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Princess Academy
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Princess Academy: Book 1

Princess Academy (2005) (edit title/settings)

by Shannon Hale (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Miri lives on a mountain where, for generations, her ancestors have quarried stone and lived a simple life. Then word comes that the king's priests have divined her small village the home of the future princess. In a year's time, the prince himself will come and choose his bride from among the... read more

Summary edit see section history

Miri is a fourteen-year-old girl from Mt. Eskel, an isolated territory of Danland, who has never been allowed to work with the rest of the villagers in the quarry that keeps the community alive. Because of this, she feels like an outcast in the community and cut off from the culture focused... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Miri is a fourteen-year-old girl from Mt. Eskel, an isolated territory of Danland, who has never been allowed to work with the rest of the villagers in the quarry that keeps the community alive. Because of this, she feels like an outcast in the community and cut off from the culture focused around a shared working life in the quarry. As the quarry can barely cut enough linder (the main export) to feed the villagers, Miri keeps on trying to help. In spite of her feelings of isolation, Miri is very close to her father and her sister, Marda, and she shares a close friendship with a boy named Peder.

Unexpectedly, a messenger from the king arrives along with the usual traders from the lowlands. The messenger announces that the nation's priests have informed the nation that, despite the lack of education provided for the villagers and the prejudice that exists between the mountain villagers and the lowlanders, the crown prince's future bride will come from Mt. Eskel. A 'princess academy' is established near the village to train the potential princesses, with compulsory attendance for every girl aged between twelve and seventeen. At the end of the year, the prince will visit the academy and choose the girl to be the next princess.

Miri and the other girls attend the academy, and although they struggle to appease the strict teacher, Tutor Olana, Miri excels at learning and commerce. All the girls are eager to please the prince and win a comfortable life for themselves and their families, and Miri's new knowledge of commerce helps the village prosper in trading with the lowlanders. After a disagreement, the girls use their knowledge of diplomacy to negotiate a more bearable living arrangement with Tutor Olana, including weekly visits home. Miri also begins to explore the mechanics of quarry-speech, a form of unspoken communication used only in the quarry, and makes friends with some of the other girls, including Britta, a lowlander generally considered stuck up.

When the prince's visit arrives, Miri is crowned academy princess - although she is uncertain if she truly wants to marry the prince, as she has developed feelings for her childhood friend Peder. At the academy ball, the prince dances with every girl except Britta, who is ill, and generally acts very distant, but later in the evening he takes a walk with Miri and shows a more human side. However, he leaves without choosing a bride. Once the prince has left, promising to return in the spring to announce his choice, bandits attack the academy hoping to hold the new princess hostage. Miri must use her new knowledge of quarry speech to call for help from the village. At first no one seems to hear her, but eventually she is able to contact Peder. The villagers come to the academy through the blizzard, and the girls escape from the bandits and spend the winter at home with their families. In the spring, the prince returns and chooses to marry Britta - whom he knew when they were children - and names Mount Eskel an official province. The book ends with Peder and Miri admitting their feelings toward each other.

Characters edit see section history

  • Miri Larendaughter: A small 14-year-old girl who lives on Mount Eskel, who isn't allowed to work in the quarry. Miri's childhood friend is Peder. Miri goes to the academy to compete for the prince's hand in marriage. Her mother died a week after giving birth and she has an older sister named Marda.
  • Britta Paweldaughter: A lowlander girl who is sent to live with her distant relatives on Mount Eskel. The villagers do not take the time to really get to know her, and therefore believe she is a snob, including Miri. Eventually though, Miri takes Britta under her wing and becomes her best firend.
  • Peder Dotersson: The boy with whom Miri has grown up. They have been friends their entire lives, though Peder is a year older. He also works in the quarry and is Esa's brother.
  • Katar Larendaughter: A bossy, older girl who wants to be chosen as princess. She doesn't like Miri.
  • Olana: Olana is the lowlander tutor at the Princess Academy. Olana's job is to prepare the girls for the end of the year ball where all the girls will meet the Prince.
  • Prince Steffan Sabetson: Eighteen and handsome, he is the prince for whom the girls are educated and schooled in the lowlander ways.
  • Marda Larendaughter: Miri's loving older sister who works in the quarry and is too old to attend the academy.
  • Laren: Miri's father, who works in the quarry, yet never allows Miri to. She loves hm very much, but sometimes feel useless and like she makes him ashamed.
  • Doter: Esa's and Peder's mother. She works in the quarry, and gives good advice to Miri. She is a very wise person. Doter has a round face, and a warm voice to match.
  • Esa: Peder's sister, who has a lame arm. She is a good friend of Miri's.
  • Frid: A girl that is good friends with Miri. She is the strongest out of the girls attending the academy, brave and has a lot of brothers.
  • Liana: A girl that is best friends with Bena. They both like Peder, which makes Miri upset. She is very beautiful with large dark eyes, and three years older than Miri.
  • Bena: A girl that is best friends with Liana. They both like Peder, which makes Miri upset. She has very pretty brown hair, and is three years older than Miri.
  • Knut: Cook and handyman at the Princess Academy. Knut favors Miri as a friend, though to most others, he is stoic and unfriendly.
  • Os: Gerti's father, and probably the leader of the village.
  • Gerti Ossdaughter: The youngest girl at the academy. Gerti is shy and in the beginning of the academy, is the first to be punished by Olana.
  • King Dan: The chief of the bandits.
  • Onor: A bandit. Dan's second-in-command.
  • Dogface: A bandit with a long scar on his face.
  • Enrik: A lowland trader. He has traded with Miri for the past three years.
  • The Lowlanders: A group of people living in the Lowlands. Most are very wealthy. The Prince lives among them.
  • Rena: A girl from the academy.
  • Tonna: A girl from the academy.
  • Jans: A boy with a crush on Britta
  • Jons: Add a description of this character.
  • Shannon Hale
  • Helta
  • Peder Doterson: Miri's best friend
  • Jack
  • Booklist
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Maybe it's hard to respect someone you're cheating.”
    Marde
  • “What should I say? That I like him so much it hurts?”
    Miri
  • “Twice Miri relaxed her hand in case he wanted to leave her, but he held on even tighter.”
  • “Why?”
    Miri
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • No wolf falters before the bite So strike No hawk wavers before the dive Just strike
    Highlighted by 34 Kindle customers
  • Look no farther than your hand Make a choice and take a stand
    Highlighted by 32 Kindle customers
  • Breathe, buzz, hint, spell Sigh, speak, say, tell
    Highlighted by 31 Kindle customers
  • Mud in the stream And earth in the air Clay in my ears And stone in my stare
    Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers
  • I've a lever for a bandit And a chisel for a rat I've a mallet for a she-wolf And a hammer for a cat
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • All I know are Scraps, flakes, chips, rocks All below are Stones, shards, bits, dross
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • Whiskers taut, front teeth bared Shaking breath, round eyes scared
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • Call your heart to pulse To the drum's eager beat Hear the mountain call Lift your arms, slide your feet
    Highlighted by 21 Kindle customers
  • Don't look down, don't look down In midair you drown, drown
    Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers
  • Water in the porridge And more salt in the gruel Doesn't make a belly Full, not a bellyful
    Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers
Show all 14 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Danland, the country where 'Princess Academy' takes place
  • Mt Eskel: The mountain where Miri's people live, making a living off of mining the linder (type of stone) that is bountiful on the mountain. It is an isolated territory of Danland.
  • The Princess Academy: That actual academy that the young ladies of Mt Eskel attend. It is located close to Miri's village and is run by tutor Olana.
  • The lowlands: The land spreading beneath Mt. Eskel and home to the king of Danland, his courtiers, and the other Danland people.
  • Asland: Danland's capital city. The royal family, palace workers, and government workers live here.

Organizations edit see section history

  • The royal family: The king, queen, prince, and princess of Danland. They live in Asland, the country's capital.

First Sentence edit see section history

Miri woke to the sleepy bleating of a goat.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Chapter 1-25

Glossary edit see section history

  • linder: Stone that is cream colored with veins running through them. The color of the veins varies depending on what part of a mountain it came from. Linder is what Mount Eskel uses for trading when people from the valley come to trade each year.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 2 in Princess Academy. (standard series)

Followed by Palace of Stone.

This book is in Newberry Honor Books. (community list)
This book is in Newbery Honor Roll. (community list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Shannon Hale (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Rick Lieder (Cover Artist) - Cover artist for the first paperback usa edition
  2. Donna Mark (Designer) - First USA paperback 2006 edition.

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2005
ISBN: 1582349932
Page Count: 250

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Ages 9-12

This book is great for most ages, but has a little bit of violence in it. A couple of the concepts are deep and slightly hard to understand at first glance, and they require some thought.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • Squeetus: The official website of Shannon Hale, author of the Princess Academy.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
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  • The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales
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  • The Red Fairy Book
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  • A Curse Dark as Gold
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  • Palace of Stone
  • Violet Eyes
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