Reviews

Gr 3-6-Princess Alicia of All the Belgravias does not want to attend Camp Princess. Young royals from near and far, nasty and nice, engage in activities that include swimming, falconry, embroidery, flawless makeup application, and training songbirds from the Forest of Chimes. Alicia's bird refuses to sing and the girl's unexpected outspokenness gets her in trouble with a camp counselor, threatening to put her purple team in last place in the camp's color wars. The only saving grace turns out to be her new turret mates: Princess Kristen of the Isles of Salt Tears in the Realm of the Rolm and Princess Gundersnap of the Empire of Slobodkonia. Yet, it is shy Alicia who becomes embroiled in a tragic old love story. She meets a mysterious, magical woman in the forest and discovers a ghost lurking in her bedchamber and a missing tapestry that tells only half of the lovers' tale. In the end, the girls release the ghost princess and her knight for a happy reunion. Some characters are not fully developed and Gundersnap's accent is inconsistent. Despite these minor distractions, readers will enjoy the satisfying ending. Purchase this one for devoted fans of "puffball" princess stories.-Alison Grant, West Bloomfield Township Public Library, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.