"Princess Academy" by Shannon Hale

Fantasy, Royalty

314 pages

Ages 10+

Summary:

Miri is a 14-year-old girl from Mount Eskel. She lives with her father and her 18-year-old sister.

Her sister works in the quarry with her father and Miri does the house work because she is too small to work in the quarry.

One day men arrive from the lowlands where the king lives and announces that all of the girls ages 12-17 will be taken to the Princess Academy where they will learn to be proper ladies.

A year later, the prince will come and choose one of them to be his future wife. The girls are treated very harshly by their teacher, but forge great friendships.

The prince chooses Miri's friend, and Miri returns to Mount Eskel where she plans to start a school to teach everyone in her village to read.

Read-alikes:

Twelve Dancing Princesses Series by Jessica Day George
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris


Happy Reading!
Krystal

"Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Fantasy, Fairy Tale

232 pages

Ages 8+

Summary:

 

In the tradition of Cinderella, Ella is the daughter of a widower who has lost all of his riches.

In order to better his social position, her father marries a woman with two evil daughters.

He leaves Ella with them while he tries to regain his wealth and she is left to be their house slave.

Unfortunately, at birth Ella was cursed by a fairy to be forever and always obedient.

Read-alikes:

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Mira, Mirror by Mette Harrison
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley


Happy Reading!
Krystal

"The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Steam punk, Illustrated novel

533 pages

Ages 9+

Summary:

Hugo Cabret, a 12-year-old orphan boy spends his days winding the clocks in a 1930s Paris train station and attempting to fix the one thing he has left of his father--a broken automaton.

Hugo befriends a girl, Isabelle, whose godfather owns the toy booth in the train station where Hugo has been stealing parts to fix the automaton.

Along the way, Hugo and Isabelle learn that Isabelle's godfather is one of the most famous original filmmakers and that Hugo's automaton was the old man's invention.

Once Hugo repairs the machine, he discovers that the key Isabelle wears around her neck would fit its key hole.

The two of them activate the automaton, and it draws a magnificent picture of a scene from Hugo's late father's favorite film, made by Isabelle's godfather.

Read-alikes:

 

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Coming up next:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Happy Reading! <3
Krystal

"Found: The Missing, Book 1" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Found: The Missing, Book 1 by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Mystery, Time Travel

320 pages

Ages 8+

Summary:

Jonah has known his whole life that he was adopted as a baby. His friend Chip just found out he was also adopted as a baby.

The two of them begin receiving mysterious messages about the circumstances of their adoptions.

Jonah and Chip learn that they were plucked from the past by time traveling humanitarians and given up for adoption to 21st century families.

In the end, the boys, along with Jonah's sister and another time travel adoptee, get catapulted to the 15th century.

Read-alikes:

Unwind by Neal Schusterman
The 39 Clues Series by various authors
Tunnels by Roderick Gordon

Coming up next:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Happy Reading! <3
Krystal