The Goose Girl (Books of Bayern) by Shannon Hale Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Goose Girl (Books of Bayern)
Book Review: A good read, but not her best work
Summary: 3 Stars
Even if you didn't like the book, you must agree that it was well written. Shannon Hale does a marvelous job of story-telling. Some of it was predictable, but the characterization was fantastic and the world she creates easy to visualize. There is one thing I'll bring up for those concerned with content. One of the characters tells a story about women baring their breasts. It was an unnecessary addition to anotherwise perfectly clean story. All three of the books in this trilogy have things in them that really could have been left out and been much better books for it. I'd recommend "Princess Academy" before recommending this one.Book Review: A great story
Summary: 5 Stars
I got interested in this book through a friend who told me all about it. The tale is a retelling of Grimm Brother's Goose Girl, yet it is re-told with new. It is a good read and well written. I find myself telling the main character what to do in the different situations and dangers she must encounter to find her own talents in life. She must learn many things to become what she truly is ... a queen to guide and protect her own people. I believe this book is appropriate for teens and older. It will help to ease many of their fears of the future and help them with their own self-esteem. A great book if you like wholesome reading for your children and peace of mind for you.
Anna del C.
Author of "The Elf and the Princess"
The Elf and The Princess: The Silent Warrior Trilogy - Book One (The Silent Warrior Trilogy)
Book Review: A lovely retelling of a fairy tale about a wronged Princess with a special gift
Summary: 5 Stars
One of my very fave fairy tales as a very young Mir was "The Goose Girl". I especially loved reading aloud the rhymes--'Alas! alas! if thy mother knew it/Sadly, sadly, would she rue it," and "Blow, wind, blow." I was horrified in that particular, sensitive way of children that someone would decapitate a lovely horse such as Falada, the beloved, talking horse of the princess protagonist. Clearly, evil was afoot if such a dastardly deed was conscionable. I imagined Curdken's chase for his cap. (In my chikdhood's version of the tale, that was his name. In other versions--and in this retelling--it's Conrad's hat that goes rolling over hill and dale, sparking his pursuit. And I delighted in the horrible, terrible justice that befell the villainess. Just thinking about it makes me feel 6 all over again, feeling the magic of the story--all the stories--and how to a child, all this was so plausible: that a horse should talk, that the lock of hair should speak (some versions have drops of blook on a hanky), that a princess should command the wind, that justice would prevail.
Shannon Hale has taken that brief, bloody, magical tale that may be familiar to you and fleshed it out in a story written for a YA audience, but sufficiently skilled, lyrical, and well-plotted in the telling that an adult like me was engrossed and loath to put it down even to have supper.
In this retelling, the Princess Anidora-Kiladra (Anifor short) is a misfit in her own family. Even as a newborn she evidenced a strangeness: She didn't open her eyes for three days, not until her aunt (gifted with a special "speech") spoke her into wide-eyedness. This hint of a special power of speaking is hinted at from the opening, but develops beautifully. We see the not-well-loved child, Princess Ani, grow close to her aunt, who can speak to animals. She learns the language of swans, she learns some of the bird dialects, and she senses something latent in herself, something she cannot fully enunciate.
It turns out that out of political considerations (fear of war), the Queen--who has the gift of people speech, ie persuasive to humans) betroths Ani to the prince of the neighboring acquisitive, hawkish kingdom. En route (as in the fairy tale) Ani's lady in waiting, Selah, who is deceitful and potent in people speech, gains many of the guards to her side, and they mutiny. Ani must hide in the forest of this foreign land, where she is befriended by a forest widow and her son.
Ani ends up, as the Princess in the original tale, working as a goose girl for the king whose son she had been fated to marry. Without a persuasive gift of speech of her own, she is at the mercy of the powers around her. From privilege to the lowest echelon of society. A drastic change of status.
What will she do?
She ponders how to fix what has been damaged (and it's more than just her status). And, in the process, she begins to develop her gift. She learns goose speech, which is (surprisingly) not like swan speech. It's a gift that will serve her well. The start of a new journey of acquisitions--of insight, of power, of perspective, of friends, of confidence.
Through the treacheries and friendships and tests and hardships, she begins to understand what her privileged and curtailed palace life had kept her from learning. And she learns one very important thing: She can speak to the wind. The fairy tale glosses over this great gift. Hale develops it as part of the evolving plot and part of the evolving, maturing Ani.
We know, from the fairy story, that she will get her prince, and their romance develops believably and sweetly in Hale's tale, somewhat reminiscent of EVER AFTER, the film retelling of Cinderella. We sense that her trials will only make her a better future ruler, one who has walked in the shoes of the poor and oppressed and outcast and unjustly accused.
Because it is a fairy tale retold, we know the ending though not all the details of how to get there. The special pleasure here is in the details.
A marvelous, magical story. RECOMMENDED for young and middle-aged and old.
Mir of Mirathon blog
Book Review: A new kind of fairy tale
Summary: 5 Stars
I really liked this new kind of fairy tale! For once in these new books, the plot is nice and simple, but still holds your interest. You find yourself rooting for the likeable characters, and in some cases, even the unlikeable ones.
The story begins with the childhood of princess Anidori of Kildenree. She has the gift of speaking to animals, especially birds. But she is misunderstood and awkward among people as a result. When she turns 16 she is betrothed to the prince of the neighboring country and journeys to marry him. However, her handmaiden Selia, betrays Ani and there is a revolt among the soldiers. The ones loyal to Ani are defeated and she is forced to flee for her life.
She winds up at a cottage in the woods which belongs to a friendly woman and her son. She pretends that she is a native of the country by covering her give-away yellow hair and changes her name to Isi. Afterwards, her new friends give her a ride to the capitol so she can find work.
A bit later she becomes a goose girl and makes friends with some of the other children there. She also sees a lone soldier get bucked off his horse one day and helps him. His name is Geric, as she soon discovers and they quickly become good friends, or maybe something more?
Before she has the chance to find out, he tells her that he "can never love her as a man loves a woman" and that they shouldn't see eachother anymore. Naturally, she is heartbroken. Still, in the back of her mind is her plan to tell the king the truth about his sons fiancee. Selia's men are still chasing Ani and she is forced to run into the woods to escape them. After that, she comes clean with her friends and tells them the truth about who she is. To her vast surprise, they agree to help her.
So they march toward the bridal estate. The prince's wedding is only days away. When they arrive there, Ani pretends to be Selia's sister to get into the palace. Then, she presents her case to the king. She also sees the prince for the first time, and is shocked as to his identity. I'm not going to tell you who he is though. :) Needless to say, her case is not strong, and the king decides to leave her with the much more persuasive Selia (+ entourage) to sort things out. Selia tries to murder Ani, who desperately cries out for help.
Unbeknownst to them both, the kings men have listened in on their conversation, and now know the truth. However, Selia will not give up so easily. How will they defeat her and will Ani get her happy ever after? Read to find out!
Book Review: A new twist on fairy tale remakes
Summary: 4 Stars
I was unfamiliar with the base for this fairy tale, it seemed original. It was very fresh, beautifully written, and complete-- a fully woven tale. I always enjoy a strong female protagonist who thinks she's nothing special, but ends up doing extraordinary things. I think its a great pick for a young adult audience or even advanced elementary readers. This is Shannon Hale's first novel and still, of all she has written, my favorite.