Princess Academy

It's a real treat when you pick up a book that is not what you expected - it's more than you expected. When I took Newbery Honor Book Princess Academy by Shannon Hale off my bookshelf last week, I mistakenly thought it was going to be another one of those Cinderella spin-offs. Not even close!

Miri lives in the high-mountain village of Mount Eskel among a group of people who are expert quarriers of linder stone. Their only contact with people outside their village is when the traders come to buy the linder and leave them with as little traded as possible.

Miri is small in comparison to the other girls in the village - all of whom work in the quarry. Miri's father has forbidden her to work there and has not explained why. She feels worthless in the eyes of all her neighbors.

Unexpectedly, the king's chief delegate comes to make an announcement in Mount Eskel. The king's priests had divined that the future wife of the heir to the Danland throne would come from Mount Eskel. All the girls between 14 and 18 were to go to the Princess Academy, where they would be learn poise, commerce, and Danlandian history along with reading and figures. Although none of the girls really wants to go and leave their families for a year, they set out to the Academy.

Their teacher, Olana, is cruel and thinks little of them. But she gets the girls to work harder when she shows them the beautiful silver dress that the Academy Princess, the top student, will wear when she meets the prince. In spite of the fact that Miri has strong feelings for a boy from Mount Eskel, she wants to be able to give her father and sister a better home - something she thinks they will receive should she be chosen as the prince's betrothed.

Miri's education moves beyond a simple grasp of Olana's teachings. She begins to learn things that can ultimately help her village with future trades - the first of which is that linder is a highly sought after stone, used in all the king's buildings and those of the wealthy class. And she also learns something that will save her life and the lives of all the girls at the Academy.

There was a point in this book where I started to feel the story winding down, like it was coming to its conclusion. As I was setting the book aside, I looked at the bookmark to see how close I was to finishing. Low and behold, I wasn't even half-way through! I was really surprised - and that led to my intrigue for the rest of the book. I really underestimated this novel. Just now, as I was typing, I happened to see a review on the back of the book - "This is not a fluffy, predictable fairy tale..." So true. I'm glad I didn't look at the back before I started reading. It's nice to discover things on your own. If you read Princess Academy, I hope you discover something enjoyable, too!

Books by David Kherdian

Several years ago, my sister recommended that I read David Kherdian's Newbery Honor book, The Road From Home: The Story of an Armenian Girl. I finally decided to take her advice and so I checked it out from the library this summer.

In this book, David Kherdian tells the true story of how his mother's Armenian Christian family endured persecution at the hands of the Turks. Veron Dumehjian and so many others were forced to leave their homes in what is now Turkey, and they marched across the desert towards an uncertain future. All around her was death - caused by hunger, exhaustion, illness, and despair. Ultimately she was the only member of her immediate family to survive.

An amazing set of circumstances unfolded for young Veron. She was watched over by other women who had lost their children. She chose to live in an orphanage because there she could receive an education. At one point she was reunited with an aunt and cousin. Her dream had originally been to go to college, but now she realized that she needed to make her way to America - the land of opportunity.

Although her aunt was responsible for agreeing to Veron's marriage to an Armenian man already living in America, it was Veron herself who made the choice to be married. She was only sixteen years old! And all she knew of her fiance Melkon was his photograph.

My sister may be surprised that I read this book, but wait.......
......there's more. I read the next book, too!

When I went to check out The Road From Home, there next to it on the shelf was Finding Home. I don't have a picture of it because according to my bookseller, it doesn't exist. (I wonder if it is available now under a different title.) Finding Home is the story of Veron's traveling to American and meeting her betrothed, Melkon (aka Mike) Kherdian. Mike had been living and working in "Rehscene, Vesskahntzsun" (Racine, WI) for years, sending money back to his family in hopes of bringing them over one day.

Veron travels with Mike's brother to Paris, and then to New York City. They are held up at Ellis Island, and finally make their way by train through Chicago to Racine. Veron knows essentially no English, she has never been taught how to cook, and despite her desire to learn, she has had very little education. She relies on Mike's extended family, as well as the entire Armenian community, to buoy her through the first difficult months.

Because the first book is set in Armenia/Turkey, there are some foreign words, unfamiliar names of cities, and unusual people names, but they are much easier to consume than those in The Stolen Life, which I reviewed earlier. It helped that in the first book there was a map to follow, and in the second book there was a list of terms to use. In that respect, I was not frustrated at all!

The person who is thinking about reading these two books, however, should be prepared for them. If you are hoping to read something action filled and fast-paced, then you should look elsewhere. These books are informative. They will teach you about a time and place and people in history with which we do not normally have contact. I didn't find anything offensive or objectionable within these pages, albeit I was saddened to hear of the plight of the Armenian people. My biggest frustration was in the second book - the wedding between Mike and Veron is never shared. The author just skips over that part. Additionally, the ending falls extremely flat. Last night I stayed up until one o'clock in the morning finishing this book. (It's due back tomorrow!) When I read the last sentence, I thought to myself....I stayed up 'til 1 a.m. for this!!! It was disappointing.

But that being said, I would like to read more about Veron and Mike, and how the Armenian community planted a new homeland in America. Go ahead and read these books - but know that you are reading them not for entertainment but for education!