PRINCESS ACADEMY

Hale’s well-loved Newbery Honor–winning 2005 novel gets an alluring graphic re-imagining with illustrations.

Young Miri (who, with her light skin and brown hair in two long braids, resembles Anna from Disney’s Frozen) lives in Mount Eskel, a small, struggling village where most people mine linder stone and constantly worry about making ends meet. Miri’s overprotective Pa won’t allow her to work in the quarries, to her great consternation. When the 18-year-old Crown Prince Steffan announces that he plans to wed a Mount Eskel girl, the draconian Tutor Olana sets up an academy for the girls of the village to learn refinement. Living and studying together in the old stone minister’s house, the girls develop close bonds—and rivalries. Learning to read gives inquisitive Miri newfound leverage in the exploitative linder trade and a dawning notion of how she could save her beloved home. Miri is torn over the prospect of being chosen to be a princess: Providing for her family would mean entering a world where she would be regarded as a social inferior. Hale’s fun, feminist, original fairy tale translates well to the graphic medium. Ying’s bright colors and cleanly wrought panels create a cinematic feel, with strong appeal for a new generation of fans. The visual representation of a violent encounter with bandits ramps up the story’s intensity. Decades later, Hale’s story feels timeless in its exploration of friendship, family, and empowerment.

A smart, captivating crowd pleaser.