The Wide Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: It's a light and fast read intended for elementary aged girls, but enjoyable for any age.

Plot:  When their second daughter is born, Sleeping Beauty's parents are determined not to have a repeat curse and so ask a powerful fairy for help.  The only way to protect Annie from a wicked curse, however, is to make her repellent to ALL magic, which the king and queen reluctantly agree to.  As Annie grows up, however, her family realizes that her anti-magic is so strong that it doesn't merely repel spells placed directly on her but also spells around her, and they avoid being near her lest their beauty spells wear off.  Though Annie is lonely, she is a great help to the royal guard as they keep magical spinning wheels away from Annie's sister, because not only can she stop bad magic but she has developed the ability to hear it.

Of course, there wouldn't be much of a story if Sleeping Beauty didn't prick her finger and fall asleep, but after the deed is done Annie heads out into the world to find as many potential princely kissers for her sister as possible.  She stumbles into one fairy tale after another, collecting princes and causing problems for all who rely on magic to make them what they are.  

What makes it great?

It's very clever and funny.  My favorite part is the old witch in the gingerbread house. She's losing her memory so she sticks giant candy conversation hearts all over her house with messages like "go check the cages--if there are children in cages, feed them" (I don't remember the actual words, but you get the idea), which Annie cleverly changes to save the unfortunate children who come there. Annie is brave and spunky, the characters have awesome quirks, and I just enjoyed the whole thing.

I know there is a sequel called "Unlocking the Spell" but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. More to come on that. 

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

Rating:  Cleaner 

Audience:  Fifth grade and up (it is just a wee bit scary).  I was really stressed out about this rebellion.  Have recently watched the new Les Miserables movie and cried over the ending of Suzanne Collins' "Mockingjay," seeing the stirrings of another revolution just made me fret over which of my favorite characters are going to have to die. Luckily, however, I underestimated Miri's skill as a diplomat. What a relief!

Plot:  (If you haven't read the first one yet, skip this because it contains spoilers) Miri and a few other Princess Academy graduates (including Frid, who is definitely my favorite) go to the capital to attend Britta's wedding and live in the royal palace for a year as ladies of the princess. Miri also has the opportunity to attend the university there, and Peder comes to capital to start an apprenticeship with a stone carver.  However, Miri finds her new city on the brink of chaos as the common people plot to overthrow the king and his exorbitant tributes.  Miri acts as a spy on behalf of Mount Eskel, but choosing a side is difficult as Miri tries to right the wrongs of the aristocracy without betraying her best friend. 

What makes it great?

"Princess Academy" has always been my favorite of Shannon Hale's books and I was really excited when I saw that she had written a sequel. I was also apprehensive. Why? Because sequels are a scary business. If a book is the first in a planned series the later books usually turn out well, but stand-alone novels that later have sequels . . . it can go either way.

However, this really was one of the best sequels I have ever read, and it managed to be very different from the first book while still including all the Mt. Eskel pride and folklore that I loved.  If you liked "Princess Academy" then I highly recommend you read "Palace of Stone," but get on a library waiting list ASAP because it took a long time--though it was certainly worth the wait. 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

 

Rating: Clean

Audience: Jane Eyre is pretty dark, so I'd probably say ninth grade and up.  There is some foul language. Nothing racy happens, though Jane does have to turn down an offer to become Mr. Rochester's mistress.

Plot: After a miserable childhood, orphan Jane Eyre takes up a post as a governess at Thornfield Hall.  The master of the hall, Mr. Rochester, intrigues Jane, but things are not always what they seem, and Mr. Rochester has a secretive past that will compromise their relationship . . .

What makes it great?

From the description above, Jane Eyre sounds like a soap opera, but it isn't just about the drama.  The best part of the book is how boss-awesome Jane is as she gains her independence, keeps her integrity, and transcends the boundaries placed on her by gender and social class.  Now that's more like it!

It also has just the right amount of creepiness to thrill you without actually freaking you out, so if you are wimp like me, it is perfect.

P.S. If you aren't going to read it because you hated Wuthering Heights, don't worry, I hate Wuthering Heights too.  Jane is a heroine you will like and her story actually has a happy ending. 

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Rating: Cleanest

Audience:  Anyone. I think I read it in second grade.

Plot:  Everyone is probably familiar with Little House on the Prairie, but it is actually a whole series.  Little House in the Big Woods is the first book (and the best in my opinion) and tells the story of Laura's family living in a small cabin in the big snowy woods of Wisconsin.  They tap maple syrup from trees, have run-ins with bears, and listen to stories by the fireside at night. One of my favorite scenes is when Laura and her family travel by sleigh to their grandparents house for a big dance and Christmas party. Laura's dad plays the fiddle, and ever since reading this book in elementary school, I've wanted to go to a Christmas party with dancing and fiddle music. (If anyone knows of any, let me know).

What makes it great?

This book is enchanting.  Laura has a magical childhood in the Big Woods and it is fun to see it all from her perspective.  This is also a fun book to read around Christmas time since so many of the best scenes involve the snowy Wisconsin wonderland. 

Holes by Louis Sachar

Rating: Cleanest

Audience:  Fourth grade and up (though younger readers can enjoy).  I don't remember there being anything troublesome to watch out for.

Plot: Holes is about a boy named Stanley Yelnats  (whoa-ho, you see what he did there? S T A N L E Y Y E L N A T S), who has rotten luck thanks to a curse put on his ancestor.  After he is charged with a crime he did not commit, he is sentenced to time at "Camp Green Lake," a youth correctional facility in the middle of the desert.  The boys at Camp Green Lake dig holes in the desert every day. The counselors say it is to build character, but Stanley guesses that the warden is using the boys to search for something buried in the desert. Stanley soon discovers that he has to solve the mystery and right history to free himself and break his family's curse.

What makes it great?

Everything. When I was in elementary school, all the sixth graders were polled on their favorite book and Holes won with flying colors.  The plot is weird (in a good way), the characters are weird (in a better way), and the whole book is one big puzzle.  At first you don't see how everything fits together, but by the end, you're jumping up and down yelling "IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!"

A word on the movie:  The movie is great.  It's one of those few movies that actually follows the book, so I can highly recommend both. 

Esperanza Rising

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: 3rd grade and up (though younger readers can enjoy).

Plot: Esperanza is the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner in Mexico, and lives with her parents and grandmother in an almost fairy tale existence, but when her father dies and her uncles seize control of the family ranch, Esperanza and her mother flee to California.  Desperately poor, they are taken in by relatives of their previous servants and become field workers.  Esperanza goes from riches to rags and has to rebuild her life the middle of the great depression.

What makes it great?

Esperanza grows from her trials and eventually rises above them. I love the lyrical voice of the narration and it is interesting to learn about how life might have been for an immigrant and a field worker in the great depression.  Also . . . I love Miguel.

This is a beautiful book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes coming of age stories and/or historical fiction.

Spy X: The Code by Peter Lerangis

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: Third grade and up (though younger readers can enjoy).

Plot:  Andrew and Evie are twins who have just moved to a new town with their Dad.  Their mom went missing a year ago on their birthday and all three are still trying to adjust.  One day, however, the twins get a package of random junk from Alaska accompanied by a cryptic note. But further study reveals that each item has a special purpose (like a kaleidoscope that is actually a camera). Under the training of their new crazy next door neighbor, they enter the world of spying and begin to unravel the mystery of their mother's disappearance.

Warning: This is the first book in series that, alas, will never be finished. You can find books two (Hide and Seek), three (Proof Positive), and four (Tunnel Vision), but the series is now out of print, and Lerangis never wrote a fifth or sixth or seventh book.  I was so upset when I learned this that I went on to his website and emailed him, begging him to consider continuing the series, or to at least tell me how he would have ended it, and within a day or two he emailed back! Props to him! He told me that he wished he could have continued the series, but in the end it was up to his publishers and he had to move on.  He told me that he was considering many possibilities for the ending but never decided on one specific path. So really, I couldn't expect a nicer answer, but I was  still a little sad.  I guess I hoped that he would be a depressed man who had given up on his dream to write a series about child spies fighting against a top secret operation, and that he would read my email and suddenly have a purpose again--to write for his one true die-hard fan, and that through me, all would be made right.  Of course, I am glad that he isn't depressed, and he is still writing awesome books, so I should just move on.  Maybe this post can be my way of getting closure.

Allright, here goes nothing...

FAREWELL SPY X! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HOURS OF JOY YOU GAVE ME! I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!

Well, I feel a little better. "Spy X" is an awesome series, and I highly recommend it, but just know before you start that you will have to make up your own ending. Thanks for reading.