The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

In the tradition of Gail Carson Levine, Karen Cushman, and Shannon Hale comes a magical debut that weaves favorite fairy tale elements into a fabulous new story starring an irrepressible heroine.

Jillian’s Review:

This was a lot like reading The Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, only The Princess Curse is Middle Grade instead of Young Adult which means there’s not nearly enough romance for my taste. That being said, it’s still a great read. There’s lots of action and humor with a great heroine.

As with the majority of MG and YA novels I’ve read, the heroine is strong willed, smart, and determined, which are all great qualities (especially when reading about a person with them) but not true to the typical teenager. I often forgot that the main character was only 13 and thus kept looking forward to the romance. It never came, which it good when the main girl is only 13! I wrote the sequel to this one in my mind after I finished reading it. My sequel was YA a few years afterwards so the girl is old enough to have a romance with the guy and I went to sleep happy.

A great book for girls ages 10-13ish.

 

Dragon Flight (Dragon Slippers, Book 2) by Jessica Day George

Synopsis (from GoodReads.com):

With the Dragon Wars over, Creel finds herself bored with life as a seamstress. Then word comes that a bordering country has been breeding dragons in preparation for an invasion. Never one to sit around, Creel throws herself headlong into an adventure that will reunite her with her dragon friend Shardas, pit her against a vicious new enemy and perhaps rekindle a friendship with Prince Luka that seems to have gone cold. Funny, heart-felt, and action packed, this is a sequel that will satisfy on every level.

Jillian’s Review:

This second installment of the Dragon Slippers series was just as fun, exciting, and interesting as the first. I've mentioned before how much I LOVE George's writing style and she doesn't stray from it in this one. The characters are realistic and likeable (or hate-able) and most importantly, I finished with a smile on my face and an uplifted heart. I really like that Creel (can’t stand her name) is strong and brave but doesn’t really see herself that way. It’s refreshing to no have the main character’s personality be overpoweringly stubborn. That seems to be the trend in the YA novels I’ve recently read.

The only problems I had with this one were that we’re told that Creel and Luka spend tons of time together, but we don't really get to see any of it. I would have liked to see a bit more romance but I understand that this is a juvenile book so it shouldn't have too much. George does a great job of showing the reader what everyone is wearing (which makes sense since Creel is a seamstress), yet I can't for the life of me remember what Luka looks like. Still, these are minor issues for me because the rest of the content of the book was marvelous.

I can’t wait to read the next one!