I
recently had another baby, which means I've gained lots of reading
time while I feed her. I joke that you can tell how much I enjoy a
book by how willing I am to go feed the baby. If I love the book, the
slightest little pout, and I'm off to my reading chair; if not, she
has to persuade me to interrupt whatever project I'm working on.
My
oldest is lucky she didn't starve to death when I read Robinson
Crusoe. I'm proud to report that my daughter has been gaining
weight like a baby hippopotamus, and Jennifer Nielsen's Ascendance
trilogy can take some of the credit for that.
Fourteen-year-old
orphan Sage has to tread carefully. He's survived on the streets,
hopping from orphanage to orphanage, largely because of his sharp
wits and smart mouth. When a nobleman named Conner purchases him and
places him in a contest with several other orphans for the right to
impersonate the medieval kingdom's missing prince and ascend to the
throne (as Conner's pawn), Sage finds himself in the middle of a
dangerous game.
With
only the winner being allowed to live at the end of two weeks, Sage
will need every ounce of his street smarts to survive and not lose
himself in the process.
The
False Prince has everything you could hope for in an adventure
story — mystery, swashbuckling, hidden motivations, shifting
alliances, witty dialog, and a small pinch of romance thrown in (but
don't worry — it isn't enough to put off younger male readers).
Nielsen's
writing is spot on. Her pacing is perfect, with the secrets and plot
twists rolling out at just the right moments. Her humor is perfectly
suited to the story, enough to allow readers to catch their breath,
but not enough to distract from the sense of danger and intrigue.
This
trilogy's greatest strength is its memorable and enjoyable
characters. All the major players in these books are full of
surprises, and it is fun to watch how their hidden motivations and
true character affect the shape of the contests and the fate of the
kingdom.
The
False Prince was a New York Times Notable Children's Book and a
Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. It also won the 2012 Whitney
Award for Best Middle Grade, as well as the overall Best Youth Novel
of the Year.
The
Runaway King is up for the 2013 Best Middle Grade Whitney.
The
final book in this trilogy, The Shadow Throne, came out in
February, so you can plow through this series as quickly as you'd
like (which will probably be rather quickly).
Read this book if...
You
enjoy street-smart, smart-mouthed, big-hearted heroes. Sage is a lot
of fun.
You
love books set in the medieval era, but would rather avoid the
detailed descriptions of armor or battle strategies.
You
love William Goldman's The Princess Bride or any of Rick
Riordan's middle grade books. This trilogy shares that perfect
balance of adventure and humor.
Erin
Cowles is a mother of two, living in the Washington D.C. suburbs.
Before motherhood, she used her masters in library and information
science in a law firm library. Now she uses it to find good books for
her family at her local public library. She teaches part time for a
SAT prep company, where she enjoys the challenge of making rather
dull subject matter interesting and making college a reality for her
students. During women's history month, she profiles Mormon women
that inspire her at ldswomenshistory.blogspot.com.
Erin
currently serves as a counselor in her ward's primary
presidency.