Guest Review: A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine

Guest reviewer Katie is a fantasy writer, avid reader, violinist, and high school student who is happy to be on summer break so she has more time to read. Here she reviews A Tale of Two Castles by Newbery-winning author Gail Carson Levine.
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A Tale of Two Castles is written by Newbery Winning author Gail Carson Levine, who wrote Ella Enchanted. I’ve read many of her books and have loved them all. This one in particular is a favorite. The second time I read it I had forgotten the entire middle of the book so it was a familiar brand new story to me.

A young girl named Elodie decides to set out from home and go to the capital city where she hopes she can aspire to be a mansioner or an actress. Through a series of events instead of a mansioner, she becomes a dragon’s apprentice. Sent to spy for her Mastress, Elodie must figure out who is plotting against a shape-shifting ogre. Is it the greedy king, the giddy princess, the handsome cat trainer, or is it the dragon?

I loved how unique the tale is and the different personalities of each character. I think that this book would be great for girls in middle school and older.

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A Tale of Two Castles

By Gail Carson Levine

Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher

Year: 2011

Ages: Middle Grade Books, Young Adult Books, Fantasy, Fairy Tales

Guest Review: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

I've had this book on hold at the library for weeks, and finally got it today. I'm excited to start reading it, especially after hearing about how great the series is from Katie*, who wrote this review:

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New York Times Bestseller, The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, is my current favorite book. I read it within a week and then had to read the second, followed by the third. The Ascendance Trilogy is filled with action, lies, friendship, and a hint of romance.

The first book features four orphaned boys who are collected by a man named Conner. His plan is to install one boy on the throne to impersonate the long lost prince of Carthya. Forced to go along with his plan of treason, the boys each must decide whether to lie or to face death.

All three of the books have nice short chapters that help the story move along quickly without dragging it out. I would recommend this thrilling series of books for middle school aged kids and up.

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The False Prince

By Jennifer A. Nielsen

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Year: 2012

Ages: Middle School and older

*Katie is a fantasy writer, avid reader, violinist, and high school student.

Find this series on Amazon (affiliate link) or at your local independent bookstore.