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Start giftingPalace of Stone
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Learn moreComing down from the mountain to a new life in the city is a thrill to Miri. She and her princess academy friends have been brought to Asland to help the future princess Britta prepare for her wedding. There, Miri also has a chance to attend school—at the Queen's Castle. But as Miri befriends students who seem sophisticated and exciting, she also learns that they have some frightening plans.
Torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city, Miri looks to find her own way in this new place.
Picking up where Princess Academy left off and celebrating the joys of friendship, romance, and the fate of fairy-tale kingdoms, this book delivers the completely delightful new story that fans have been waiting for.
Shannon Hale is the New York Times bestselling author of over thirty books, including fantasy novels The Goose Girl and Book of a Thousand Days, science fiction novel Dangerous, Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy, graphic novel memoirs Real Friends and Best Friends (with LeUyen Pham), and romantic comedy Austenland (now a major motion picture starring Keri Russell). She lives in Utah with her husband and frequent collaborator Dean Hale, their four remarkable children, and two ridiculous cats named Misty Knight and Mike Hat.
Reviews
“Readers of Hale’s Newbery Honor–winning Princess Academy will welcome this reunion with Miri and her schoolmates…This is a fine follow-up to a novel that already felt complete.”
“[In] this sequel…Hale has written a worthy and complex continuation of Miri’s story, and her strong and vibrant character will be familiar and welcome to readers of the first book, despite the length between publications. A literary and engaging coming-of-age story, the elements of class tension, home, family, friendship, and self-discovery ring true…This is an essential purchase for school and public libraries.”
“This sequel to The Princess Academy finds a more mature Miri facing more difficult and not always black-and-white decisions. It is clear that the path to social justice is not smooth and that true change evolves over time. The sights, sounds, and smells of the city, the royal court, and faraway Mount Eskel are vividly created. This is a worthy sequel that will be eagerly greeted by loyal fans.”
“The rebellion plotline acts as a primer on why change and social improvement are so difficult and how resorting to violence can backfire…In Palace of Stone [Miri] proves once again that, with quick wits and brave words, one person really can change the world.”
“Miri leaves her mountain of linder stone for another year of study and finds ethics and rhetoric to be powerful tools in the making of a revolution…The politics echo the French Revolution (Hale notes this in the acknowledgments), but Miri’s clear voice keeps the story hers and her people’s. There’s lovely texture to clothing and architectural descriptions and vivid warmth to Miri’s friendships, her longing for home, and her thirst to learn more and more. Not one but two boys help her find all the feelings kisses can engender. Miri’s story comes to a satisfying end; readers who have been waiting since 2005 will find their patience well rewarded.”
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