Palace of Stone (Princess Academy #2)

This sequel to Princess Academy (2007) shows Miri waiting for the traders to take her away from Eskel to stay with Britta in Aslan and study at the Queen's Acadmey. While Miri doesn't want to leave her father and sister, much less her mountain home, she desperately wants to learn. She convinces Peder's father to let him come to the city as well, and apprentice himself to a stone cutter. Miri is glad to be reunited with several of the girls from the Princess Academy, and is glad that Britta will soon be marrying Stefan. It's hard to adjust to living in the palace, but Miri soon meets Timon, another scholar, and he helps her understand life in the city. He also introduces her to Lady Sisela, who is running a group who are oppsed to Britta marrying Stefan, since the prophecy stated that he should marry someone from Mount Eskel and she merely pretended to be because she was already in love with him. Politically, Aslan is in great turmoil, and Miri gets caught between two causes: supporting Britta, whom she really believes should help rule the country, and Lady Sisela's group, which is fighting against the injustice of the crippling tributes that the king is imposing upon the working class. She is also torn between Peder and Timon, both of whom she likes. When Sisela's group puts Britta and the entire royal family in grave danger, Miri must use all of the skills and knowledge she has acquired to make all sides of the issue happy without war occurring.

When I first heard Shannon Hale had written a sequel to Princess Academy, I admit, I was worried. I loved Princess Academy, and felt utterly satisfied with how it ended. I adored Miri and Mount Eskel, and all the girls, but I was content for their stories to continue in the magical space of the unwritten. To have all those maybes and might-bes nailed down in a sequel made me nervous.

I ought not have fretted. In PALACE OF STONE, Shannon Hale both surprised me with where she took Miri, Katar, Britta, Peder and all the others -- and yet, as soon as I started reading, it seemed there was no other story that could possibly have existed. It didn't feel like Shannon Hale chose a direction and decided that's what would happen to Miri; rather, it felt like Miri had dragged her along and made her write everything down, so it could be told properly.

At the end of Princess Academy, and again at the beginning of PALACE OF STONE, Miri notices how much bigger the world feels, and so, naturally enough, this story takes her and the other Mount Eskel girls to the big city, where they soon find themselves embroiled in a deep and growing political divide between the haves and the have-nots. More than that, the conflict focuses on whether simply being born royal, or born a peasant, is the determining factor in your worth. This echoes one of the themes of Princess Academy, where the Mount Eskel girls were dismissed as uneducated country bumpkins, until they more than proved their worth.

In this, and other, ways PALACE OF STONE follows naturally on from Princess Academy, both in the growth of the characters, and the logical results of their actions. It allows Miri to explore in a more thoughtful way her feelings about Peder, and for Britta to assert her place both as the queen to be, and as the prince's true beloved, without pretense.

And of course, the story is beautifully told, its tempo just right and the tension and resolution perfectly balanced. It is a pleasure to read, and will entrance both those who came to love Miri in Princess Academy, and those encountering her for the first time. Like Princess Academy, PALACE OF STONE could stand alone, although I recommend reading them in order, as the first adds its own resonance to the second. And there are times (particularly towards the end) when knowing about the magic the girls discovered in Princess Academy will make events in PALACE OF STONE more comprehensible.

The themes in both books, but perhaps even more so in PALACE OF STONE, are grand and important -- justice, revolution, the divine right of kingship, poverty and greed, ignorance, education and courage -- oh so many! Yet none of them are dealt with in a heavy-handed manner. One could read this story as a suspenseful romance and coming-of-age story, and be done. Yet older, or more thoughtful, readers will find much food for thought as they journey along with Miri, and perhaps wonder whether they might someday have the same strength of character, the same bravery and loyalty as Miri shows.

From the first page of Palace of Stone I was hooked. The writing is beautiful and transports you right into Miri's world. The magic is not over done or thrown in as an after thought. It plays an important role that ties the story together. This book flows so smoothly and is so full of emotion. Once you start this, you won't want to put it down.

Miri is a fantastic character. She is loyal to her friends and family and even though she struggles with where she belongs, ulitmately she stays true to herself.

If you were a fan of the first book, then you cannot miss out on this one. Even if you haven't read Princess Academy I think you could read this and enjoy it. Overall, this is a beautiful book that should not be missed.