Rating: 3 stars
Cover synopsis: All the teenage girls from the mountain village must attend an academy to learn how to be a princess. Miri soon finds herself confronted with a harsh academy mistress, bitter competition among the girls, and her own conflicting desires to be chosen.
This was an interesting spin on a princess book -- Miri comes from a world that is the opposite of frilly and fancy. She grows up in a mining town, where everything is rock and dirt. She hunts rabbits and keeps house for her father and sister, who work in the mines. She is then sent to the academy to get an education and to refine her manners.
I liked the book, the plot, the idea...but for some reason, I didn't really connect with this book. I can see how some people would love it -- it's a New York Times Bestseller -- but it didn't really speak to me on any other level. It was an enjoyable read, but not much more.
