JCPL Teens

It's The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal.  It is a different sort of fairy tale and princess story.  When Sinda is 16 she is informed that she was a stand-in princess because the oracle foresaw the real princess dying as a child.  Sinda is sent off to live with an aunt who didn't even know she was still alive while the real princess is returned from where she had been carefully and quietly brought up.  Now both girls are horribly confused and life is very complicated.  But there is more going on than even the king and queen know and it is up to Sinda to figure it out and save the whole kingdom!

When I started this book, I was sure I knew how it would end.  I was completely wrong!  I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot and also the budding romance between Sinda and her best friend.  I also enjoyed how the former princess learns about the difference between royal life and real life.

This book is highly recommended if you like fairy tales, princess books, mysteries, or good adventures with good characters.  It is probably meant for middle schoolers but an interested high schooler would enjoy it too.  It reminded me of Shannon Hale's Princess Academy and Gail Carson Levine's The Two Princesses of Bamarre.

Have you read it?  What did you think?