Princess Academy, the first installment of the series of the same name, centers on the girls of Mount Eskel and their adventures in the royal princess academy and is narrated by Miri Larensdaughter. The Newbery-honor winning book was published in 2005.
For information on the conception, see the Shannon Hale wiki's article.
Synopsis[]
High on the slopes of rocky Mount Eskel, Miri's family pounds a living from the stone of the mountain itself. But Miri's life will change forever when word comes that her small village is the home of the future princess. All eligible girls must attend a makeshift academy to prepare for royal life. At the school, Miri finds herself confronting bitter competition among the girls and her own conflicted desires to be chosen. Yet when danger comes to the academy, it is Miri, named for a tiny mountain flower, who must find a way to save her classmates- and the future of their beloved village.
Main Characters[]
Miri Larensdaughter: Embarrassed by her own scrawny physique, Miri has always felt out of place in her beloved village atop Mount Eskel, which is populated by muscular linder miners. But when she is forced to attend the Princess Academy, she discovers a different way to be useful.
Britta Paweldaughter: An orphaned lowlander who was sent to live on Mount Eskel with her only living relatives, Britta's silk dresses and general ignorance of how to live on a mountain mark her as a useless outsider. But when she attends the academy with the other Eskelite girls, they realize that she is not nearly as snooty as they expect her to be.
Peder Doterson: Miri's childhood friend and Esa's older brother. He and Miri have known each other their whole lives and have been best friends for nearly as long. Although they have always understood each other perfectly in the past, the possibility that Miri might marry the prince of Danland and permanently leave the mountain complicates their relationship.
Esa: Peder's little sister who still works in the quarry despite an old injury that disabled one of her arms. When she is forced to attend the Princess Academy, Esa discovers that she loves learning and realizes that the world beyond her mountains is vast and filled with things yet to discover.
Katar: An older girl who attends the academy, prickly Katar is determined to become the best and brightest student even if she has to claw that title away from Miri.
Tutor Olana: As a woman who defines the words "strict" and "intimidation", it is Tutor Olana's duty to somehow transform coarse mountain girls into proper ladies worthy of the title princess.
Covers throughout history:[]
Honors and Awards[]
- Newbery Honor Book
- New York Times, Book Sense, and PW Best Seller
- A Book Sense Pick for Fall 2005
- An ALA Notable Children's Book
- 2007 Beehive Award winner
- A New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
- A New England Booksellers Association Top 10 Titles for Fall
- A Book for the Teen Age by The New York Public Library
- Honorable Mention for "Favorite Novel of the Year," PW's 2005 Cuffie Awards
- Winner of the 2006 Utah Children's Book Award
- 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 Award, sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association
- Nominated for the Illinois 2008 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award
- Nominated for the 2010 Maud Hart Lovelace award (Minnesota)
- A 2007 DCF Voting Top Ten (Vermont)
- A Salt Lake Tribune Best Book of 2005
- Recommended Reads for Kids 2005 (Dover Community News)
- A 2013 Popular Paperback for Young Adults (YALSA)