Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* On the day that Miri is to return to her beloved Mount Eskel, she is summoned by King Bjorn of Danland, requesting her to travel to outer territorial Lesser Alva, where she is to tutor three royal sisters. If the King of Stora chooses one to marry, war will be prevented, and it's up to Miri to succeed. Unhappy but duty-bound, Miri accepts the task, only to meet three wild girls who spend their days wrestling on the floor and hunting and fishing in the swamp. They are dirty, unkempt, and uneducated. Eventually, however, Miri armed with only the three books she brought and no money cleverly weaves her lessons into daily life. When war does come to Danland and approaches Lesser Alva, Miri must figure a way to keep the peace while her almost-betrothed, Peder, sneaks the four girls into the royal city of Asland. When they at last find Queen Sabet, a terrible secret is revealed that could change everything. Action-packed and well paced, the story's depth incorporates artful negotiation, the importance of education, and citizens' equality and rights. This final installment of the Princess Academy trilogy certainly leaves room for more books if Hale were so inclined. Won't she reconsider?--Fredriksen, Jeanne Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Miri is on her way back to wed Peder when the king asks her to educate three unruly sisters. As in the previous novels, Hale keeps the action taut and the young women smart and savvy. Things end happily ever after, with a satisfying twist. A decade after the Newbery Honor-winning Princess Academy was published, this third and possibly final installment in the series will please old and new fans alike. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Just as Miri is set to return to Mount Eskel following her adventures in Princess Academy: Palace of Stone (rev. 9/12), another crisis demands her attention -- and delays her homecoming. She must first journey to a remote province -- Lesser Alva, little more than a swamp -- and establish a princess academy for three sisters in the hope that one of them will prove a suitable match for a rival king, thus preventing a possible war. As it turns out, the sisters, Astrid, Felissa, and Susanna, are completely uninterested in education, much less stuffy customs or royal betrothal. True to form, however, Miri rises to the challenge, and when war does break out, she and the self-described "swamp rats" flee to the capital, where secrets are divulged, families reconciled, and peace restored. As always, Hale is a terrific storyteller: she deftly juggles plot, character, and setting; her prose is lyrical yet economical; and the themes of feminism and equality that run throughout the trilogy blossom in the resolution of this concluding volume. Readers will be sad to say goodbye, not just to Miri and company but also to Danland itself. jonathan hunt (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Miri, as spunky and smart as ever, returns in the final book of the award-winning Princess Academy trilogy. At the end of her year at the titular academy, Miri is anxious to return to Mount Eskel and have her betrothal to Peder proclaimed. On the day of departure, however, the king requests that she travel to Lesser Alva, a swampy outer territory, to conduct a princess academy for three sisters. He hopes to prevent war by presenting them as potential brides for the king of a neighboring kingdom, who's possibly bent on invading. Miri finds herself bitten by snakes, wrestling caiman for food, eating rats and teaching the uncivilized sisters how to be bandits before she can teach them how to read. After uncovering a long-buried secret, Miri is fierce in righting wrongs, showing once again that one person can change the world. In a nice, feminist, concluding twist, a prince academy is established to groom a spouse for the new crown princess. Although not a traditional fairy tale, the ending is a happily-ever-after one. Strong female characters and themes of education, negotiation, family and equality are repeated in this conclusion. Hale maintains her high quality of storytelling, with lots of action, plot twists and lyrical writing. The cover is younger in style than and lacks the gravitas of the previous books' covers. A laudable conclusion to a popular series. (Fantasy. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
