A good Shannon Hale book!

You might think I would have given up on Shannon Hale after starting with "Austenland," but I decided to try "Princess Academy," as I already owned it.

I should probably be a little ashamed at how much I like this book. I REALLY loved it. A lot. It had surprising depth for a YA novel. Not only was it a great fairytale princess story, but it also portrayed teenage insecurities, classism, and typical childhood rivalries exceptionally well. I guess I shouldn't have doubted a book that got a Newberry Honor nod.

Austenland

I picked up an advanced copy of "Austenland" at one of the last meetings I attended before being forced to leave the book world. Like nearly every other hopelessly romantic female in the world, I gravitate toward all things Austen, but this one was too much for me. I can't imagine this book appealing to anyone who isn't an Austen fan (or at least Pride and Prejudice -- be it the book, BBC or 2004 film version).



It is such a short, quick book (basically the only thing I've been reading, this summer. surprise surprise!) that I did manage to get through the whole thing, but it was trite and predictable the entire way.

Don't get me wrong: generally, I can't get enough of horrible, predictable romantic comedies, but even I have my limits. Ugh. This is the worst post ever (and that's saying something, since all I do is ramble about my personal opinions of the books I read without any sort of critique whatsoever) but man, sorry. I'm done.