity that I really admire. I can sort of sense how much thought she put into her word choices, into the compositions of the snatches of song, to make them just right. While most of the sentences are not especially complex, they are not at all haphazardly thrown together.

Shannon said that this book can be read independently of Princess Academy. That's true, I suppose, but I really would recommend that course of action. For one thing, Princess Academy is amazing, and why would you read the slightly less awesome second book in the series and not the book that started it at all. That would be silly, and not just because reading books out of series order offends my sensibilities.

Based on this statement that Palace of Stone can stand alone, I really expected this book to follow a different Mount Eskel girl, though I didn't really have a plan in mind as to which of them it would be (obviously, I didn't read the description at all). However, that is not the case at all. Miri is again our intrepid heroine. She remains clever, determined and full of good humor, and the best choice for a heroine. She spends more time in Palace of Stone downhearted, though, less sure of herself than she was in Princess Academy.

In this book, Shannon introduces a love triangle, which serves as a metaphor for Miri's concerns about her future. Peder represents Mount Eskel, solid, reliable and comfortable; Timon, a fellow student, represents a possible future in Asland, studying and adventuring. I saw the love triangle less as being about the boys themselves than about her indecision about what she wants her life to be. Does she want to stay in the city or to return to Mount Eskel? Hale handled this rather deftly, although I thought the final conclusion of it a bit oversimplified and too black and white.

What I found frustrating about Palace of Stone that lowered my rating was that I felt that Hale got a bit too lecture-y. As she mentions in the book, rhetoric dictates that it is better to tell a story to teach than to lecture. That, obviously, is what she's trying to do, but the lesson underneath is too apparent. The plot of Palace of Stone deals with the impending revolution. As such, there are many discussions of ethics and monarchy and such. They all just seemed a bit over the top and forced. They could have been worked in more naturally, shown more rather than told.

Part of that stems from the fact that the driving force of the plot is Katar's request that Miri help her figure out which side Mount Eskel should back in this political minefield. Should they side with King Bjorn and the nobles or with the 'shoeless,' the commoners? Katar presents this as something crucial that needs to be resolved immediately. Miri duly agrees to go sniff around and learn what she can, and gets involved with a revolutionary group. Through all of this, she never reports back with anything at all substantial to Katar. Thought it was imperative that Mount Eskel choose a side posthaste, Miri doesn't give Katar a plan until almost a year later. Hale's attempt to establish a sense of urgency and Miri's reaction made me seriously frustrated, and that diminished my liking for Miri a bit.

I realize that got a bit ranty. I still quite enjoyed Palace of Stone, but I just didn't feel like it lived up to Princess Academy. If you enjoyed PA, though, I recommend reading this one anyway. If you haven't read PA, go do that.

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote: "If you receive these letters along with a note advising you of my execution, please do not be too sad. Someday you might even laugh about it! 'Oh that Miri. She would go off to Asland and stir up trouble. Remember when she forgot to tie up the billy goat, and he ate two shoes and a blanket? Such a prankster!'"

Giveaway: Hey you guys! I have a signed ARC to give away to one of you lovely people! US only since I'm footing the bill for shipping. Otherwise, there's nothing complicated. Just leave your email below. Giveaway ends 9/27. Tweeting is always appreciated.

Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin

The Glass Swallow
Dragonfly, Book 2

Author: Julia Golding
Pages: 304
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

Brief Summary:
In Tigral, only men can be glassmakers. This does not stop Rain from being the best stained glass designer in the country. Her father, the head of a glassmaking shop, allows her to design and pretends they are his so that they can get around the guild. Although he too hates the rules of the guild, he is afraid to challenge them. When orders come for his designer to travel to Magharna to design windows for the Master's summer palace, she accompanies her cousin (as his betrothed, but not for real) so that the charade can continue. No one planned, though, for their company to be beset by bandits and murdered (all but Rain) before they even reached the capital. All of a sudden, Rain finds herself caught up in the revolution of another country.

Review:
The Glass Swallow is a companion novel to Dragonfly, which I read, and loved, a couple years ago. The main characters from Dragonfly do make a brief appearance, but are, for the most part, quite distant. Nonetheless, this was quite a satisfying companion to that fantastic book.

What makes these books, and probably the others of Julia Golding that I have yet to read, so fantastic is how strong her heroines are. Rain lacks physical strength pretty much entirely. She is diminutive, especially in this new country, and certainly would stand no chance in a fight with most anyone. However, she is still most definitely a force to be reckoned with. Her intellect, talent and stubbornness are what make her shine and make people respect her.

Also super adorable was the romance between Peri and Rain. I've always been a sucker for the romance plot line where the couple didn't like each other at first. I wonder why. (cough...Pride and Prejudice...cough.) Plus, I really liked their dynamic together, the fact that being in love doesn't mean that they don't bicker and even have serious fights. Despite this being a fantasy, the romance seems much more realistic than those in so many young adult realistic fiction novels.

Fans of Tamora Pierce and Kristin Cashore should really consider giving Julia Golding's novels a try. Her books are a bit less dramatic perhaps, but I think the core of them is similar.

"So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins,
For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing."