Title: Princess Ben
Author: Catherine Murdock
Summary: Dairy Queen author Catherine Murdock branches out into fantasy with this fairytale with a twist. After Princess Benevolence’s parents are murdered, she finds herself pressed into a strict royal life she never wanted. Queen Sophia puts plump Ben on a strict diet and fills her days with long hours of dance lessons, penmanship, and other princessly endeavors. One night while locked in her miserable little chamber, Ben discovers a secret passage way to an enchanted room. In that room, Ben finds a book that teaches her the magic arts. Ben’s private magical education and her very public refusal to conform to the behavior of a future queen end up threatening the sovereignty of her kingdom. It will take everything Ben has learned, as well as a change of heart, to save her kingdom.
Who will like this book?: If you like grown-up fairy tales and stories of magic this is the book for you.
If you like this, try this: Fairest and Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Beastly by Alex Flinn, Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris, and books by Donna Jo Napoli
Recommended by: Jen, Branch Teen Librarian