Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

It's official. Jessica Day George is one of my favorite authors. From this point forward, I will be sure to own all of her books as soon as they are released. I loved Dragon Slippers and the sequels and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.

Besides loving her books, I've heard her speak and believe me, she's hilarious. Here's an interview I did with her a while back.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Review by Emily Beeson

Princess of the Midnight Ball is a retelling of the twelve dancing princesses. To be honest, I'm not familiar with the original tale, so I can't tell you how much this version deviates. However, I can certainly tell you that this version is very enjoyable.

Tall, handsome Galen is returning from war. His parents and sister have all been killed, so he is headed for his aunt and uncle's house in Westfalin.

When he arrives, he finds a welcoming home and a job as an under-gardener at the palace. While working in the gardens, he befriends the eldest princess, Princess Rose. He discovers that Rose has a secret. She is a prisoner and is required to dance every night from midnight until dawn, along with her eleven younger sisters.

A string of princes come to rescue the princesses from their unseen captor. When none of them are successful, Galen takes the matter into his own hands...but he doesn't know anything about magic...and the captor is certainly not a regular mortal.

Princess of the Midnight Ball is full of romance, humor, mystery, adventure, and fantasy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

It is perfectly clean (as long as an innocent kiss is clean to you :). I recommend it to fairy-tale-lovers of all ages.

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Review by Emily Beeson of Deliciously Clean Reads

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it! My Fair Godmother, which just came out last week, is another fun romantic comedy by Janette Rallison.

When Savannah's boyfriend dumps her for her older sister, she idly wishes for a true prince. Chrissy, her fairy godmother, shows up. Only Chrissy is not a real fairy godmother. She's only a fair fairy student. In her attempts to grant three wishes for Savannah, Savannah is sent to the Middle Ages smack into the stories of Cinderella and Snow White.

When Savannah finally gets out of the Middle Age mess, she discovers that Tristan, a boy from school, has been sent back to prove himself a worthy prince for her. Together, Tristan and Savannah have to conquer mystical creatures and find a way back into the present day.

If you are a fan of fairy tales (which I definitely am), you'll enjoy My Fair Godmother. I recommend it for tweens and teens. It's a quick, unique read.

Enjoy!

The View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

Reviewed by Laura Craner

How does a rag-tag team of nobody sixth graders win the state Academic Bowl? Not even their teacher and coach, Mrs. Olinski, knows. But the team itself, Julian and Nadia and Ethan and Noah, know. Was it fate? Was it luck? No. The answer, in fact, lies in afternoon tea and the renovation of the oldest house in town.

Full of rich, quirky characters The View From Saturday, a Newberry Medal Book, is a fun book that explores the strangeness of friendship and the other relationships that bind people together--sometimes whether they like it or not!

Rulesby Cynthia Lord

Reviewed by Laura Craner

When someone in your family is different--different from you, different from your friends, just different--even the the most mundane things get tricky. In order to ward off the disasters that come with having a "different" (read: autistic) brother and live a normal life twelve-year-old Catherine decides to teach him the rules. Things like, "If the bathroom door is closed, knock" and "a boy can take off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts" and "No toys in the fish tank" become the frame around which she builds a tenuous relationship with her brother and the world around them. But when Catherine is faced with the loss of her best friend and the frustrations of making new friends, she finds out that life isn't as simple as her rules make it out to be.

Rules, which is a Newberry Honor book and winner of the Schneider family book award, is a funny and poignant book that is perfect for middle-grade readers and their parents to enjoy.

For more on Cynthia Lord and Rules check out her website: www.cynthialord.com