| $@%&! level: Low “Bedroom” level: Low Violence level: Low Back Cover: “The fairy Lucinda has once again given a dreadful gift. This time it's a mysterious magical mirror. The gift is disastrous when it falls into the hands of Aza, who never looks in a mirror if she can help it. In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is most definitely not the fairest of them all. Many spurn her. Many scoff at her. She keeps out of sight. But in the land of singers, Aza has her own gift, one she's come by without fairy intervention: a voice that can do almost anything, a voice that captivates all who hear it. In Ontio Castle, merry Prince Ijori is drawn to it, and vain Queen Ivi wants to use it for her own ends. Queen Ivi would do anything to remain the fairest in the land.” |
So this is the sequel to Ella Enchanted, and it's another great twisted fairy tale. I love how Gail Carson Levine notices the really strange parts of fairy tales and makes them central to the plot. I also love how the princes in her stories fall in love for reasons other than simple beauty—and don't fall in love at first sight. Ijori loves Aza for her personality, and probably would have thought she was beautiful no matter what she looked like. But I love that he thought she was more beautiful as she was naturally, before she made use of a certain magic mirror. (Incidentally, that seems to be a trait he inherited from his father, and I really love that fact.) In fact, all of the people who really care about Aza don't care how she looks. They love her for who she is. And the other relatives she discovers are even more complimentary, especially for the color of her hair.
There is one thing that kind of makes me sad, and makes me laugh at the absurdity of it at the same time, and that's poor Areida. Her best friend married the future king of the neighboring country, and now her sister marries the future king of her own country, and what does Areida get? The possibility of inheriting her parents' inn. Someday, I'd like to hear her happy ending story.