The Princess Test. Gail Carson Levine. (1999). 91p. New York: HarperCollins.
Awards and Honors: none
Review:
The Princess Test is Levine's retelling of fairy tale classic, The Princess and The Pea. A blacksmith's daughter, Lorelei, lives in the village of Snettering-on-Snoake. From the time she was born, she has always been particular, delicate and sickly... but sweet. When the blacksmith travels to another town, Lorelei meets Prince Nicholas who immediately falls in love with the girl. Meanwhile, the King and Queen begin a search to find a wife for Prince Nicholas. Fate brings Lorelei to the castle, where Nicholas passes her off to his parents as a princess. Lorelei undergoes a series of tests devised by the King and Queen to find a true princess for Nicholas to marry. Her finickiness comes in handy for the tests; she notices the missing stitch on an embroidered dress, she finds a tiny piece of noodle in her salad, and can feel a pea under twenty mattresses. Each test weeds out more princesses, until finally Lorelei is the last girl left.
The Princess Test is Levine's retelling of fairy tale classic, The Princess and The Pea. A blacksmith's daughter, Lorelei, lives in the village of Snettering-on-Snoake. From the time she was born, she has always been particular, delicate and sickly... but sweet. When the blacksmith travels to another town, Lorelei meets Prince Nicholas who immediately falls in love with the girl. Meanwhile, the King and Queen begin a search to find a wife for Prince Nicholas. Fate brings Lorelei to the castle, where Nicholas passes her off to his parents as a princess. Lorelei undergoes a series of tests devised by the King and Queen to find a true princess for Nicholas to marry. Her finickiness comes in handy for the tests; she notices the missing stitch on an embroidered dress, she finds a tiny piece of noodle in her salad, and can feel a pea under twenty mattresses. Each test weeds out more princesses, until finally Lorelei is the last girl left.
Opinion:
I expected more from this story, but I felt it was a little flat. I was hoping to find a book to recommend to girls who love princess stories, but Levine's attempts at humor didn't hit the mark, and none of the characters were particularly compelling. The small black-and-white illustrations really added nothing to the story. The story is short though, and I'd be willing to try another installment in Levine's Princess Tales series.
I expected more from this story, but I felt it was a little flat. I was hoping to find a book to recommend to girls who love princess stories, but Levine's attempts at humor didn't hit the mark, and none of the characters were particularly compelling. The small black-and-white illustrations really added nothing to the story. The story is short though, and I'd be willing to try another installment in Levine's Princess Tales series.
In my library, I have a bibliography of "girly" books that is extremely popular. Most of the books tend to be for younger readers, so I'd add this series for something with a little bit more substance.
No comments:
Post a Comment