Princess of the Midnight BallJessica Day George
2009 * p. 272 * YA Fantasy
After the war ends, 18-year-old Galen Werner heads for the kingdom of Westfalin. His family has all died in the midst of the war, but Galen has survived even though he was often on the front lines in the army. He hopes to find his mother's relatives and a place to stay.
Once they are found, he is surprised to learn that they hold a very prominent position as the King's gardeners. So Galen joins the family business. But there is more than gardening in Galen's future.
King Gregor has twelve daughters--all of them named after flowers, from Rose to Petunia. But something is amiss with these daughters. Every third morning their dancing slippers are worn to pieces and they are exhausted. Yet none of them can explain to their father how and why and with whom they are sneaking out to dance.
After meeting and becoming enamored with the eldest princess, Rose, Galen sneakily discovers that the princesses do not want to dance and are being forced by some immortal being underground who has forbidden them to share the secret.
When Rose falls deathly ill things turn for the worse:
"Death alone could free a soul from the Midnight Ball, as the girls knew all too well.
'There's nothing we can do,' Rose said, and a tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and ran down to wet her pillow. 'If I don't go, he'll be so angry.' She rolled onto her side and pulled the blankets over her head again.
...And then, at eleven o'clock, Lily and Jonquil helped Rose out of bed. They washed her face and applied rouge to her pale cheeks and lips... Then they helped her into the yellow dress and the new dancing slippers.
The eldest princess could barely walk. She was near delirious with fever and racked by coughing spells that left her breathless and teary-eyed. Lily and Jonquil had to support her all the way to the Midnight Ball'" (48-9).
Galen is more determined than ever to rescue Rose and her sisters from the Midnight Ball, and the shadows that dance there.
Princess of the Midnight Ball is a sweet fantasy filled with princesses, flowers, magic and innocent romance. It is a perfect book for the sentimental female who loves the world of heroic princes and beautiful princesses who live happily ever after. It was a refreshingly unpredictable retelling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.
-Reading level: age 12 & up
-Completely appropriate for all ages
-German names with pronunciation guide in the back
-Themes of bravery, kindness, trust, love and family
-Ideal for young women
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