Princess Academy
Encyclopedia
Princess Academy is a fantasy novel exploring themes of families, relationships and education by Shannon Hale
published on June 16, 2005
by Bloomsbury. It tells the story of fourteen-year-old Miri who attends a princess academy which will determine who wins the hand of the prince. The book was named a 2006 Newbery Honor winner as well as a winner of several other awards.
Unexpectedly, a messenger from the king arrives along with the usual traders from the lowlands. The messenger announces that the nation's priests have informed the nation that, despite the lack of education provided for the villagers and the prejudice that exists between the mountain villagers and the lowlanders, the crown prince's future bride will come from Mt. Eskel. A "princess academy" is established near the village to train the potential princesses, with compulsory attendance for every girl aged between twelve and seventeen. At the end of the year, the prince will visit the academy and choose the girl to be the next princess.
Miri and the other girls attend the academy, and although they struggle to appease the strict teacher, Tutor Olana, Miri excels at learning and commerce. All the girls are eager to please the prince and win a comfortable life for themselves and their families, and Miri's new knowledge of commerce helps the village prosper in trading with the lowlanders. After a disagreement, the girls use their knowledge of diplomacy to negotiate a more bearable living arrangement with Tutor Olana, including weekly visits home. Miri also begins to explore the mechanics of quarry-speech, a form of unspoken communication used only in the quarry, and makes friends with some of the other girls, including Britta, a lowlander.
When the prince's visit arrives, Miri is crowned academy princess, she gets to have the first dance with him. Although she is uncertain if she truly wants to marry the prince, as she has developed feelings for her childhood friend Peder. At the academy ball, the prince dances with every girl except Britta, who is ill, and generally acts very distant, but later in the evening he takes a walk with Miri and shows a more human side. However, he leaves without choosing a bride. Once the prince has left, promising to return in the spring to announce his choice, bandits attack the academy hoping to hold the new princess hostage. Miri must use her new knowledge of quarry speech to call for help from the village. At first no one seems to hear her, but eventually she is able to contact Peder. The villagers come to the academy through the blizzard, and the girls escape from the bandits and spend the winter at home with their families. In the spring, the prince returns and chooses to marry Britta - whom he knew when they were children and names Mount Eskel an official province. The book ends with Peder and Miri admitting their feelings toward each other.
Shannon Hale
Shannon Hale is an American author of young adult fantasy and adult fiction.-Biography:Shannon Hale is the author of ten novels, including the best-selling Newbery Honor book Princess Academy, the "Books of Bayern" series, two adult novels, and two graphic novels that she and her husband co-wrote...
published on June 16, 2005
2005 in literature
The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*February 25 - Canada Reads selects Rockbound by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation....
by Bloomsbury. It tells the story of fourteen-year-old Miri who attends a princess academy which will determine who wins the hand of the prince. The book was named a 2006 Newbery Honor winner as well as a winner of several other awards.
Summary
Miri is a fourteen-year-old girl from Mt. Eskel, an isolated territory of Danland, who has never been allowed to work with the rest of the villagers in the quarry that keeps the community alive. Because of this, she feels like an outcast in the community and cut off from the culture focused around a shared working life in the quarry. As the quarry can barely cut enough linder to feed the villagers, Miri keeps on trying to help. In spite of her feelings of isolation, Miri is very close to her father and her sister, Marda, and she shares a close friendship with a boy named Peder.Unexpectedly, a messenger from the king arrives along with the usual traders from the lowlands. The messenger announces that the nation's priests have informed the nation that, despite the lack of education provided for the villagers and the prejudice that exists between the mountain villagers and the lowlanders, the crown prince's future bride will come from Mt. Eskel. A "princess academy" is established near the village to train the potential princesses, with compulsory attendance for every girl aged between twelve and seventeen. At the end of the year, the prince will visit the academy and choose the girl to be the next princess.
Miri and the other girls attend the academy, and although they struggle to appease the strict teacher, Tutor Olana, Miri excels at learning and commerce. All the girls are eager to please the prince and win a comfortable life for themselves and their families, and Miri's new knowledge of commerce helps the village prosper in trading with the lowlanders. After a disagreement, the girls use their knowledge of diplomacy to negotiate a more bearable living arrangement with Tutor Olana, including weekly visits home. Miri also begins to explore the mechanics of quarry-speech, a form of unspoken communication used only in the quarry, and makes friends with some of the other girls, including Britta, a lowlander.
When the prince's visit arrives, Miri is crowned academy princess, she gets to have the first dance with him. Although she is uncertain if she truly wants to marry the prince, as she has developed feelings for her childhood friend Peder. At the academy ball, the prince dances with every girl except Britta, who is ill, and generally acts very distant, but later in the evening he takes a walk with Miri and shows a more human side. However, he leaves without choosing a bride. Once the prince has left, promising to return in the spring to announce his choice, bandits attack the academy hoping to hold the new princess hostage. Miri must use her new knowledge of quarry speech to call for help from the village. At first no one seems to hear her, but eventually she is able to contact Peder. The villagers come to the academy through the blizzard, and the girls escape from the bandits and spend the winter at home with their families. In the spring, the prince returns and chooses to marry Britta - whom he knew when they were children and names Mount Eskel an official province. The book ends with Peder and Miri admitting their feelings toward each other.
Awards and nominations
- 2005 Honorable Mention for "Favorite Novel of the Year", and Publishers WeeklyPublishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
s Cuffie Awards - 2006 Newbery Honor Book
- 2006 Utah Children's Book Award
- 2007 Beehive Award winner
- An ALA Notable Children's Book
- A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
- A Book for the Teen Age by The New York Public Library
- A Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year, starred entry
- Nominated for the 2008 Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award
- Nominated for the 2008 Colorado Children's Book Award
- Nominated for the 2008 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award
- Nominated for the 2008 Young Reader's Choice AwardYoung Reader's Choice AwardThe Young Reader's Choice Award is an annual book award chosen by students from the Pacific Northwest. It is run by the Pacific Northwest Library Association, and was established in 1940, making it the oldest children's choice award in the U.S. and Canada....
, sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association - Nominated for the Illinois 2008 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book AwardRebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book AwardThe Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award is a program sponsored by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, the Illinois Reading Council, and the Illinois School Library Media Association. The award has been granted annually since 1988...
External links
- Books: Princess Academy on the author's official website