The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Author:Gail Carson Levine

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Rated 8/10

A kingdom beset by monsters . . .

A disease that weakens and destroys . . .

An epic poem and a hero of long ago . . .

A story of danger and desperation.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre couldn't be more different. Princess Addie is fearful and shy. Her deepest wish is for safety. Princess Meryl is bold and brave. Her deepest wish is to save the kingdom of Bamarre. They are sisters, and they mean the world to each other.

Then disaster strikes, and Addie -- terrified and unprepared -- sets out on a perilous quest. In her path are monsters of Bamarre: ogres, specters, gryphons, and dragons. Addie must battle them, but time is running out, and the sister's lives -- and Barmarre's fate -- hang in the balance.

MY REVIEW
This is a great book to show us that we can accomplish things in life and defeat our fears, I've read a few books by Gail Carson Levine now and can say that she is an excellent author and I love her books, I definitely can't wait to read more books by her.

Princess Addie is afraid of monsters and the world outside of the castle. Princess Meryl dreams of the day she can defeat monsters and be like her hero Drualt, Bamarre's greatest hero. The only thing keeping her from her dream is Addie's happiness. Princess Addie soon starts to develop feelings for Rhys knowing it could probably never be and to make matters worseMeryl catches the Gray Death, something nobody has ever lived through because there's no cure, Addie decides she will go on a quest to find the cure, a quest full of dangerous monsters and all that she fears.
                                                                                       

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Reading level: Middle School

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Rated 9/10

At her birth, Ella of Frell was the unfortunate recipient of a foolish fairy's gift-- the "gift" of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it's hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. Against a bold backdrop of pronces, orgres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse-- once and for all.

MY REVIEW
I really like this book, it's an awesome and different take on the Cinderella story we all know, in fact I like this version more than any of the others I have seen. I'm not too fond of the cover though, she looks nothing like she is described in the book.

 Ella is given the gift of obedience by the fairy Lucinda who happens to give the worst gifts out of all the fairies and is careless with her magic. From then on any command she is given by anyone or anything she has to obey, whether it be a human, orgre, parrot, or a command she has read directed to her. Before her mother dies she commands her to never tell anyone of her gift, but it's not long before those who Ella despises the most figure it out. While at the finishing school her father sends her to, Hattie a girl who isn't very fond of Ella learns Ella has to do anything she commands her to. Then Ella runs away from finishing school to go to a wedding for a giantess to see Lucinda and try to get her to take back her gift of obedience once and for all. On the way there Ella runs into Prince Charmont and gets help escaping from some ogres. When Ella realizes Lucinda isn't going to take back her gift she goes home with her father to find out he is finacially ruined and he's going to marry Dame Olga and she is going to have Hattie and her sister Olive as stepsisters. Because she is poor now Dame Olga makes Ella work as a servant, the only thing that keeps Ella going is the friendship and love she has with Prince Charmont, but as always her gift gets in the way.

                                                                                         

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

Author:Gail Carson Levine

Reading level: Young Adult

 Publisher: HarperCollins

Rated 7/10

Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning new world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows, and ancient omens in this spellbinding story of Kezi, a girl confronted with a terrible destiny. Attempting to thwart her fate, Kezi and her love, Olus--the god of wind and loneliness--embark on a series of dangerous and seemingly impossible quests. The thought-provoking, well-crafted, and imaginative story will appeal to fans of Fairest as well as to readers who are new to this distinguished author.

MY REVIEW
This book was OK, it just wasn't exciting enough for my taste. I felt it could have been so much better than it was. I say if you're bored and have nothing else to read than go for it. I didn't hate it either, I just probably won't be reading it again. Olus is the Akkan god of the winds and is restless. He wants so bad to live in the world of the mortals that he moves far from his home and pretends to be a goat herder in a city named Hyte. There he watches the family that owns that land he rents for goat herding, especially Kezi their daughter. Kezi loves to dance and weave rugs and her family and her are devout worshipers of the god Admat. When Kezi's Mati(word for mother) gets sick her Pado(word for father) makes and unbreakable oath to Admat that he will sacrafice the first person who congradulates him on his wifes good health if he makes her better, soon Kezi's mother is better. To save her Aunt Fedo though who was away when the oath was made and didn't know about it, she congradualtes her father before her aunt can, therefore bearing the responsibilty of becoming the scacrafice to Admat. Olus soon meets Kezi and soon afterwards  they fall in love. Then Olus and Kezi embark on the joureny to save Kezi's life.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Reading level: Middle School

Publisher: HarperCollins

Rated 9/10

                                                                                 

In a world in which elegance, beauty, and singing ability are revered, Aza is bulky, awkward, and homely. Her saving grace is that she can sing and has a gift of voice manipulation that she calls illusing. Through a chance meeting at her familys inn, a duchess invites Aza to act as her companion and accompany her to the palace to attend the kings wedding. When the beautiful new queen discovers Azas gift for throwing her voice and for mimicry, she sees a way of protecting her reputation and disguising her own lack of talent. Pressured by the womans threats upon her family, Aza deceives the court into believing that Ivi is a gifted singer. When the ruse is discovered, Aza is forced to flee the castle in order to save her life. Through her adventures, she discovers her own strength of character, learns about her true heritage, and decides that her physical appearance is not worthy of the stress and worry she has wasted on it. The plot is fast-paced, and Azas growth and maturity are well crafted and believable. Readers will enjoy the fairy-tale setting while identifying with the real-life problems of living in an appearance-obsessed society.

MY REVIEW
I really liked this book, it's a different version of the story Snow White with a different twist. Fifteen year old Aza was born singing beautiful,there's only one thing wrong,she's as ugly as an ogre,as some of the people at her adoptive(she was found in one of the rooms at the inn when she was a baby) parents' inn like to tell her. One day while cleaning she realizes she can make different voices and sounds of her choice come from anything or anyone,something she calls illusing. Aza gets lucky one day when a duchess who sometimes stays at her parents' inn asks for Aza to be her companion to the royal wedding of the king. While at the palace Aza meets the king and his wife Ivi, and the king's nephew Prince Ijori. Ivi soon discovers Aza's gift of illusing and uses it to her advantage by asking Aza to do it so it seems like she is singing. Aza soon becomes Queen Ivi's lady in waiting while the king is injured. Aza and Prince Ijori get real close and develop feelings for each other. Aza tries a spell to make her beautiful but it only turns one of her toes into stone,she dreams and wishes for the beauty she sees in her reflection in Queen Ivi's mirror and Ivi soon tries to change the ways of the kingdom for the worse til everyone hates her. Eventually Aza is blamed for Ivi's behavior and everyone think she has ogre blood and persuaded Ivi to do her bidding so she could be queen. Aza is thrown in the dungeon and soon after begins her journey to finding out who she really is and learns that looks are not everything in life, especially if someone really loves you. I don't want to give away the whole story but there are a lot of similarities to the story of Snow White as some will notice while reading it. It has a great meaning that looks are not everything in life and we should love ourselves for who we really are.