by Shannon Hale
Published 2012
So I discovered this sequel to The Princess Academy at the library, and I was super excited because I really enjoyed the first book. In this sequel, Miri and her friends are traveling to the capital city to attend the royal wedding. The girls are to stay the whole winter, and possibly an entire year. Miri is excited about an opportunity to attend a real school, and Peter is traveling along with the girls in order to apprentice himself to a stonecarver in the city. When they arrive, though, the girls discover that there is much unrest in the city and the surrounding countryside.
I really enjoyed this book; I think that it had more depth than the first. Miri befriends some rebels who are full of grand-sounding ideals, and it is interesting to watch her learn that there is no Utopia; change can bring good for some, but will always bring pain and difficulty to others.
Also, I was really scared of the love-triangle aspect of the story, but it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Actually, it was exactly as big of a deal as it should be, which basically never happens, so that was exciting, too.
This was definitely a 4/5 and a strongly recommended read.
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