I recently finished reading the last of the Books of Bayern, Forest Born. I was pleasantly surprised, and I even think it was my favorite in the series. Besides the fantastical story of another land, it was a touching book about a girl who is so unsure of who she is that she imitates those around her, and thus completely loses herself--before finding herself again in the end, of course.
(My one complaint is that there is only this lame new cover, not the beautiful covers that go so well together that many of her earlier books have. For example, I love the one below.)
And so, I picked up Princess Academy again. I started at the beginning instead of trying to jump partway through to where I had left off twice before. Which is a much better strategy for revisiting an abandoned book (unless it's Moby Dick or anything by Dostoevsky--if you keep starting over, you'll never finish).
Once I pushed through the beginning and got over the title, I enjoyed it as I knew I likely would. I think I appreciated this book more after reading the Books of Bayern--the connection to the landscape was a lot more meaningful.
I honestly can't think of a better title, I just know that the one it has turned me off to it for a long time.
The book ended just as a I wanted it to--just as Shannon Hale always does. My literary, English graduate side fights against those happy endings that tie up so neatly. But my girly side (which is in there somewhere) loves Shannon Hale's endings. So she's right on target for her audience--which my English graduate side can appreciate as well.
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