Fairest

Reader reviewed by Jessica M.

Fairest is somewhat simialr to Snow White and yet, very different from the fairy tale. It is about a girl named Aza, who had always thought that she was ugly. Then, she comes along with a duchess to the royal wedding, and soon after, is a lady-in-waiting to the queen herself. Eventually, Queen Ivi grows jealous of Aza's unique and beautiful singing voice. While she is lady-in-waiting, Aza falls in love with Prince Ijori, who doesn't care if she is considered ugly. I liked this book because I could definitly relate to Aza. Like her, I thought I was ugly. But this book teaches us that if we're not exactly pretty, we have something pretty about us.

Reader reviewed by Stephanie

When we think of fairy tale heroines, we usually imagine a beautiful, graceful young woman with massive amounts of hair down to there and angel eyes. Aza is none of the above. Tall, wide, and pasty, Aza was abandoned at an inn when she was only a few days old. The innkeepers family adopted her and she has lived and worked with them ever since. The inns guests are rarely kind with their comments about her looks, but even after 15 years of hearing them, Aza is still uncomfortable with her looks.

However, Aza has a special gift: her voice. She is an amazing singer, even by Ayorthaian standards, and secretly she masters the art of illusing, or what we refer to as ventriloquism, or throwing ones voice. She journeys to the kings castle to witness the marriage of King Ascaro to Queen Ivi, a foreigner. There, her voice captures Ivis attention. Ivi is determined to remain the fairest in all the land, and blackmails Aza into becoming her lady-in-waiting so she can illuse over her own weak voice.

Aza is unhappy at the castle, where her only source of happiness is the prince Ijori. Ivi owns a magic handheld mirror named Skulni which can make gazers look beautiful, and Aza is obsessed with becoming beautiful through any means, including spells and potions. When her life is in danger due to Ivis manic selfishness, Aza flees to Gnome Caverns where she learns the truth about herself and must grow to accept her looks and gain self-confidence.

FAIREST is a good story, notwithstanding certain things I would have liked better explained, such as Skulni. While its a retelling of Snow White, Gail Carson Levine makes it clear that the moral is that no one should judge their worth by their looks.

Reader reviewed by Beth

Combination of Snow White and the Ugly Duckling. Aza is adopted by an innkeeper with no knowledge of her true lineage. She is very ugly and always wishes to be beautiful-she would give anything to be pretty. Despite her looks, her beautiful voice and her talents throwing her voice, win her a place at court serving as a maid-in-waiting for Queen Ivi. The land of Ayorthia is known for their ability to sing and love to sing for every occasion-sometimes for no occasion at all. Unfortunately for Ivi, she cannot sing at all-so she commands Aza to be her voice. Ivi is a vain and wicked woman and threatens Aza if she does not do waht she has asked. Meanwhile, Aza falls in love with the Prince, but because of her lies on the queen's behalf, the prince thinks that she is a traitor. In the end, Aza finds out about her lineage and realizes that being beautiful isn't all it is cut out to be.
Really liked this book-mentioned Ella of Frell (from Ella Enchanted). Just a fun fairy tale story-I liked the moral about being beautiful and that someone can still love you and think you are beautiful, even if that is not what you see when you look in the mirror.

Reader reviewed by Jocelyn

Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted, is one of the greatest books I've read recently, and definitely the best that I've recieved through the HarperCollins FirstLook program. It's a book about Aza, an ugly inkeeper's daughter with a beautiful singing voice, that takes place in the same world as the very popular Ella Enchanted. Aza's sister, in fact, is Areida, a friend of Ella's. If you've read Ella Enchanted, you have to read this.

Things change for Aza when a noblewoman's companion falls ill, and Aza is called to take her place at the royal wedding of their king to his young and beautiful bride, Ivy. The new queen takes a liking to Aza, and asks her to be a lady in waiting, an offer which Aza, for the sake of her family and their inn as well as herself, gladly accepts.

Soon after she agrees, the king is injured in an accident, and Ivy is ruler of the kingdom. She's young, vain, and unwilling to listen to anyone else. And she's now the queen.

Things aren't all what they seem, though. Aza is forced to choose to do something that could ruin her family's business if she doesn't do it, but it could get her in deep trouble for agreeing. The kingdom could be in chaos.

I highly reccomend this book for any fans of fantasy, or anyone, really, but especially for fans of Ella Enchanted. This book is almost that good, and actually rather similar. Aza is a character you can get to know and love, and the story is at times heartbreaking, at times suspenseful, and at times hilarious. Something for everyone!

Reader reviewed by mimagirl

In a country where singing is as everyday as talking, Aza is blessed to have a beautiful voice . . . but she is not equally blessed with good looks. When she travels to the King's wedding she is afraid everyone will shun her because of her ugliness. Therefore she is pleasantly surprised when she is befriended not only by the Prince but the new Queen herself! But what if those people are not what they seem - or look - to be? What if she herself is not what she always thought? Before she knows it, Aza has delved deep into the intrigues of the court . . . perhaps too deep to stay alive.

I had a wonderful time reading this romping fairytale by the author of Ella Enchanted. One part that disappointed me was that the romance wasn't as charming or well played out as the one in Ella Enchanted. Nevertheless it was full of rich descriptions, colorful characters and an engaging plot.